Comparing Coated strings, D’Addario XS Phosphor bronze vs Elixir PB Nanoweb on The Same Guitar
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- Опубліковано 30 лип 2022
- Here we are doing a comparison of the most popular coated guitar strings on the market, D’Addario XS & Elixir. Additionally, we are embarking on a cultural word explanation, where the southern word “gomb”, is discussed, and appropriate illustrations of its usage are given. While gombs are not the primary subject matter of this video, please consider this very universal word, and the demonstration of its usage, to be an additional benefit of your viewership, and an effort on my part to enhance your vocabulary. The opinions expressed in this video are mine and mine alone, and are based on my experience only. I have great love and admiration for both of these string manufacturers, and believe for the most part, both offer an extraordinarily great product.
www.daddario.com/
www.elixirstrings.com/
www.edmondsguitars.com/
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#D’addariostrings
#Elixirstrings
#Edmondsguitars
Thanks Shawn for a well executed coated strings demo. You are most frequently well spoken and clear in your description’s
The XS to my ears had a more punchy bottom end. The Elixirs a stronger mid’s presence. I like them both just depends on the day of the and my ear wax levels on that particular day .
Awesome video to come back on man. Ive been on Elixirs for years, but im gonna try out these Xs strings now. it seems like the elixir sounds a bit muddy, but I think its because of the way they resonate. For country/bluegrass, gotta give it to diaddario on this one. $17.99 a pair is high, but for long lasting not too bad. the time I get out of elixir is why I've even stuck with em to begin with. God bless.
God bless you my friend! Yeah, both companies make a really good product in my opinion. I really can’t say that I like one over the other to tell the truth. I am enough of a tightwad I guess to go on which one will have the most longevity lol.
THANK YOU for playing the Strings on the SAME GUITAR to gain a TRUE Comparison. So many other "Comparatives" use different Guitars and find that a bit useless since the Woods, Guitar Condition, Shape & Style of Guitar, etc. influence how the String sounds! or is it more how the Guitar sounds with the Strings? Anyway, this was great. Appreciated the effort & patience to switch out the Strings :)
Lol I’m with you there. I was glad to do it, and I appreciate you for watching.
Before the coated string craze, I always preferred the sound of DeAddario over all the other brands. Now I’ve got the sound that I liked and they last longer. Win win for me anyway. New subscriber love the content and your playing. Thanks
Hey Gary, I hear you there; I have used D’Addario on electric, mandolin, and banjo all of my life, and used J17s forever. I tried just about everything, but to me they are the best string company around. I sure appreciate your compliment, and willingness to subscribe.
Shawn, You should do a string comparison on your Edmunds 18 between the XS p.b. mediums vs Martin MA550T (treated) medium p.b. I know many would like to see/hear that comparison as they are very popular long lasting strings now.
I am so thankful you used the word gom
😂 a man has got to. And this day and time, we are living in an infestation of gombs. 🤣
I have been using Elixir strings for over 20 years and have loved them. But, as you mentioned, they don't seem to last as long as in the earlier days and I've had an issue with the G string going dead prematurely. This video comparison, with your guitar, the D'Addario XS has a more natural tone. That being said, everything is subjective to the instrument. Based on this review I will be purchasing a set of D'Addario XS. Thanks for the video review!
Man I appreciate you watching. Yeah, I have also been having some trouble with the Elixir D on my electric sets as well. Excess are worth a try I reckon, even if a man don’t stick with them, he can say he tried lol.
Class player Shawn to my ear they both sound good,my favourite is ernie ball ALU BRONZE or String Joy .
Lovely video Shawn,i laughed my ass of about basement guy haha!
Thank you my friend! Yeah, you know that guy is out there, and even though I talked about his type in the video, he will still show up. 🤣
Love the crispness of the Daddarios, especially on the low end.
I am not a huge Martin fan with the big muddy bass. I do love my modern Guild D20 and Yamaha LL16D guitars which have tight and focused bass.
I could live with the Elixer tone but it seems to impart more of a string tone than a guitar tone.
That Edmonds guitar is the bees knees. Congratulations.
Man I hear you on that, it seems like elixir is a little more wirey, while the D’Addario has more body to it. Nothing wrong with either, just a matter of taste I guess… Yeah, you can’t go wrong with a Edmonds guitar! Sounds like you have a nice collection yourself man. I appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment.
Oh yea, missed ya, good to hear your ok!
Brother I’m like a weed, it would take something mighty to route me out lol.
Great comparison Shawn! Just out of curiosity, have the XS gotten back to it's earlier form in the year since you made this video? Thanks in advance bud!
Thank you very much Dan! Yes, I think they have resolved some of the issues. For sometime I knew of several folks, including myself, having difficulties with the winding just above the ball coming loose and buzzing, or causing the string to go instantly dead. it seems like a lot of that is sorted out though.
The D'addario sound the best to my ears .Awesome sounding guitar. I keep going back and forth between Martin 92/8 flex core and the new Ernie ball Everlast. I really love the Everlasts.
Thank you my friend! Those are two sets I haven’t tried, but I am definitely going to because of your recommendation. Folks are talking a lot about the new EBs, and I really need to see what I am missing out on with those.
Your welcome sir. Ain't no 2 guitar the same, but mine really likes those EB Everlasts, the martin flex core sound great to me but they are not coated and don't last as long. Good luck,& I think you will like the Everlasts.
I detect a difference, but they both sound great! Maybe theDiAddario have a bit louder bass, and the Elixir’s have a bit more tone separation and a bit more ring?
Great video Shawn. I have been using Elixir 16102 Med. PBs for years too. I tried one set of these XS D'Addarios. Honestly I was unsure about them. I kinda didn't think maybe they lasted quite as good as the Elixirs. I can say I have noticed the same problem as you with the fraying, mostly on the third, and forth some on the Elixirs. I still use them most all the time. I sometimes go back to the old standard D'Addarios on my cheaper knock around guitars. I'm not a gomb, but I'm a tight wad on my cheaper guitars, 🤣. I think to my ear in your video, that the XS is a little brighter sounding than the Elixirs maybe. I just commented on a post below. A friend got me some Elixir last week. Like 9 bucks a set. The packaging looks correct and the number. I haven't opened them yet. Maybe I've been had by a knock off. 🙄😬EE
Man you gotta be on the lookout for them gombs! 😂 Elixir is sure hard to be at any time in my opinion! I haven’t gotten any of the knock off sets, well I guess I can’t say that for sure, but unless they wormed their way into the stock of juststrings.com and Amazon, what I got before was legitimate. I have seen those selling on eBay though, and surely would have fell for it if they were being shipped from the United States. Once I saw they were being shipped from China, I’d figured out what they were pretty quickly.
@@ShawnBrockMusic The sets I have use that were fraying on that third like you were talking about were legit Elixers I'm pretty sure. I really looked at the packaging closer today. If these nine dollars sets are knock offs they at least got the packaging down pat. Everything looks identical to me. I just put new strings on my 18 just before I got these. so I didn't actually open the package. I am curios to see what the deal is with them. I am using XS strings, as of right now, on my mandolin. I like those pretty well so far. That ol' Edmonds D18 sure sounds good Shawn. I wish I had mine 😉
EDIT---I just looked this up. May be of interest to people ordering Elixers. ua-cam.com/video/Ynz4JwiO7Ww/v-deo.html
@@luvbgrass yeah, I also had the fraying issue long before the knock off imports came along. I’m not 100% sure on the entire history of Elixir, but D’Addario used to make the strings, and Elixir coated them. I’m pretty sure all of the process was done in the United States. Then at some point, Elixir started doing all of the process in house, and I’m not sure if it was then or later, they moved operations to Mexico. It was probably around 2014 or so when I started to notice the fraying issues. I think it is quite possible your friend got you legitimate sets, but that someone was letting them go at the dealer cost. I have known a few people throughout the years who have provided such a hook up at various times lol. Please let me know how those XS do for you on the mandolin, because believe it or not, I still haven’t tried a set on any of my Mandolins. I had a big stock of J-74 and 75, from back in the day when you could get them for under five dollars a set lol. My supply is pretty much depleted now though. 😟
@@ShawnBrockMusic Hey Shawn. I still haven't looked at the actual string on those Elixirs yet. Maybe Ill remember tomorrow, lol. I've tried a good number of different strings on my mandolin. You know how subjective the string thing is. I've had a couple sets of the XS on my mandolin and honestly I like them pretty good. I think the tone is a little different than the uncoated strings, but they are good. And like the Elixirs on my guitar, they seem to last pretty good for me on my mandolin. With that being said I'm not a super mando player, and I don't play it every day. I just put a set on my buddy's F-5. He wanted to give them a try. He knows I love to string a mandolin 🙄🤣. I wish Elixir sealed their package like D'addario. EE
I finally checked those strings today. They look like Elixir and have the quality looking ball end and winding. But they are definitely not coated strings. I looked an them with magnification. The seller on ebay, from China, says they are coated. I'd give bad feed back but I'm not the buyer. So, lesson learned here. I wouldn't recommend anyone buy a string from China.
I'd be happy with either set. They sound very similar. Picked up my guitar last night, and marvelled at how good the strings were sounding after 2-3 months of consistent playing. I've been using the Martin Lifespans. I want to give the D'Addario XS strings a go soon though, they sound great.
Actually, those martins are doing so well. It's about the wettest year in history here in Sydney Australia, and they still sound brilliant. They won't last nearly as long in summer when I start sweating on them. My sweat seems to be like Alien blood, very acidic for strings...
@@michaelwebster8389 lol, that's all the shrimp there is your problem. God bless
@@Zombie_Strings you don't think prawns mix with Martins?
@@michaelwebster8389 martins maybe, radioactive waste from Fukushima, definitely not.
I’m with you michael, I don’t know that I would be unhappy with either one of these to be honest. Regarding the Martins, I can tell that you are like me, and get a lot of satisfaction out of a set of strings lasting for a long time. It is like that set of XS I talked about in the video, that I kept on a guitar for six months. I guess some people have good war stories, at all I have to contribute is talking about a extraordinarily long playing life for a particular set of strings. 😀 it reminds me of my grandfather talking about how much candy and soda he could get for a nickel lol. I was so proud of that old set of strings, I actually thought about putting them back in the package and hanging them on the wall. 😂 I am serious when I tell you this. Man, I probably need to get a life lol.
The great thing about a having a spectacular guitar is the strings become less important. Both sound great to me. Great demo
Well, I’m glad you said it and not me lol, but I agree 100%. I haven’t tried a variety of strings on this one, and was surprised that it really seemed like the guitar did not care at all.
@@ShawnBrockMusic awesome
In my experience You are right about Elixir G string. In let say last 10 packs there happen to be at least in 3/4 cases significantly earlier aging of the coating and a few times I even have seen partial discoloration and difference in touch experience along the G string.
I thought, I just had a bad luck and my supplier received faulty batch or something…
Good to know it is not just my paranoia 😂
Hopefully Elixir will notice and take care of the matter. 🤞
I sure hope that they do; I had many years of joy on those strings.
I am really digging the XS 80/20 13-56’s on my Edmonds D18. I think they are a great match for that particular guitar in my opinion. I just put a set of Stringjoy 80 20 phosphor bronze that I had laying around for about a year on and they were ok for about a week. Haven’t had the guitar long enough to experiment with other string brands yet.
Both of my Edmonds guitars also seem to like XS as well, but I have only tried PBs on them. I have some of the XS 80/20 that I’m going to try on them. I am really excited about the potential of the XS 80/20, as for some reason, I have always liked 80/20. Any word on your Edmonds 28? The suspense is starting to get a little overwhelming lol. I rely on you guys getting something new and telling me about it, for the more pleasurable part of this business. 😉
@@ShawnBrockMusic No word Shawn, I am in no hurry because I’m happy and content with my D18 at the moment, and don’t want to bug him over it. I’ll let nature take its corse with it lol. I think it will be done by year end….
I’ll tell you what I’m really chomping the bit for all summer…the 2022 F450 King Ranch I ordered March 7 and don’t have a build date as of today😩
@@skoffco you might have to talk to Jimmy about that King Ranch; I bet he could probably put you one together quicker than the factory could lol.
@@ShawnBrockMusic lol, Shawn I believe you’re right!
I don't know Shawn, I guess I got caught up your playing. Love the Edmonds guitar. Strings didn't matter that much to me.
I think the D'Addario's would help slightly make a guitar more balanced that has the lot of low end. Alarm quality dreadnaughts lean a little heavy on the bass... On a brighter guitar I'd stay away from them... And probably also stay away from elixirs.. they're not exactly a darker string.... If you're rocking 17's on a quality guitar, You're not going to be hurting for bass! I do sing the XS strings Don't really suffer from the coating veil. Which I can hear on the Elixirs... With heavy strings the XS's sound really good
LOL how do you spell “gahm“? (I guess I could always look in the transcript😊). I will have to add that to my vocabulary here in North Carolina. After listening to this in the high fidelity of my iPhone😳 The Elixirs sound brighter and less bottom end which makes me favor the XS. Any thoughts, queries, discussion on Martin lifespan? I love your channel and thanks for sharing all the great music and instruments, Strings, yada yada
“Gum“. Got it👍
Great comparison video Shawn..Were the Elixirs here P.B.? They sound slightly louder, maybe slightly more resonant? The e and b sound slightly clearer than the XS? Did you think the Elixirs were slightly louder overall? I also have felt that the newer XS medium P.B. sound less clear than the original XS mediums. By the way, D'Addario has released the XS 80/20 and are available now. I have a set that will be here tomorrow and I am interested to see how they feel and sound..The 80/20 mediums have 175.5 lbs of tension vs 185.5 lb for the XS P.B. I believe the Elixir medium P.B have a tension of 188 lbs.
Hey Bill, thanks for the email about the XS 80/20, I do have some and haven’t put them on yet. I want to do a video of the XS 80/20 and XS PB. On this video, both are PB. I think the Elixir May have been a little louder, and a little brighter, but they were just out of the package, and I had played the XS just a little more, and think they were settled in more. I feel like the tone is slightly different, and it would come down to a question of longevity for me. Once again you have proven your great value as a resourceful individual, and I sure appreciate you posting the pounds of tension on these three different sets. One thing I should have mentioned in the video and failed to, is a lot of people feel the XS PB has a stiffer quality to them than Elixir. So according to the information you have provided, they are likely to not have this problem with the XS 80/20. You are awesome sir!
I've never heard the expression "Gomb" before. I do believe I'll add that one to my vocabulary. Around here we call those sorts of folks "Oregon Go-Getters". That's the guy who's sittin at the bar when it gets to be 4:30 or so and he says "Well, I guess I better go getter" so he can go pick up his wife down at her day job and drive her over to her night job. He's a real "go-getter".😃
That guitar of yours is just a HOSS! Dear god! Thanks for your videos. Cheers from Canada
Man I sure appreciate you watching! Yeah, I have not lost my infatuation with that guitar in the least; I love it more and more every day.
Shawn if you have 2 guitars alike put the D'Addario on one and Elixir on the other and try to play both an equal time limit see which one last the Longest. In this video the D'Addario had a brighter sound. Sometimes the way the string sounds has to do with the guitar. On some the D'Addario may sound better on others the Elixir. What kind of pick do you use? And is that a Cowboy rain Guage 🌧 on the Wall ? Hats upside down 😁👍.
Yeah man, I roughly tried to do that, and found they lasted nearly the same, but the G and to some extent the D, would start fraying on the Elixir. Oddly enough though, I am currently trying the same thing on my telecasters, with one set from each manufacture. Yes, I have a lot of hats lol.
there were a lot of counterfeit eBay Elixir sets out there, documented on AGF. I bought some 3 years back....eek!
Elixirs are better for slower tunes ... more dramatic tunes. They are also betyter on guitars that don't have the horsepower of yours!
For that sig model Thompson I can see why you would like either but the D' Arrdarios sounds sweeter - and still good low E.
I like Elixirs on my long scale 25.6" Furch Orange i bought from your playing Shawn! but I use light's 12-53.
For my big piano tone guitar...My Goodall Standard Englemann/Macassar Ebony I use Plectrum from Thomastik Infeld. For my 3 Gibson slopes two i use round wound monels one Elixir (1999 Gibson J45 ROSEWOOD). For my 00-15 martin I use D Arddarios EJ-16.
For my KOA Goodall GC I use real Elixirs 80/20's.not bought on eBay. Lots of overtones!
Man you sure have one fantastic collection of instruments over there! Just while reading your comment, it brought about lust in my heart. ☺️ you also make some very good points regarding instruments with a lot of horsepower, versus those which thrive more on the subtleties. I feel like 80/20 does offer a little something extra when playing softer styles or passages. I guess they just cut through a little easier for me. I’m glad that you pointed out, often times people missed the correlation between string gauge and scale length; 13-56 has a more manageable feel on a 25.4 scale length, than they do on a 25 or longer. It can be a complicated process for sure.
I think the Elixirs are a little more warm. They bought sound good. I always use Elixirs, they last a long time
That Edmonds sounds great, but for me the D'addario all over the Elixir. The Elixir sound too tight and mids don't set forward enough for me in comparison to the XS.
Shawn...I am curious did the Elixir strings you had trouble with were from China? I heard the Chinese are selling bogus copies of Elixir string sets!
I am pretty sure he said they did. I recently had a friend get me three sets of Elixir PB. They came from China and I looked under magnification, NO COATING 😡😡 I ordered some from, I think it was Sweet Water and they were the real deal. I wouldn't order from anyone in China, or that get strings from China. I love Elixirs but I want the real Elixir. EE
The best sounding coated strings I have used are Stringjoy Foxwoods.
I sure appreciate the recommendation; I have been meaning to try those out for sure! D’Addario is starting to disappoint me with the G.
I'm sure you could cross me up with a double blind sampling Shawn but I hear a very slight more focussed fundamental with the Elixer. Almost like it lets the hog come through a tad more. That said, I play strings with nickel in them. They just seem to be born for D18s. BUT they reflect the quality of tone in the specific instrument / wood & that may be why many with instruments that are lacking in that regard, dislike nickel bronze or Martin monel strings. It's unfortunate that those strings aren't available coated for players like yourself who need that.
Man I am certain I could easily be crossed up as well if I didn’t know which was which. It sounds like we are completely on the same page; while recording this though, the XS 80/20 came, so that means I will have to do another one with them and the XS PB LOL! I like nickel strings very much, and really wish they would offer them in a coded variety. Maybe D’Addario will…
@@ShawnBrockMusic Martin says the retro monel (nickel / copper alloy wrap wire) is naturally corrosion resistant. Perhaps the D'Addario nickel bronze is similar, having nickel content to resist the acidic effect of many player's hands. Monel strings take a couple days to get used to but they are now my go to for hog tone.
@@blairswanson44 Man I have got to get me a set; I love the sound of nickel strings a lot! They just have such a smooth quality to the sound when they have been played in.
They don’t sound as good as the Ernie Ball aluminum Bronze med/light. However, the coating on elixirs always felt better and gave less string noise. The DA sound better in my opinion but after the First break in, you have to wait until the next phase settles before they are perfect. Only issue is the tuning stability. The coating settles and sticks in the nut. My opinion.
Man I really need to try out the Ernie Ball, as a few of you have mentioned them, and I never have looked at some of their newer offerings of this century. I use EB on electric frequently, and have always had good luck with them.
@@ShawnBrockMusic have you played string joy handmade in the usa.
Those aluminum bronze add thunderous bass and a loud brighter sound but not in a bad way. That last a long time if you wash yours hands before playing. They are ruff though and if your like me and get used to coated strings, they’ll build them calluses right back up
@@anthonykelly5 Man I have not! You know me, always ready to give anything a try though.
Shawn, you mentioned you used a sat of XS 17’s. What are 17’s?
Man it is just my foolishness, and inability to break an old habit. I should have said XS medium, but I can’t get it out of my head that these are a coded version of the J-17.
Gotcha, I read the model number and I saw the 17 in there and I thought I bet that’s what he’s talking about. No worries. I have a lot of family in the Copperhill area of Floyd County Virginia. I want to get down to the Edmunds Shop inGalax before the year is out.
@@larrywconner7586 Man you should definitely stop by and check Jimmy out. I will warn you though, if you do, you will probably order a guitar lol.
Me encanta este tipo, te ch…ga, con una sonrisa y hasta sabrozo te sabe😂
They are pretty close... I hear sightly better note separation on the XS.
I think I could go back-and-forth all day, and give a solid argument for either one of them lol. I’m too indecisive I think lol.
Elixirs are a tad brighter(good on dreadnaught of mahogany make imo); the nasty thing about Elixirs is it’s shedding but I got a solution to make it go away lol sssh); I got Elixirs coated($15) but not the more expensive XS…I just ordered it though but after hearing you I kind of go iffy 😂; btw I got hogs,rosewood( acoustic Martins y Guilds USAmade)in all solid y a layered one( y one con classical guitar)
Both are excellent strings I think, and too doggone expensive lol.
It was Daddario xs 80/20 and elixir polyweb 80/20?
Actually both sets were phosphor bronze, and the Elixir was the Nanoweb. I’m glad you pointed this out to me, as at the time I made the video, D’Addario had not released the 80/20 XS, so the title originally did not contain enough information. I did end up also doing a comparison of the XS PB and XS 80/20 as well.
There are supposedly a bunch of Elixir knockoffs out there, so maybe a set of those snuck in? eBay is a big culprit in selling copies straight from China or Hong Kong.
A friend of mine just got me a few sets of Elixer 16102 medium for like $9.00 bucks a set. I said I don't know how you are getting those for that price. I glanced at the packaging and the number. Looks authentic, but I haven't opened them or tried them yet. Maybe I've been had. 😨😞
The sets I had which were undesirable, came from Amazon and Just Strings, so I was pretty sure they were legitimate. I have seen the eBay sets you are talking about, and stayed clear of those. 😊 I suppose it is possible those sets could have filtered in just about anywhere though. I am certain the set that I bought and used for this video is a good one, and while I never got completely disgusted with them, it is good to see if there was a problem, that they have corrected it. I sure hope Lovegrass ain’t been had! Elixir is a great product imo!
We were had, lol. The China Elixirs I got from my buddy dont have any coating on the string at all. He broke a forth on our second 45 minute set today. I have never broken a REAL Elixir string. EE
@@luvbgrass Man I just knew it! A man can’t turn around without some gomb hindering him. 😂
Дадарио не хуже .
Have you called up for mommy to make you a sandwich yet? 🥹
you could make rubber bands sound good
I sure appreciate it, but I don’t know about that. You have given me an idea though, we might should give it a try for fun. You know something I always wanted to try and never have, playing the saw.
Not a lot of difference
😂 I’m from NC and everybody here knows what a gom is.
Brother gomb might be my favorite word in the English language. Or, Appalachian English language, for those who require political correctness. You know, those gombs lol. 🤣
My ears tell me xs are better on your guitar
Flat picker's PLASTIC review...😂😂😂
Did your mommy ever make you that sandwich yet?