Coated strings - what's good?

english_bob

My best experience has been with Elixirs too- The old Polyweb ones are rubbish, but the Nanowebs are good and the Optiwebs are a little better. They last longer than the other coated strings I've tried too. The DR Dragonskin strings are a close second, but even more expensive and trickier to get.

stickyfiddle

I'm a big fan of nanoweb Elixirs on electric.

Hate them on acoustic - after a year of merry-go-round-ing I've settled on Martin Lifespan SP 80/20s. Martin say they're treated, but i'm not sure if they're coated. They last better than most 80/20s though.

Blueingreen

Confirmed Elixirs user.  When I bought a guitar from Coda recently they kindly stuck a few packets of strings in the case but they won't get used because I only use Elixirs. They've been stuck in the case to cover an emergency if I break a string, but I haven't broken a string in decades so it's pretty unlikely.

Any time I've bought a new guitar recently I can't wait to get whatever cheaper strings are on it off and get "proper" strings on it.

I usually use Nanowebs.  Last time out I tried Optiwebs but they were a little more expensive and I can't say I noticed a big difference.

But basically Elixirs are double the price and last 4 or 5 times as long. For someone like me who hates changing strings it's a no brainer.  And it works out cheaper as well.

Branshen

Nano webs on everything I own. But only because I've not tried optiwebs yet.. Have u compared the two Megii? 

bluechargeboy

Optiwebs seem good to me. They feel much more "normal" than Nanowebs. I would use Optiweb on my acoustic too if they did acoustic ones.

Megii

Gizmo said:

I've tried a lot of different coats strings and id say Exliir nanos are my fav's 

No doubt the first reply to this will be "cheap Chinese SHIT" but i brought a few sets of Orphee Professional DE Series strings at £2.90 a set (inc shipping!) from aliexpress and they are pretty dam nice

Now ive read a lot about the ball ends poping off of Orphee/chinese strings under full tension i can't give any feedback on that issue as ive only used them on floyds sofar,i cant give you any gig mileage info on the as ive only had them of a few weeks but after 2-3 hours a day for 3-4 days a week there still nice and bright and don't have any coating fuzz around the picking area.

@£3 a pop their worth a try

Sounds like they're not bad at all - unfortunately, I wouldn't be happy with the gauges in the 11s set, which is what I'd want - the middle four strings are exactly the same as a 10s set, and then they just use an 11 for the high E, and 50 for the low E. So not for me, but am sure the 9's and 10's sets are well worth considering, and appreciate the post, cheers.

Branshen said:

Nano webs on everything I own. But only because I've not tried optiwebs yet.. Have u compared the two Megii? 

No, only tried Optiwebs, and indeed those are the only coated strings I have tried. I'd say they felt pretty much identical to uncoated strings to me, and having had the same set on a guitar for a few months now, and they still sound pretty bright, and with no visible wear, then I'd have to say they're very good. I'd be interested to compare with the Nano webs.

And cheers for all the other replies - in general, I'm tending to feel I've probably already used what will be the best option for me i.e. Optiwebs, but interested in what the Nanowebs are like, and also I do wonder about the D'Addario EXP. But it is expensive to try these things, and likely I'll just stick with Elixir Optiwebs.

grungebob

I hated the nanos all that extra tension! Optiwebs are quite nice but I think I’ll just go back to my normal strings if and when these ever dull/snap. 

Ive never had a problem with my usual slinky’s in all the 24 years I’ve been using them. They work really well with my skin chemistry. 

Megii

grungebob said:

I hated the nanos all that extra tension! Optiwebs are quite nice but I think I’ll just go back to my normal strings if and when these ever dull/snap. 

Ive never had a problem with my usual slinky’s in all the 24 years I’ve been using them. They work really well with my skin chemistry. 

Cheers - I would have said I also don't have skin chemistry that degrades strings very much, and I am one of those people that has been known to keep a standard set of strings on a guitar for months. But the Optiwebs, now I've tried them, do retain an ex tra zing and life to the tone - I guess the equivalent of a few day old ordinary strings. So I'm liking that a lot, but was just hoping/wondering if there were any good alternatives out there. Not sure I'd like the nanos either really, and perhaps not a lot to gain from trying a set - it would only be curiosity to see what they're like.

Vaiai

Didn't like Elixir or NYXL as they had a brittleness I disliked - I now use Ernie Ball Cobalts (not coated but different string composition) - they last just as long, are not as expensive and feel better! Gets me thru a few gigs and rehearsals if you wipe them down after.

PolarityMan

I tried Elixir nano's for a while, found they did indeed alst longer but like others didnt like the feel so went back to my uncoated EB's

crunchman

Modellista said:

Strings are very much a personal thing, and personally I love them. I don't consider a guitar fully set up unless it's got a set of Elixir Nanos on. I actually like the slippiness, can't see why a sticky string is desirable, and I find they last about 10 times as long for 50% more money. I prefer the bright snap of a new string to the dullness of a used one. Even when the coating starts coming off around the picking area the strings still sound new because he rest of the string is still coated. I hate coming back to a guitar and the strings already have that black corrosion on them. I shall use nothing else. 

If you have that body chemistry I can understand why you use them.

Different people have different body chemistry.  I can leave conventional strings on for months and they don't get that black corrosion.  I lent a guitar to a friend for a weekend once, and it came back with the strings coated in it.  They were absolutely disgusting.

I really don't like the feel of coated strings.  The newer ones are less bad than the original Elixirs, but I still don't like them.  They are even worse when the plastic coating starts to fray.  I can probably use a set of conventional strings for about the same amount of time as it would take before coated ones would start to fray.

For me, even if the coated ones did last longer, I'm not sure it would be a good idea.  At some point strings will start breaking due to metal fatigue.  I don't reach that point with conventional strings.  There is a risk that I might if I could find strings that actually lasted 3 times as long.