Your string journey

Hmmm, let’s see. First ones I remembered using were Kaman Stainless steel 9’s. Then SIT 9’s. Then moved to 10’s and used Dean Markley (not the blue steels). Got back from GIT and ended up trying EB reg slinky. I had never tried them. Hated them at first, then liked them and used them a long time. Now I am back to SIT. Using the Pure Nickel 9’s in standard 25-1/2 scale and 10’s half step down. Gibson scale just 10’s in either standard or 1/2 step down. These Pure Nickel strings are pretty dang good. Last me a long time and are very elastic feeling.
 
Started out using the GHS Boomers and then the Markley Blue Steels...then tried a bunch of everything for a while...Mostly sticking with either Dunlop Heavy Cores or DR DDTs. recently...usually .010 to whatever..I do have to note...I've opened a few of the DDTs and found corrosion on new strings.
I just tried a set of Daddario EXL Nickels and liking them.
 
When i started playing guitar at 14 i chose ghs boomers because i saw an ad in a magazine that said Lynch used them. I later tried Dean Markley signature and quite liked them but tried the Blue steels and hated them. I decided to try D’addario and hated them. I know many love them but to this day i do not like them. Then i went back to Dean Markley signature series awhile but noticed I broke a lot of strings for some reason. Then I tried Ernie Ball slinkys and liked them and never looked back. I occasionally try the ernie ball cobalt or paradigm but always end up back with the cheaper original slinky versions. I use various gauges depending on what guitar/tuning etc
 
thegame said:
A car. In fact, there I am backing over @The~Kid 's skull in my driveway in that avatar pic.
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Have read this a few times and still going over my head. Can someone please explain the joke to me in toddler words?
 
Loved D’Addario EXL120s for the tone and feel but I just rot the strings within few hours so I moved to Elixir Nanowebs (9-46) a long time ago and that’s what I’m using now.
 
Tried everything over the years, would be ok with any of the big 3 brands. Used GHS pure nickels for quite awhile, but switched to nyxls when they came out. They stay in tune and last really long for me. 10s on single coil guitars, 9s on humbuckers.
 
Jakem said:
Loved D’Addario EXL120s for the tone and feel but I just rot the strings within few hours so I moved to Elixir Nanowebs (9-46) a long time ago and that’s what I’m using now.
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my go to for a long time. i’d change strings just because i felt weird using the same strings for months, not because they were corroding or breaking. pretty amazing.
 
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I started on Ernie Ball as that's what every store had way back then. A year or so later I switched to D'Addario and have been playing them ever since.

I did experiment with GHS and Dean Markley about 20 years ago--and then Stringjoy and their "balanced tension" hype a few months ago. Each of those lasted about 15 minutes before I pulled them off and went back to D'Addario. I have been buying them in the box of 25 sets for many years now.
 
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i think my string gauge preferences fall in between these two rock guitar no namers🤣
 
Played bass for 5 years before switching to guitar in '84 or so. First guitar came outta a bros closet that was full of junk. He played 9s. Strings felt like wimpy rubber bands underneath the onslaught of my mighty gorilla mitt that was flailing at them with a pick that was thick as a brick. They didn't snap back fast enough, and seemed to warble outta tune(sharp) before eventually settling down to pitch. New strings didn't help. Guy at guitar shop said to try light top/heavy bottoms (10-52). Bingo, problem solved. I loved the snapback so much I kept trying thicker and thicker low E strings, all the way up to an 58 at one point. But eventually after a couple of years I quit doing meth and dialed it back to 52s for standard pitch.
 
It's mostly my wallet. As a teen, I'd buy what I could afford. I tried plenty of brands with zero clue about the differences. It didn't matter. Strings were strings.

These days, I buy what's on sale ahead of time. My guitars vary in scale length, tuning, 6 and 7 strings, so I can mix and match. I buy mostly D'addario, they are cheap, popular, and the points are a little bonus. I have Dean Markley, Ernie Ball, and GHS, too. 10-52 is my normal.
 
I have largely been playing D'Addario for my playing journey. I sometimes will buy EB, GHS, Fender, I tried a brand called Knucklehead? once (Once as in 10 or 20 sets in bulk), I believe a set of 8s from Rotosound.

D'Addario gives me what I want without any screwing around. I play 9-42 in all tunings and scale lengths that I play. Which admittedly isn't a lot, E down to Drop C#, and right now I only have 25.5" scale guitars.
 


In da 1970's it was whatever i could get a hold of.
GHS Boomers all thru da 80's.
Raised 2 kids & ran a business in da 90's didn't play much.
2000's GHS Big Core Nickel Rockers for 10years.
D'Addario about 5 years after that.
Back to GHS Big Cores.
 
58s would destroy my hand after the first minute.
i think 46 is my cutoff but even detuned i don’t really like the feel of the bass string that thick.

i love the tone of heavier acoustic sets but again it tears up my hands.

i remember one NAMM show hanging in the Suhr booth demoing some axes and the new Hedgehog amp with a rep.
sone guy comes in wanting to sample and when i hand him the gtr he immediately sounds out of tune.
the rep hears it, grabs the gtr and volunteers to tune it on his tuner but after checking it’s perfect.
strums some chords, all good—hands it back and “bLAngO” it’s gone. guy was pulling chords out of tune due to his heavy hands.
 
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