I asked Ram about what strings I should buy and he said I should post here...

I've been using Ernie Ball for a long time........and can't say that I really have any problems with the strings.....except I want to avoid being lulled into complacency w.r.t new/better strings.

I bought some Elixir strings.......really light (.008) for my "couch guitar". I thought they'd be great since everyone says they're so great....and that guitar gets a lot of on/off playing with less overall cleanings...so I wanted durable strings.

I wasn't really impressed. First of all, I thought I'd be able to bend these halfway to Sunday with ease, but they are pretty stiff for their size.

They'll be replaced next string change.

But....what to replace them with???

Go back to Ernie Ball?

I was considering getting the Hybrid Slinky strings (.009).

How about Ernie Ball stainless...or coated???

How about other brands?

What strings do y'all use.

Ernie Ball Slinky's for electric

Martin - Acoustic - seem to last longer

I used to use GHS Nickel Rockers and D'Addario singles, and was never impressed by tone. But then again I've only recently gotten into the whole guitar tone thing. Up until now, I've just been screwing around.

I recently strung up some Ernie Ball singles on my older guitar, and was immediately impressed with the tone with the wirewound strings. It has that sorta scooped mid-range - the best I can describe it - that I usually associate with George Lynch's tone (although I've seen that he uses Markley).

So, when I strung up my new Dean, I went and bought GHS boomers (medium) just to experiment. I liked the Ernie Ball's better.

Furthermore, I've also been doing a little more reserach into which types of strings are better. I can't find the link now, but someone compared the GHS Boomers to the Ernie Ball Slinkys. They basically said that the Ernie Ball's has better bendability and playability, but the GHS Boomers were more dependable, and lasted longer. Both, the comparison claimed, had similar tonal qualities.

I'll be honest, before I switched to the Ernie Ball strings, I didn't realize how much impact the strings had on the resultant tone. Boy, was it a major impact.

As for the comparison I cited above, comparing the Ernie Ball to the GHS Boomers, the GHS Boomers are much harder to bend in my opinion.

I'm thinking about stringing up my older guitar with Ernie Ball Slinkys after I replace the tuning machines - I have an old Aria Cat Pro, and the stock tuning machines SUCK - just to see what the tone difference is.

^get Sperzel machines.........I'm studying on getting a set of locking tuners for my Jackson.......eliminates the need for the locking nut so I can change tuning quickly w/o a wrench.

That's exactly what I'm looking to do.

I heard an interview with Gary Hoey not too long ago, and he raves about the performance of those tuners.

Then again, he endorses GHS Boomers, and they don't really impress me...

^ONLY thing with Sperzels is the ratio.......it is 12:1 I think. I really don't care since I have fine tuners on my tremolo......but maybe a slower tuner would be better for a hard tail.

I really don't know.

Ernie's always sounded brassy to me when breaking in, haven't played electric in a long time but I was using DR's the tone was good and stayed the same till they were old.

For my electric I went through a number of different brands until I tried EB Super Slinky's. I'm done. Nothing beats the Ernie Ball's for me.

For the electric I've tried most of the brands out there once or twice and mostly use D'Addario Phosphor Bronze Lights. Great tone and durable. I'm about to switch to fresh strings again and got some Cleartone's to try. We'll see how that goes.

I personally find the D’Addario strings the best for me. They sound awesome, hold up pretty well.

Worth a shot if your looking to try something different.

I use nothing but Elixer for my Accoustic....

i use D’Addario on both my electric guitars.

D’Addario 9's on my electrics and either Elixar or D’Addario Phosphor Bronze on my acoustic. Lots of stuff out there that is new to me but I've been happy with these as a good ole standby.

andy:

Ok, I just got done stringing-up my Aria Pro II with new Ernie Ball Not Even Slinky Drop Tune Strings. My Dean ZX has a Set of GHS Boomers Medium gauge. The top gauge on the GHS (the E string) is 52 and the top gauge on the Ernie Balls is 56.

Man, what a difference between strings. I personally like the Ernie Balls WAY better than the GHS. They have a better lower-range resonance, whereas the GHS tends to be more sonically broad and rounded.

The GHS sounds like all the other strings I've used. The Ernie Ball's are distinctive, and sound better for hardcore-type metal.

The next time I replace the string on the Dean, they're going to be Ernie Balls.

I just put a set of Ernie Ball acoustic strings on a resonator guitar and they sound pretty awesome.

Currently i have two sets of strings for my Jackson......one DR set (.009) an done Ernie Ball "Hybrid Slinky" (.009 w/ fatter bottoms).

I can't decide which to use.

I don't NEED strings but I sort of hate the Elixirs that are on it now.

I got my Sperzel locking tuners in yesterday (note: email me before you deal direct with Sperzel......I can give you some advice). I was gonna swap out the strings, but now I am keen on upgrading my tremolo block with an upsized solid brass one (see "sustain block")......so I want to wait until I either fabricate one, buy one, or decide against one. I am spoiled with my Les Paul.......and the Jackson peters out a little when playing high up on the fretboard....just a little more sustain would be great, so....

Meh, to me they're like golf balls.

They've got nothing to do with the way I play or sound.

Maybe some of you can tell the difference, but I can't.

+1 on the GHS Boomers and Elixirs FWIW.

I've been reading up on the Sperzels, and comparing them to other tuners.

For most guitars, you have to widen the hole to make them fit.

^yeah........there is a "sleeve nut" one these that goes through the headstock.

No big deal to enlarge though. I thought about getting a dual drill, but I could probably just bore them out with a sharp jobber drill.

I liked the Sperzels because:

a) They are regarded as perhaps the best locking tuner.

b) They are made in the USA by a small business.

c) They are color customizable; not a big deal for some, but my Jackson is decked out in black and gold; so I wanted cool tuners to match.

DMV.......I never gave much thought to strings either....just used what was cheap (Ernie Ball).

I set up my newest electric to sort of keep handy for casual playing so I wanted strings that would LAST longer, stay clean, etc.

I bought Elixirs (.009) and used them to replace the Ernie Balls I had on initially.

I'm no virtuoso who can feel his guitar's every fart and burp, but I IMMEDIATELY thought they seemed stiff and sort on "dead" w.r.t. tone. Not "bad".....but definitely stiffer than I am used to.......and I am "used to" .010 sets.

Here a month or so later, they are still the same although they seem a little dull visually (despite a pretty strict "fast fret" regimen). So.......they seem to LAST, but they never seemed very great to begin with so....

I usually just kidnap one of the neighbor's cats and make my own. You know, old school.

^ so you're saying that you use your neighbor's **** to pluck your magic twanger?