“Highest quality” strings (acoustic)

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  • bugilemanbugileman Frets: 55
    I hate elixir strings, in my opinion biggest con going. I find the Earthwoods fantastic, for reasonable money.
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  • TanninTannin Frets: 5268
    I think Sev112 has already defined "quality", Drofluf, at least after a fashion: it is "the thing which is the difference between £5 guitar strings and £20 guitar strings". 

    OK, so what is that difference? The main thing is coatings. Elixir charge way more than most brands because their strings are coated. Other coated strings tend to also be expensive. Is that "better quality"? If you like the sound and feel of coated strings, sure it is. Coated strings last much longer and have much less unwanted noise. On the other hand, they sound different and feel weird, so a lot of players dislike them. Scratch coatings, those are a matter of taste.

    What else is there? Well, there is the attention to detail in construction and winding. Is that quality? Sure, but the reality is that once you get past the cheap and nasty E-bay and counterfeit level, any string you can buy is very likely good enough for any practical purpose. So scratch that one: it's unimportant.

    What about alloys? Yes, some exotic alloys cost more. So put an asterisk next to anything made from, say, titanium alloy or monel. They will cost a few percent more. Unusual alloys cost more too (even if the materials are bog-standard) simply because they are unusual and there are no economies of scale. Suppose Rotosound or D'Addario wanted to start making an 88/12 brass string instead of the usual 80/20 and 85/15 ones. They would have to get the wire manufactured to special order, and  of course pay extra. So yes, alloy type can be a real difference with more expensive strings, but usually isn't. It's not hard to pay top dollar for bog-ordinary phosphor bronze strings, after all. 

    Finally, there is country of manufacture. There are low-wage countries such as China, Indonesia, and India, and there are high-wage countries such as Germany, the UK, Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. The USA loves to think that it's a high wage country too, but it pays a lower hourly rate than any of those countries just mentioned. Higher than places like India though, so maybe count it in the high-wage group. Strings made in high-wage countries cost more than strings made in low-wage countries. Personally, I can never work out whether it is more honest and decent to support underpaid workers in (say) Bangladesh by buying something they got paid practically nothing to make, and were very likely punished for even thinking about joining a union, or whether it's better to support local manufacturers, or at least (where there are no locals) manufacturers in a country similar to and allied with one's own, ones who pay decent living wages and care at least a little bit about health and safety. Make your own decision on this question.

    There you have it Sev: all in all, the main difference between expensive strings and cheap strings is the price. 

    Does this mean you should always look fort the cheapest strings that you can find? NO! First, avoid the rubbish. Buy from real shops, don't go slumming on E-bay or Ali Express or Facebook or Amazon. If you want to mail order, deal with reputable businesses like stringsbymail.com or Stringsdirect.co.uk or else go direct to the manufacturer - many makers offer this facility. Or, of course, support your local shop. All of these are better options than the Internet junkyards mentioned previously.

    Second, strings cost bugger-all compared to the other things we shell out for. We all do it. Blimey, last week I paid a deposit on a custom guitar without even knowing what the final price will be (other than that it will be quite a few thousand dollars by the time we are finished). Didn't turn a hair. That same week I found myself comparing prices for the same brand of string at a couple of local (Australian) shops, in the US, and in the UK, looking to save 50c. How dumb is that? Seriously, what does $1 here or  £1 there matter in the scheme of things? It's chickenfeed. Just buy the strings you like. 

    On one of my guitars I use Elixirs at $30 a set. Why? Because they work so well on that one. On another one I use SIT Silencers at $9. Why? Because that guitar sounds great with them. And on the other three I'm still using any number of different strings (32 types at last count) while I work out what goes best on them.
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  • sev112sev112 Frets: 2739
    Tannin said:
    I think Sev112 has already defined "quality", Drofluf, at least after a fashion: it is "the thing which is the difference between £5 guitar strings and £20 guitar strings". 

    OK, so what is that difference? The main thing is coatings. Elixir charge way more than most brands because their strings are coated. Other coated strings tend to also be expensive. Is that "better quality"? If you like the sound and feel of coated strings, sure it is. Coated strings last much longer and have much less unwanted noise. On the other hand, they sound different and feel weird, so a lot of players dislike them. Scratch coatings, those are a matter of taste.

    What else is there? Well, there is the attention to detail in construction and winding. Is that quality? Sure, but the reality is that once you get past the cheap and nasty E-bay and counterfeit level, any string you can buy is very likely good enough for any practical purpose. So scratch that one: it's unimportant.

    What about alloys? Yes, some exotic alloys cost more. So put an asterisk next to anything made from, say, titanium alloy or monel. They will cost a few percent more. Unusual alloys cost more too (even if the materials are bog-standard) simply because they are unusual and there are no economies of scale. Suppose Rotosound or D'Addario wanted to start making an 88/12 brass string instead of the usual 80/20 and 85/15 ones. They would have to get the wire manufactured to special order, and  of course pay extra. So yes, alloy type can be a real difference with more expensive strings, but usually isn't. It's not hard to pay top dollar for bog-ordinary phosphor bronze strings, after all. 

    Finally, there is country of manufacture. There are low-wage countries such as China, Indonesia, and India, and there are high-wage countries such as Germany, the UK, Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. The USA loves to think that it's a high wage country too, but it pays a lower hourly rate than any of those countries just mentioned. Higher than places like India though, so maybe count it in the high-wage group. Strings made in high-wage countries cost more than strings made in low-wage countries. Personally, I can never work out whether it is more honest and decent to support underpaid workers in (say) Bangladesh by buying something they got paid practically nothing to make, and were very likely punished for even thinking about joining a union, or whether it's better to support local manufacturers, or at least (where there are no locals) manufacturers in a country similar to and allied with one's own, ones who pay decent living wages and care at least a little bit about health and safety. Make your own decision on this question.

    There you have it Sev: all in all, the main difference between expensive strings and cheap strings is the price. 

    Does this mean you should always look fort the cheapest strings that you can find? NO! First, avoid the rubbish. Buy from real shops, don't go slumming on E-bay or Ali Express or Facebook or Amazon. If you want to mail order, deal with reputable businesses like stringsbymail.com or Stringsdirect.co.uk or else go direct to the manufacturer - many makers offer this facility. Or, of course, support your local shop. All of these are better options than the Internet junkyards mentioned previously.

    Second, strings cost bugger-all compared to the other things we shell out for. We all do it. Blimey, last week I paid a deposit on a custom guitar without even knowing what the final price will be (other than that it will be quite a few thousand dollars by the time we are finished). Didn't turn a hair. That same week I found myself comparing prices for the same brand of string at a couple of local (Australian) shops, in the US, and in the UK, looking to save 50c. How dumb is that? Seriously, what does $1 here or  £1 there matter in the scheme of things? It's chickenfeed. Just buy the strings you like. 

    On one of my guitars I use Elixirs at $30 a set. Why? Because they work so well on that one. On another one I use SIT Silencers at $9. Why? Because that guitar sounds great with them. And on the other three I'm still using any number of different strings (32 types at last count) while I work out what goes best on them.
    Sorry for requoting in full, but many thanks @Tannin and for your previous answered - extremely helpful and grateful for your time :)
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  • JCA2550JCA2550 Frets: 431
    edited May 2021
    For day to day good value and excellent consistency, Daddario are the starting point, benchmark on electric and acoustic 6 and 12 string sets and Rotosound for bass (but only bass) for me.

    Step up the spend a bit to slightly pricier, subtly "better" brands and it gets more subjective. I've tried and really liked Curt Mangan (most types I've tried) DR Blues and Newtone. Currently enjoying Newtones on bass, electric and acoustic guitars, all sound and feel great for different reasons. So the only single brand that scores across the board for me.

    Then the law of diminishing returns kicks in.

    A good analogy is wine. You can find a few tasty, acceptable, reliable, even enjoyable wines for £5 - £6, you're spending about 80% of that on packaging, tax and duty, distribution and profit margin and 20% on the wine itself. Apart from VAT, these are pretty much fixed costs. If you double the budget, £10- £12, the increase in quality and variety is huge and your paying more but paying for what's in the bottle. Double that and now you're entering the world of seriously great hand made wines but does it taste twice as good as your favourite £10 bottle?
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  • TanninTannin Frets: 5268
    My pleasure Sev. Thank you for saying so. 
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  • JayceeJaycee Frets: 287
    I think @Tannin and @JCA2550 ; more or less summed it up.

    I used Olympia strings for years, they are inexpensive and to my ears sounded as good as any other that I have used.

    I have just put a set of Smith and James strings on my Alvarez acoustic which souned a bit bright at first but a few hours playing over a few weeks thay sound great. I'm not sure if they have settled in or I got used to the sound.
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  • Ive been liking the Ernie Ball Paradigm strings recently. I went through a phase of trying loads of different strings on my Yamaha Silent guitar... no body to it so for my limited understanding the strings should be one of the most important elements to the tone. The strings seem to keep their tone for longer too. Had far too many breakages with Elixirs, Newtone were good too. 
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  • rogdrogd Frets: 1509
    When I was gigging regularly I settled on LaBella 12's on my Martin D41. Back in those days Martin strings didn't seem to suit it.  LaBella's were more consistent and lasted longer. Martins have improved a lot in recent years and I tend to use them now as I just play at home these days.
    The whole area of strings is very subjective.
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  • jazzlemmingjazzlemming Frets: 36
    Thomastik Spectrum are probably my favourite acoustic strings. They also make my favourite electric strings. Made in Austria.
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