Guitar Strings

[Greg_L]

I wanna come back to this with a review...

Miroslav graciously and generously sent me a set of his Curt Mangan Pure Nickel strings. I made it clear that NYXLs are my favorites, but they're expensive. Ernie 10-46 Reg Slinkys are my usual cuz they're cheap. Miro said the Curt Mangans will fall somewhere in between.

He wasn't wrong. They do sound a little punchier than EB Regular Slinkys. They feel good, not quite as robust as the NYXLs, but definitely sturdier than Slinkys. And these are all the same gauges I'm comparing - 10-46. The Curt Mangans tuned up quick, didn't need much stretching, and they hold their tune really well even as they get old. The bending feel was really good with the Curt Mangans. Better than Slinkys. They fight you a little and I personally like that. I'm not naturally a hard player that digs in like a maniac, so I don't need strings to just give up and get out of the way. The Mangans had good feel.

My one problem - well two problems. Actually, one and a half problems. 1) they got old fast for me. I'm not a greasy sweaty player and I didn't use them live at all. Granted, I did play the shit out of them because they went on my newly fixed up LP Custom, but regular daily playing and recording wore them out pretty fast. Not faster than Slinkys, but about the same. My second problem, which isn't really a problem, so it's like a half problem...they sounded a little dark right out of the package. For some people that's not a problem, and it really isn't for me either, but I was expecting a bright punch like new NYXLs. It wasn't there for me. They sounded great, but they were definitely darker new than NYXLs or even the Regular Slinkys.

So to sum up - I liked them but they didn't blow me away. I'd buy them though if I found some locally...which I never have. They are better than Slinkys IMO, but not better than NYXLs. But they're also way cheaper than NYXLs!

So thanks again Miro for letting me try them out. I'm better for it!

[miroslav]

Hey...I was wondering if you had a chance to try them yet.

No, they are not bright...which also isn't a problem for me. I also use the pure nickle sets on some of my guitars, and they are even a bit less bright....but overall, they still tend to sound quite articulate, without the real bright sound.

AFA the quicker wear than the NYXLs...I'll take your word. You have the experience with the NYXL to sense that.
I haven't stung up the NYXL pack you sent me to compare yet...but I was just thinking about doing that this longer weekend, as I have a few guitars that need to be re-strung...so I'll see how they hold up compared to the NYXL.

I've never felt the CMs were wearing too quick...and I'm a lazy fuck with changing strings.
Maybe I'm just more use to how they sound when a little worn, and I actually like a string that's been broken in, as opposed to that "fresh-n-bright" sound...but then, I also have a decent number of guitars and rarely play the shit out of any one...so that might have something to do with my perception of the wear rate.

Compared to the many other brands I've tried before the Mangans...none of them fared any better AFA wear...but I will see how they hold up compared to the NYXL when I try them.

[Bubba]

Bare Knuckle Pickups sent me a complimentary set of Rotosounds with my new Riff Raff. I assembled the new guit and fitted those strings because I had to make a few crucial measurements. They were dull and dead right from the off. No, thanks.

[Greg_L]

Bare Knuckle Pickups sent me a complimentary set of Rotosounds with my new Riff Raff. I assembled the new guit and fitted those strings because I had to make a few crucial measurements. They were dull and dead right from the off. No, thanks.

I got those too. Dull, dead, bleh. Not even worth a review.

[Greg_L]

Hey...I was wondering if you had a chance to try them yet.

No, they are not bright...which also isn't a problem for me. I also use the pure nickle sets on some of my guitars, and they are even a bit less bright....but overall, they still tend to sound quite articulate, without the real bright sound.

AFA the quicker wear than the NYXLs...I'll take your word. You have the experience with the NYXL to sense that.
I haven't stung up the NYXL pack you sent me to compare yet...but I was just thinking about doing that this longer weekend, as I have a few guitars that need to be re-strung...so I'll see how they hold up compared to the NYXL.

I've never felt the CMs were wearing too quick...and I'm a lazy fuck with changing strings.
Maybe I'm just more use to how they sound when a little worn, and I actually like a string that's been broken in, as opposed to that "fresh-n-bright" sound...but then, I also have a decent number of guitars and rarely play the shit out of any one...so that might have something to do with my perception of the wear rate.

Compared to the many other brands I've tried before the Mangans...none of them fared any better AFA wear...but I will see how they hold up compared to the NYXL when I try them.

I think I've just been spoiled with those fancy NYXLs. To me, they really are amazing, and I didn't wanna believe it at first because I thought a string is a string. The Curt Mangans acted just like you said though - right between a Slinky and the NYXLs.

[liv_rong]

Yeah, love NYXL's. 11-52 for me. I thought it was hype and had a little buyers remorse until I put them on. They really do last a while too. I tell everyone about them but I think most people think it's all hype.

[Greg_L]

Yeah, love NYXL's. 11-52 for me. I thought it was hype and had a little buyers remorse until I put them on. They really do last a while too. I tell everyone about them but I think most people think it's all hype.

Yeah. I think Lt Boob first told me about them about 6 months before I finally tried them. I was literally blown away. I actually flew out of a window to my death. I couldn't believe strings could be that different.

[liv_rong]

I'm sure I saw LT talking about them too at some point but always kind of skipped over string talk thinking it didn't mean that much. Insae adds and stuff for them for a long time as well. I actually had a guitar center guy talk me into it when I was there for something else and I was like "fuck it, give em a try." So glad I did.

[ocnor]

Have you tried the D'Addario EXL110 Nickel Light Electric Guitar Strings? They are way better than Slinky and are cheaper than NYXL.

[Greg_L]

Have you tried the D'Addario EXL110 Nickel Light Electric Guitar Strings? They are way better than Slinky and are cheaper than NYXL.

No but I'll give em a try. Thanks for the tip.

[Bill L]

I've been using the NYXL's for about a year now after having read what Greg and Lt. Bob had said about them on the other board. I used to use Boomers through school, then landed on Stay In Tune strings which I used until I took my 12 year hiatus. When I got back into playing (around 2008 or so) I started using D'Addrio XL's. I do have one Strat set up with flatwounds specifically for slide playing (I picked up that tip from Little Feat. They use flat wounds to eliminate buzzing sounds and it rounds out the tone nicely). Other than that, all of my axes have either NYXL's or XL's 11-49, though I'd prefer bigger low E and A strings.

[Lt. Bob]

yep ..... I was one of the beta testers for NYXL strings ...... I don't have the faintest idea how that came to be but I got an email asking if I'd want to try them and do a detailed report on them afterwards.
I said yes and they sent me a set.

so that's why I was telling everyone they HAD to try these strings when they were just rolling them out.

I kinda don't care about strings much ..... like Greg said, strings is strings .... they all have differences but any will do.
So I've always bought whatever was cheap ..... usually Slinky's ....

However, the NYXL's are different in a way that's hard to describe. Louder ... last longer ..... but they actually 'feel' different. Like way different ...... you'll feel it immediately.

They are stupid expensive though.
For me it's a no-brainer but I do this for a living so it's like a carpenter paying large money for expensive tools .... they do the job better and are worth the money for him.
So I cringe and bite the bullet.
A five pack is around 70 bucks! owww!

Don't think I would spend 70 bucks for 5 sets of string for no reason.

[Greg_L]

I think the biggest thing, for me, about NYXLs is they just feel harder. I don't know any other way to put it. They feel like they're made of a harder steel. But that harder feel does not result in being harder to play. They have the punchy sound of heavier gauge strings without feeling heavier....they just feel harder.

And then there's the benefit of seemingly endless life and stable tuning. I don't know how they do it.

[Bill L]

I agree with you guys. I play at least 4 nights a week at the moment between gigs, rehearsals and jams. I think I put the strings on November or December and they still sound good and in tune. In the past I would have changed strings at least 3 times in that same period. And they probably have another month or so left in them.

[Lt. Bob]

I think the biggest thing, for me, about NYXLs is they just feel harder. I don't know any other way to put it. They feel like they're made of a harder steel. But that harder feel does not result in being harder to play. They have the punchy sound of heavier gauge strings without feeling heavier....they just feel harder.

that's a pretty good description actually ..... it's about as close an explanation as I've heard.
It's a difference that is the first thing you'll notice about them.
I've played a lot of strings but I've never played any like these.

[Lt. Bob]

I agree with you guys. I play at least 4 nights a week at the moment between gigs, rehearsals and jams. I think I put the strings on November or December and they still sound good and in tune. In the past I would have changed strings at least 3 times in that same period. And they probably have another month or so left in them.

yep ..... they last WAY longer for me too.

[JD01]

I've just put the last set of balls I have handy on so I'll be trying out my first pack of NYXLs before too long I reckon.

[miroslav]

So I've been meaning to post about my NYXL experience...Greg and I sent each other a set of strings to try out...he got a set of Curt Mangan strings from me, and I got a set of the NYXL from him.

I've actually had the NYXL strings on a guitar for about a month now...but then I didn't really get a chance to play much due to other studio crap, but finally the last few days I was able to, being snowed in.

So the NYXL strings are fantastic for rhythm/chords. I love how they have a very crisp ring to them, which makes the chords pop out in an articulate way unlike other strings. Quite enjoyable and I could see myself wanting to use them for that, especially for recording.

For leads, I wasn't as crazy about them compared to the CM which I use regularly. I found that the feel of NYXL doesn't appeal to me for lead playing.
They have a rather non-springy feel, so smaller, intricate giner movements were just not as fluid as when I play my CM strings, which seem to just follow my fingers no matter how I work the strings.
Maybe if I played the NYXL strings all the time I would adjust to that...but I've seen where other people kinda said similar things about them.
There were 10 gauge, which is my standard gauge...but I also have Curt Mangan 11 gauge strings that I use on some guitars, and they still have a springy feel to them, albiet tighter in that gauge.
The NYXL...I dunno...seemed less responsive.

AFA how well they last and hold tune....I'll see how it goes as I play that guitar a bit more over time.

Thanks Greg, for the opportunity to try them out. I may get a few packs and string up a couple of my guitars that I use more often for rhythm tracks.

[JD01]

I'm planning on trying these NYXL 10s on my custom next week... purely based on the fact that every one who tries them says that they're great.

[Greg_L]

So I've been meaning to post about my NYXL experience...Greg and I sent each other a set of strings to try out...he got a set of Curt Mangan strings from me, and I got a set of the NYXL from him.

I've actually had the NYXL strings on a guitar for about a month now...but then I didn't really get a chance to play much due to other studio crap, but finally the last few days I was able to, being snowed in.

So the NYXL strings are fantastic for rhythm/chords. I love how they have a very crisp ring to them, which makes the chords pop out in an articulate way unlike other strings. Quite enjoyable and I could see myself wanting to use them for that, especially for recording.

For leads, I wasn't as crazy about them compared to the CM which I use regularly. I found that the feel of NYXL doesn't appeal to me for lead playing.
They have a rather non-springy feel, so smaller, intricate giner movements were just not as fluid as when I play my CM strings, which seem to just follow my fingers no matter how I work the strings.
Maybe if I played the NYXL strings all the time I would adjust to that...but I've seen where other people kinda said similar things about them.
There were 10 gauge, which is my standard gauge...but I also have Curt Mangan 11 gauge strings that I use on some guitars, and they still have a springy feel to them, albiet tighter in that gauge.
The NYXL...I dunno...seemed less responsive.

AFA how well they last and hold tune....I'll see how it goes as I play that guitar a bit more over time.

Thanks Greg, for the opportunity to try them out. I may get a few packs and string up a couple of my guitars that I use more often for rhythm tracks.

You're welcome. It sounds like you got the right kind of experience from NYXLs. They do ring loud and proud for chords. Being predominantly a rhythm player, that's one of my favorite thing about them. Barre chord, power chord, open chord, low gain, mid gain, high gain, it doesn't matter. Those strings are loud and very clear. Chords sound huge but with clarity. And you're right, they aren't very "slinky". They're hard. If someone wants a really slinky feel, NYXLs aren't the string for them. I'm just a hack lead player, so they're fine to me. I like the harder feel like a heavier gauge string without it actually being heavier.