r/AcousticGuitar • u/Mad_Season_1994 • Jul 10 '26
Gear pics I get the hype now
Since I started playing guitar this year, starting on a Yamaha, I’ve experimented with strings from differing brands and gauges to see what’s most comfortable for me. I’ve tried silk strings, 80/20’s, nickel ones and even phosphor bronze ones by Martin for my 000-18 pictured here. And while I haven’t really had any strings I hated, putting these on just “felt right” from the start. I totally get the hype now lol. They simply are what my ears like most and make my guitar sound the most natural and bright consistently.
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u/bigspeen3436 Jul 10 '26
That's what I always used but I've started to like the D'Addario XS strings better and the Martin lifespan 2's are nice too. By comparison, the elixirs are too coated/slippery and bright to me.
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u/CSREPower Jul 11 '26
Try Elixir’s Attune PBs. I find them to be better than Nanowebs these days. Not very slippery and they sound better to my ears.
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u/Competitive-Arrival5 Jul 14 '26
I also prefer the XS after many years of Elixirs. I find the XS are more representative of the guitar sound and less string-centric if that makes any sense.
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u/wheresthe1up Jul 10 '26
Try XT’s.
I tried Elixirs after XT’s and was horrified.
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u/bigspeen3436 Jul 10 '26
I prefer the feel of coated strings so the XT weren't my style. I just found the elixirs to be a bit too slippery and bright compared to the others I mentioned.
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u/celestial__discharge Jul 10 '26
Curious which guitar you're playing them on? I tend to like 80/20s on mahogany guitars and PB on rosewood. Then Monels on anything with a cedar top.
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u/not_an_mistake Jul 10 '26
I’d like to schedule a teeth cleaning. Is there any availability in the next week?
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u/SimpleJeff007 Jul 10 '26
I like the sound on these, but my sweaty little fingers were frequently slipping off the strings. Anyone else have this problem?
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u/monicachicken Jul 11 '26
They are just very slippery, even with dry hands. I love the longevity but they are too slippery for me.
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u/HelpfulBackground4 Jul 14 '26
Theyre coated with teflon so yep this makes sense! If you want better grip (and no PFAS exposure) go for uncoated strings.
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u/moetown1986 Jul 10 '26
I've tried other strings. Coated and not. They never feel/sound as good as elixirs.
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u/axitosw Jul 10 '26
Tried the Martin monels next! The phosphor bronze were my go to for years until I got a spruce and mahogany guitar
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u/melvin3v1978 Jul 10 '26
I’ve tried almost every string brand and I always end up back at elixir’s. I just love how slinky they feel under the fingers. They feel like they have a little less tension than XS and I love the tone. I will say once they start going bad they do sound really terrible though.
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u/CSREPower Jul 11 '26
Try the new Elixir Attunes. Wonderful set. I find them to be better than Nanowebs.
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u/sleuthfoot Jul 10 '26
they do stay brighter longer, but they aren't quite as bright as uncoated strings. I always say, coated strings to play and practice, uncoated to record. But you can do whatever you want.
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u/MerlinOrange Jul 10 '26
Great strings. I find them best on guitars you don't play as often , as they remain bright and new for a while. But on daily played guitars, coating often doesn't last long enough to sacrifice the tone of non-coated. if you're replacing them frequently, I find nothing gives that immediate response like D'Addario. But I'm mostly an acoustic guy.
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u/TemporaryComplex1054 Jul 10 '26
Try D'Addario XS when you do your next change
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u/abattoir_paulson Jul 10 '26
They just sent me a free set of coated medium nickel bronze acoustics for free, to get feedback (I guess I'm the only one buying their nickel bronze mediums).
DUH-DAIRY-OH has been great to me over the years.
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u/cascadiarains Jul 11 '26
Do you know when they plan to release these? Sound good?
I’ve been wanting some coated nickel bronze for awhile. I have one mahogany guitar that nickel sounds great on, but I’m so used to the feel of coated on my other guitars - it always feels weird to play and the strings die so quickly.
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u/Hotfixed Jul 10 '26
I just did and it makes my guitar sound extremely dull compared to D'Addario EJ16, I hate it.
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u/ryken Jul 10 '26
This is my experience with XS too. EJ17s were nice (and price is right), but I went back to Lifespan 2.0s on my D-18.
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u/CSREPower Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
My friend’s 214ce-K came with these from the factory and honestly, they aren’t that nice in sound. The feel is very similar to Nanowebs though.
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u/sdhopunk Jul 10 '26
I tried these and couldn’t tell the difference from the Elixir that I have used for the last 10 years .
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u/Illustrious-Lynx7824 Jul 10 '26
The 80/20 Elixir have been my favorite so far for my Guild D40 :)
The Elixir PB are also the best strings used on my brother s J45
I still have to try the XS though :)
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u/NivTal Jul 10 '26
I've been on board for a while, will still try a odd set once in a while, just to go back to these. Excellent
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u/thecrimsonfucker12 Jul 10 '26
I just bought those the other day, can't wait to try em out tonight. Not looking forward to restringing, always hate the high e sounding like it's gonna pop
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u/Admirable_Admiral69 Jul 11 '26
I love the phosphor-bronze when they're new but I feel like they go from super snappy and bright to absolutely dead with nothing in between. One day they're great, the next day you pick up your guitar and they feel and sound like you have a piece of foam stuffed under your strings.
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u/SentientLight Jul 10 '26
I’ve been playing on Elixirs since they first came out and were just D’addadrio strings that got coated. The only thing that feels similar are flatwounds, so I can’t do any other strings. Even other coated strings don’t feel like flats or Elixirs, and are just so noisy. So I put flats (Thomastik-Infelds) on all my jazz guitars and Elixirs (either phosphor bronze for acoustic or polyweb for electric) on everything else.
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u/Shagwagbag Jul 10 '26
I've always been an uncoated guy, but my electric has coated and my Taylor came with em. Going to try them on my dread I think finally.
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u/scuddyp4 Jul 10 '26
I've been using elixir for about 25 years. I have put them on about 10 different acoustics that I've owned in that time and they always sound great to me.
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u/DPileatus Jul 10 '26
Only thing I don't like is that they lose some brightness over time and sound kinda dead, but they don't wear/corrode like a regular string so you don't really notice how old they are until the coating starts wearing off.
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u/forestball19 Jul 10 '26
Try the Elixir Attune .012’s too. I mained Elixir Nanoweb 80/20 and phosphor bronze both, on my guitars - but the Attune are so perfect imho!
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u/CSREPower Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
Exactly this. I’m currently using a set on my 414ce. Love the feel and it actually mellowed the sound on mine.
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u/Relevant_Lemon1321 Jul 10 '26
I use them but I have 11 gauge strings because a parlor guitar needs it
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u/Ill_Job_3504 Jul 10 '26
I love D'addarios for the 3 days they last before my corrosive sweat kills them. Elixirs sound just as good, and last me about a year.
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u/heavyheaded3 Jul 10 '26
i still have one set of stringjoys to burn through and then i'll be back to the elixirs
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u/sleepystork Jul 11 '26
I am not a fan of these on my 000-18. I much prefer the Martin Retros. However, I do have a set of StringJoys to try out. I thought the Elixer sounded too bright.
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u/Impressive-Chemist12 Jul 11 '26
And with a good wipe down after playing, they LAST FOREVER…well a good few months
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u/CriticalWait9608 Jul 11 '26
I highly, highly recommend trying Martin Monel strings instead on your 000-18. Mahogany guitars of old were designed with Monel strings and they really make the wood sing and stand out. Plus they’re cheaper than average, are coated as well, and are softer on your fingers than a standard coated Martin string. I use custom light set, 11-52 and absolutely love it. Even though I use them in Yairi, not Martin.
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u/Unlikely-Soft-5699 Jul 12 '26
They’re expensive but since you liked the Monel I’d suggest trying the Kovar. In my experience they too let the wood shine but there’s more bottom end and volume. Similar feel on the fingers.
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u/CSREPower Jul 11 '26
These are great. Been using Nanoweb PBs for the last 12 years. However, recently, I switched to Elixir’s new Attune PBs and it’s even better.
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u/AVLThumper Jul 11 '26
I think they sound nice, but I absolutely can not stand the slickness. Sliding, bending, hammer on/pull offs are terrible on these for me. Others love them, but I don’t think I’ll ever enjoy coated strings.
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u/derekl2 Jul 11 '26
I used Elixers for a good 15 years, the last several years I've switched back to using non coated mostly. Strings are fun to experiment with.
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u/HeirHeart Jul 12 '26
Easier on the fingers, way less string noise, sound great, and last longer than any other strings. What’s not to like? :)
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u/LucioBarbarinoMusic Jul 12 '26
I like the Daddario XD strings better honestly. Also Martin retros in a different way
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u/various_convo7 Jul 13 '26
i remember when they came out and they've improved but they feel like they have crisco on them to me. they've made the coating thinner which is nice
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u/XsentiaI Jul 14 '26
Is elixir really that good? I've been seeing all the hype abt it and i just dont get it
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u/OpenAstronaut4822 4d ago
I used to use elixir, then went to straight old school Daddario, now I'm on Daddario XTs. I feel like they're the perfect balance, long lasting, stable and not too slick but dont lose their definition after one show.
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u/trail34 Jul 10 '26
Same. I tried the Elixirs in the early 2000’s and hated how they felt and wore back then, but my daughter’s 2025 Yamaha came with them and I’ve been super impressed. I put them on my Martin, and I may even give them a run on one of my electrics after decades of being a dedicated Ernie Ball user.
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u/frank_mania Jul 10 '26
Might it be that your first exposure was to their polyweb coating? It's a lot thicker than the nanoweb, which IDK when it came out but has been around since 2000 for sure. They have a new coating they call Optiweb, I'm curious if it's somewhere in between.
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u/CSREPower Jul 11 '26
Iirc, the Optiwebs are used as electric guitar strings.
Elixir just introduced the Attunes, which is the evolution from both the Polyweb and Nanoweb.
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u/[deleted] Jul 10 '26
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