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Post by De-la on Mar 3, 2004 6:29:35 GMT -5
Elixir kindly sent the board free strings so I decided to use the light gage on my Guld Music man copy. At £40 a set they don’t come cheep but there lifespan is amazing and they have a very sharp crisp sound, if I was a paid musician I would use Elixir and I strongly advise you to try them. (See the 'Company's involved with the board' link for a list of dealers in Shropshire)
(*usable **ok ***good ****very good *****excellent)
Sound: ***** Feel: **** Life: ***** Value: ***
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Post by De-la on Mar 8, 2004 6:49:48 GMT -5
Report by Alun Vaughan I must admit to never having used Elixir strings before, so I was curious to see ( and hear) whether they were worth the extra cost ( www.stringsdirect.co.uk have them for just under £40 a set, which isn't TOO bad) . Their main selling point is that each string is specially coated, the theory being that sweat, dirt and other general gunk can't get into the windings and make the strings sound dull and lifeless. The six string set from Elixir comes in 32-130 gauge with a taper wound B string ( the B string is thinner at the point that it goes over the bridge saddle). I must admit, when I first saw the taperwound string I was a little cautious - I've used these style of strings made by other manufacturers and have never been particularly impressed by them.They've always seemed to produce very odd overtones in the 19th - 24th fret area ( okay, i probably shouldn't be up there anyway!) so I was a little sceptical about the idea. However, the Elixir B string is superb - no weird overtones, just a great clear tone. In the past I've used 135 gauge B strings because I've found other manufacturer's 130s sounded muddy and undefined on my 34" scale bass but the Elixir was superb. The tone and volume across all six strings is remarkably consistent, even the C string which is often a bit volume shy on my bass ( again I usually use a heavier gauge 35 to get round this, so thumbs up oncemore to the Elixirs). On the subject of scale, these strings are looong so they're ideal if you use a 35", 36" or possibly longer scale bass. So how are they to play? When I first put them on, the coating did make them feel a little slippery compared to standard roundwound strings which took a little getting used to, especially for string bending, but this soon seems to wear off leaving them feel like any other roundwound. I found the initial sound to be a little duller than uncoated strings but they seemed to brighten as they wore in over the first hour or so. I've had the strings on for a month and they still sound pretty new! I've deliberately not wiped them down after gigs ( assorted styles including a hot, sweaty soul gig and a three hour sitters-in night in a jazz club) in an attempt to kill them but they still sound pretty twangy and new ( although I can see traces of the coating starting to peel in a couple of places). The only downside ( apart from the price) is that, even with a good stretching when installed), they don't hold their tuning quite as well as other strings. They don't detune by a huge amount ( a quarter tone or less generally) but you do need to check before each gig ( but then I'm sure you would anyway!). Another slight quirk, but it isn't going to affect many players in reality, is that the coating makes the C string a little slow to react to an E Bow! Overall these really are superb strings for anyone who likes that "just out of the packet" tone.Although the initial cost may be higher, you won't need to change them as often. If you prefer the sound of strings that have settled in a bit though, these may not be for you as it'll take a lot to stop them sounding new! Report by Alun Vaughan
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Alun
Full Brotherhood Member
Posts: 32
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Post by Alun on Mar 28, 2004 10:12:45 GMT -5
Strings still on and still sounding pretty new on 28th April!!!!!!!!!
This is really going to upset my local shop that I have an ongoing deal on Rotosounds with!
Alun
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Post by De-la on Mar 30, 2004 6:18:37 GMT -5
I have had mine on for 3 months now and the sting is still good ;D the extra slinkys i was using only realy last me a month so so far thats 3 times longer!!!!! well worth the price.
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Alun
Full Brotherhood Member
Posts: 32
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Post by Alun on Oct 30, 2004 8:22:25 GMT -5
Although it's not 100% yet ( so I'm going to probably regret posting this!), it looks like I'm going to be endorsing Elixir from now on so thanks Ryan for introducing me to these strings ;D ;D Cheers, Alun
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Alun
Full Brotherhood Member
Posts: 32
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Post by Alun on Nov 10, 2004 12:45:11 GMT -5
OK,now it's official - I am endorsing Elixir!!!!!!!!!!Thank you Ryan Alun
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