🎸 Strings

STRINGS!!!!! I realised I haven't get to the topic of strings after so many posts, which is funny because strings play a huge huge role in my guitar tone! I may have mentioned it in previous posts before, but I'm gonna say it now once and for all: I am a true and faithful supporter of Elixir strings! 😊

Just look at them!

Well, if I am just talking about strings alone, I could go on for days. In the very very beginning, say a few weeks after I bought my Squier Bullet Strat, the factory strings broke. No surprise. I bought Ernie Ball super slinky, just because it's the cheapest brand of strings. Well, those strings rusted within a few weeks as well. This can be especially worrying for a then beginner me. Nobody told me I would need to change strings every few weeks. But nobody told me about Elixir either. 😔

I was desperate to find good strings after the cheap strings kept rusting easily. Then I stumbled upon Elixir on the internet forums. Man, those reviews really make Elixir seem like the best. I still remember my first purchase; the burn in my pockets were real. But after I restrung my guitar, I have never looked back. Dang, Elixir really lives up to it's name. I could play for at least 2 months before things get a bit rough. But still, I didn't know about string maintenance; I only knew Elixir is the best. 😎

For a beginner, the lighter the string gauge, the easier the playability. I stayed away from Super Light though, because the mere thought of strings snapping in my face was enough. Custom Light was the coolest sounding gauge in my first opinions, which is why I supported Custom Light even till the point when I needed acoustic Elixir strings. However, one fine day, I decided to try a step heavier gauge, the Light gauge, just because I'm curious.

And so I made the switch.

Things were so much better. I personally don't hear much of a difference in tone between Custom Light and Light because I play the E, A and D strings pretty hard. However, Light strings generally lasted longer than Custom Light strings, for obvious thickness reasons. From that particular point on, I was a faithful follower of the Light gauge. Light is still as easy to do my bends and the tones that comes out of it doesn't fail me. 😊

Acoustic strings, on the other hand, is a little more complicated. There is the 80/20 Bronze version and the Phosphor Bronze version. (I am talking about Nanoweb, ain't really a fan of Polyweb). I have used the Custom Light 80/20 Bronze twice, each time lasting about 6 months, which is awesome. Recently, I have made the brave leap of faith to try out Phosphor Bronze Light. The feel is just like the electric guitar transition counterpart. Amazing. 😍

Next, I arrive at the pricing issues. This is the most important part of this post and I am basically just typing it down for my own personal reference in the future.

For electric guitar Nanoweb strings:

Swee Lee: $15.00

Davis Guitar: $15.00
Guitar Connection: $14.00

For electric guitar Optiweb strings:

Swee Lee: $17.00

Davis Guitar: Unsure
Guitar Connection: $17.00

For acoustic guitar Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze strings:
Swee Lee: $22.00
Davis Guitar: $20.00
Guitar Connection: Unsure

For acoustic guitar Nanoweb 80/20 Bronze strings:
Swee Lee: $20.00
Davis Guitar: $18.00
Guitar Connection: Unsure

My main purpose in noting down these prices is because there are more Swee Lee stores than Davis Guitar stores, which compensates for the pricing. So depending on my level of urgency, I will have this info to remind me of my most effective choice. Apart from these 2 retailers, the rest of the Elixir strings retailers have marked their prices too high, making both distance and pricing not as worth. The best path, however, is Carousell. People would usually sell lower than the stores just to sell it off if they have spares, therefore prices are crazy cheap on Carousell. Unfortunately, listings are irregular compared to stores. Again, it all comes down to my level of urgency. 😣

All in all, Elixir is still the best string brand in my opinion. I doubt I will ever change brands in the future. Now with my proper string maintenance (washing hands before use and oiling after use), my average string life is around 3 to 4 months on electric and 4 to 6 months on acoustic. Amazing huh? 😁

Edwin Ang

5th December 2016

Update as of 17th June 2017: Check out the new post about strings here!