What D'Addario acoustic strings are "brassy" coloured?

DartmoorHedgehog

I've just changed the strings on my daughter's Faith. She's only ever played it with the strings that came with it, so didn't really have a preference for what to replace them with. I had some D'Addario phosphor bronze 12s in my stash because that's what I use, so I put those on to see what she thinks.

If she decides she prefers what was on there before, I assume they were another D'Addario set because they had the coloured ball-ends (does anybody else do that?) but the wound strings were a lot "yellower", more brassy-coloured than the phosphor bronze.  Would they be the 80/20 bronze, or something else? I don't think they're coated ones.

Cig35

I think you bought it new and according to Faith’s website the guitars come with coated strings, 12-53, as standard. Might narrow down the search a bit.

Mellish

The D'Addario 80/20 I use ("yellow" suggests 80/20) is EJ11. They're 12's and uncoated. They're the 80/20 version of EJ16.

 

DartmoorHedgehog

Cig35 said:

I think you bought it new and according to Faith’s website the guitars come with coated strings, 12-53, as standard. Might narrow down the search a bit.

I spent ages looking at the specs on their website to avoid looking silly and didn't find anything about strings
Now you've mentioned it I've found it buried in the FAQ under how to change strings, and you're right, it does say coated. I didn't think they were when I took them off... possibly the shop changed them before they sold it to us - when we were in there trying guitars they did make a few comments that they didn't think much of the standard strings on the Faith (so I assumed they were cheap no-name ones, but perhaps they just prefer Martin strings or something). I'll ask them next time I'm over that way.

bertie

DartmoorHedgehog said:

perhaps they just prefer Martin strings or something)

there are some weird f*ckers out there mind

DartmoorHedgehog

Thanks folks - sounds like they may well be 80/20 then, which do seem to exist in coated (XT) and bare forms.  I would have said the ones I took off were uncoated, but I may be wrong - I've never knowingly played coated strings so I expected them to feel more obviously "slippery" or something.

If she likes the phosphor bonze set then all this is academic of course - just thought I'd try to be prepared for if she hates them and wants it back how it was 

Mellish

Yep XT are coated, so are XS. 

EJ11 will sound brighter than XT but won't last as long, at least they don't for me. To my ear, XT sound a bit too warm, but that's not necessarily what you or your daughter would find.

 

DartmoorHedgehog

Mellish said:

Yep XT are coated, so are XS. 

EJ11 will sound brighter than XT but won't last as long, at least they don't for me. To my ear, XT sound a bit too warm, but that's not necessarily what you or your daughter would find.

 

If the original strings were 80/20, then apparently they should be brighter than phosphor bronze, so the new strings should be if anything less bright. But at the moment they're still in the "horribly bright new string sound" period so won't know for a bit.

I haven't really fiddled with different string types for ages - I decided I liked phosphor bronze on my guitar (once the new string nastiness goes) and just stuck with those for years. And as I said earlier, as far as I know I've never played a guitar with coated strings - but perhaps I have and just haven't noticed!

Mellish

@DartmoorHedgehog ; what I meant was, EJ11 will sound..erm...livelier than their coated XT/XS 80/20 cousins. The coating takes a bit of the edge off. Price paid for longevity. Swings and rounundabouts. 

 

DartmoorHedgehog

Yes, sorry, I was a bit vague there... What I was getting at is that phosphor should be a bit less bright than 80/20 assuming both sets are uncoated, so if the pb don't sound much warmer than the old strings then perhaps the old ones were coated after all. Still doesn't make much sense... I know what mean

ICBM

DartmoorHedgehog said:

What I was getting at is that phosphor should be a bit less bright than 80/20 assuming both sets are uncoated, so if the pb don't sound much warmer than the old strings then perhaps the old ones were coated after all.

Not necessarily - while 80/20 bronze are brighter than phosphor bronze initially, they age much faster and end up duller quite quickly. They can actually sound very mellow and last a long time like that, as long as it’s what you want.

Mellish

@DartmoorHedgehog ; yes mate, pb have a fuller, warmer sound.

I favour pb for their fuller, punchier sound I get with 'em on this Gibson Dove  

Dave_Mc

Did they not used to come with Elixirs? I think my sister's did, but that was a good few years ago so I could well be misremembering, or they could have changed in the meantime (also it was a couple of years old (but still "new", if you know what I mean, from a shop) when she got it). Pretty sure they were coated, though.

DartmoorHedgehog

Dave_Mc said:

Did they not used to come with Elixirs?.

I don't know. The FAQ on their website does say "coated stings" but no more details. The coloured ball ends on the ones I took off make me think they're D'Addario, unless Elixirs have coloured ends as well.  I'll probably be in Exeter sometime in the next couple of months so I'll pop into Manson's and see if they know - they may even have changed the strings before they sold it to us, but that seems unlikely as it was special order from the supplier because she wanted a black-stained one, so hadn't been played in the shop at all.

Mellish

No, Elixir don't use coloured ball ends.

It's a safe bet they're D'Addario but which ones is the question. "Brassy" suggests 80/20, kind of yellowy in colour...

In any event, nice guitar, that's the main thing.

 

DartmoorHedgehog

Mellish said:

In any event, nice guitar, that's the main thing.

 

It is - can't say I'm not slightly envious...

Tannin

Lots of companies use coloured ball ends. I think it may have been Ernie Ball which was the first to do it, but that was decades ago and maybe every third different set I buy has coloured ends. Fender for one. Rotosound I think is another but I don't pay much attention. Anyway, they are common as.

Yes, it sounds as if they were brass (going by the colour).

No, coated strings don't look or feel particularly different so long as they use the common (almost universal) method of coating the winding first, then winding the string. Elixir are almost unique in winding the string first and then dipping it in Teflon. This is why Elixir strings last longer than pretty much anything else, have less left-hand squeal than almost anything else, and don't sound quite as good as almost anything else. (But you may like the Elixir sound. Many people do.) 

Last point: if your daughter has been playing it with the factory strings all this time, you can take it as fact that she is not fussy about strings. Withing reason, any brand will be just fine.  

Mellish

If you still have the original strings, have a closer look at the ball ends. Is one  turquoise? If it is, Fender. If it's purple, likelihood is D'Addario.

This came from a call to Mansons. 

 

DartmoorHedgehog

@Tannin - I've not seen coloured ends on EB, but then I only use them on electrics. I'm not fussy about strings either to be honest, I settled into using EB on electrics and D'Addario phosphor bronze on acoustic and just stuck with those.  I was only curious about what the old strings were just in case she said she preferred them to the pb I put on, but like you I doubt she'll care that much.

@Mellish - thanks, I did keep the strings - I think they were the normal D'Addario colours but I'll check later. Hope you didn't call them just for me... it's really not at all important so could have waited until next time I'm out that way

Mellish

No problem - they said that, although Fender do coloured ball ends, it would be "unusual" to see 'em on a Faith straight from the factory.

Glad if I've helped. 

 

Dave_Mc

DartmoorHedgehog said:

Dave_Mc said:

Did they not used to come with Elixirs?.

I don't know. The FAQ on their website does say "coated stings" but no more details. The coloured ball ends on the ones I took off make me think they're D'Addario, unless Elixirs have coloured ends as well.  I'll probably be in Exeter sometime in the next couple of months so I'll pop into Manson's and see if they know - they may even have changed the strings before they sold it to us, but that seems unlikely as it was special order from the supplier because she wanted a black-stained one, so hadn't been played in the shop at all.

I could well be misremembering! @Mellish is probably correct about the coloured ball-ends- I don't like Elixirs so I don't have much experience with them, just the couple of guitars I've had which came with them stock.

Anyway it just hit me that the stickers which were on the guitar may well still have been in the case of the guitar. They were. They were D'Addario coated phosphor bronze. So basically don't listen to anything I say, is the moral to take out of this. That does make a kind of sense, though- I don't remember disliking them anywhere near as strongly as Elixirs. Not sure I'd buy them again, but I was happy enough with them when they were on the guitar. At least from what I remember, I was. And we all know how accurate my memory is!