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Apparently D'Addario has changed the names and packaging associated with their strings. I think the new stuf is XS and XT

Those below are what I usually keep in stock. Does anybody know the new names (of those below)? Does D'Addario have a chart somewhere?

Mike

The old coated ones that have been on the market for years (EXP) are, I believe, now called XT. The XS is the new secret-sauce coating they are touting as an even better option. Haven’t tried it myself.

Around these parts the XS are $5 to $8 more for a set compared to XT.


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This might help too - https://www.daddario.com/exp-xt/


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They had a promotion of the new coated XS strings which I put on my archtop. They are my new favorite string and I'll be gradually switching my acoustics from Nanowebs to XS. I've always been impressed with that D'Addario does for the lutherie community, this is just my way of saying thanks.

Side note, how can we get a group buy going again?? I am out and I hate buying retail. I used to find packs of 10 for $30 sometimes, but haven't seen that for quite a while.

Pat

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Pat

If you do any of this stuff on a commercial basis, D’addario has a luthier’s program that is worth checking out.


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Just wanted to mention that we have exclusively used D Addarrio strings for the nearly 18 years now and we have never had a bad string out of a pack. We've also never had a defective pack that was missing something or had something it shouldn't in it. I'm estimating this is out of close to 20,000 packs that we have sold/used.

I use them on my personal fleet too. They may not be the best available but they are very consistent in their manufacture and that's important to me.

We were hooked-up with D Addario directly but for us, a busy commercial shop going through a third partly such as Harris Teller made more sense. We are not always the best planners.... so a supplier with no minimums a phone call away was/is helpful.

Great strings Mike!

Please let me add another back pat for D'Addario and their strings. Throughout the years I edited the American Lutherie Questions Column, we received many questions related to strings. We could always count on getting detailed answers from D'Addario for the questioners and for publication. In contrast and sad to say, most other string manufacturers never replied at all to our queries on behalf of luthiers. D'Addario continues to provide information to anyone that asks. Like others here, I thank them for their above-and-beyond help by buying their strings.

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I tried to get interest in this a while back. I think the primary problem is the variety (style and gauge). I myself would want at least the three I pictured above. Seems anyone with the "purchasing power" is not interested.

And thank you all. My understanding now is that XT is similar to EXP, XS is new & improved version.
Mike

Looks like XT is the same as EXP except that the two plane strings are also coated.

Pat

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Pat

How does that work? A quick look at their online catalog shows prices double that of regular retail.

Pat

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Pat

When you are signed up with them and they have your EIN and tax information and you have proven that you are a brick and mortar business discounts apply not listed where you look. Their prices are not as good as direct but the convenience is why we like them.

We pay slightly more than going to D'Addario direct but we also need other things at times that we can get from Harris Teller. They are in Chicagoland making them a reliable 48 hours from our door. For example I use a lot of Deoxit and Dunlap polish/cleaner and I can "one stop" these at Harris Teller but not direct with D'Addario.

But I have to tell you guys including those interested in a group buy the differences these days between Amazon prices and going direct is not all that much and unless your volume is pretty high like a retail store it may not make sense for everyone.

We just moved our shop and the new shop is still under construction likely the rest of this month. There is a LOT to be said for JIT (just in time) inventory where we don't have to lay out tons of cash for crap that we need but may not sell for years.... Amazon and places who help make JIT a reality have been very helpful to us and others who never wanted to be a music store and only want to repair guitars.

I don't participate here in the group buys even though it would save us a few cents per string because of the variety that we have to carry and bulk packaging is a bummer for us in terms of storage and use. Our clients often want to grab a few more packs as they are leaving too, pulling them one at a time out of a sleeve is not optimal.

How do these strings compare to Elixir Nanoweb?

One key difference is that with the Elixirs you have about an 8% chance of opening a pack of phosphor bronze only to find that one of the wound strings is actually an 80/20. Around my shop, a guitar with one differently-coloured string is said to be suffering from “Elixir-itis”.

That’s weird. Elixir must have a different packing line for Canada. I’ve installed hundreds of sets at this point, both PB and 80/20 and I’ve yet to see a packaging error.


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I don’t stock them (I carry D’Addario) but some customers who are Elixir fans supply their own, so I probably install 50 sets a year. Had 4 like this in 2022 and similar the year prior. It’s usually the fourth or third string.

There is also a big industry for counterfeit Elixirs and I see plenty of those too.


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We don't like them, don't recommend them and will not stock them. Like Josh you can bring your own, get a lecture and we will use them.

The dislike is two fold. Coated strings are intended to prolong the life of the string. But you can change your strings 2.5 times with quality D'Addario strings for the cost of one set of Elixir coated strings. I don't see the value here for this reason.

Next the coating on the nano web comes off and looks and even feel terrible when that starts to happen. The poly web does not have this problem but they are still expensive and I prefer fresh strings and more of them.

Different strokes.

Josh how are you knowing when they are counterfeit stings? I never consider this as a possibly but you're right I should. It just never occurs to me.

Hesh, there are a few signs to look for. Firstly, the “too good to be true” deal, usually typified by an a shady ebay seller offering 10 sets of Elixir nanos for $50 or whatever. Secondly, upon examination the wound strings are often clearly not coated at all or have a coating that is atypical of Elixirs, generally a glossy appearance like they’ve been sprayed with lacquer or shellac - the legit Elixir coating is kinda satin. Packaging superficially looks pretty legit but the card stock is different to the real thing, colours a little different and I’ve seen misspellings, usually of the small print text on the back.

The fake strings themselves sound OK - about the same as any budget string.

Hesh, I think (from my experience) that you reversed that. Polyweb sheds, nano much better. But I have moved over to D'Adarrio.

Whoops I had it backwards it's the poly web that we don't like not that nano web. Sheesh getting old sucks....

Yep you're right I reversed them, my mistake and I'm sorry Mike.

Spoke with Dave and what he does not like about the Polyweb is the two fold. First the coating sheds and second the process involved a heated coating (plastic or whatever) that seems to effectively mess with the temper of the string metal and what results is they break easier. So they break and shed and cost too much.

But they sell and may be one the most popular string we see with acoustic players. We rarely see them used by electric players. We very rarely see D'Addarior coated strings but like them way better than Elixir.

Hesh you asked about fake Elixirs, well wouldn’t you know it a customer brought me a set of em to install after a bridge reglue so here’s a pictorial essay for you:



Strings arriving from vendor in a weird unbranded box? She ordered 10 sets and they each arrived packaged individually like this. Strange….



On the inside of the box ….. Chinese?

Now the strings themselves… hang on…



Didn’t Elixir redesign their packaging years ago? This is the old style… and it’s excessively shiny cardstock.



Hard to photograph but there’s clearly no coating on the wound strings. They don’t sound too bad, they’re just generic strings in counterfeit packaging, and they sure ain’t the real deal.

Wow thanks Josh I'll show this to Dave and we are now on the look out for white boxes and shiny inner boxes.

Sheesh everyone has to have an angle these days, dang frauds who needs them.....

Probably a waste of time but comparing one of these intonation wise on the same guitar to an actual Elixir might underscore some of the differences and harm of the counterfeits. It's been my observation that say a pack of 10's from one maker and a pack of 10's from a different maker intonate differently. Kind of a finger print of the string if you will and one more way to tell they are counterfeit.

Thanks Josh.

Hesh wrote:
"The dislike is two fold. Coated strings are intended to prolong the life of the string. But you can change your strings 2.5 times with quality D'Addario strings for the cost of one set of Elixir coated strings. I don't see the value here for this reason."

An additional dislike is they always sound a bit dead to me. That's not always a bad thing - some guitars sound a little better after the strings lose their edge, but many don't, and never having that new string brightness makes the effort of changing strings a disappointing endeavor. Once strings have died they will sound the same for a long time - I think of the coatings as a type of mummification treatment.

Agreed, that’s a good description.


Steve

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"Music is what feelings sound like"