Which Strings And String Cleaner Are The Best?

[MotleyCrue81]

I’m starting this thread to see what strings you guys think are the best and why. I’ve been using Ernie Ball M-Steel strings mainly and they’re good, I’ve tried Dunlop strings and I’m indifferent about them, I also just got some Cleartone strings that I put on today, I haven’t used them enough to really have an opinion about them yet though. The reason I got them to try  out was that they were 3 for $20 at Guitar Center and the employee there that grabbed them for me said the the best guitarist he knows says he uses Cleartone strings. One thing that kind of bugs me about strings though is that when you get a new set, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd strings are nice and shiny and have a good slippery feel to them, but then after practicing, the shine is normally gone and the strings become a little dull and not so slick feeling any more. It’s no doubt just finger oils that are seeping into the metal and are causing surface layer corrosion. I do use string cleaner every time I play and it brings the shine about 90% of the way back to normal each time. So over time, with the string cleaner, the strings diminish pretty slowly as compared to not using string cleaner. I was wondering, which strings do you guys think are the best for electric guitar? Have you ever had strings that never got dull? And if you use string cleaner, do you know of any that brings the strings back to perfect condition? I use the Dunlop 65 String Cleaner and it’s ok. I’m up for trying new things so let me know what you guys think!

Bring hair metal back!

[AlleyCatRocker1980s]

Hi Brett, & Happy Halloween!

I hope your Weekend,& Holiday’s going very well… I just got, on here into the forum

an seen your post! I was down in the City, most of the day catching up with the folks in a Music Venue

that I visit a few times a month..That Venue, has seen the likes of Janis Joplin, Stevie Ray Vaughn,

Ike,& Tina Turner,Pat Travers.. etc ..to name a few there are soo many that have played there!

But anyway, I’m glad to let you in on the Strings I use..so here they are..

*A. On my Dean XZ Electric, wich was Manufactured in the tail end of the 1970’s….78,79.

I believe, it was Deans Chicago XZ very few were made…but I somehow got one.. Everything on this Guitar Brett,is Stock!

I use DR Strings, wich are the Tight Fit Strings I use them for Rock,Metal,& Blues Playing.

Light- 9 11 16 24 32 42   I truly like these, because they are hand wound, an * Made In America!

*B. On my Epiphone Explorer, wich was made in the first part of the 1980’s  between 82,83,84.

Everything on this Guitar also Brett,is Stock…it also has the Gold Hardware as well!

It is made of Korina Wood …..Today Korina is expensive,an in high demand..I believe

Korina Wood,comes from Africa!

On my Epiphone,I use Ernie Ball Super Slinky’s! they are also for Rock,Reggae, & Blues Playing.

Light- 9 11 16 24 32 42  I like the Earnie Ball, their ok! But if I had to choose between the two

I would put the DR Strings,on both Electrics…reason for this is because I find the Earnie Balls don’t

stay in tune too well for me…for what reason I dunnowww???? I’m using up the Slinky’s, I got them I believe

before a Music Store was closing.. But I like the sound of those Strings!

*C. On my Ibanez Acoustic wich was made in 2013.

I use Martin Marquis Light Bronz 80/20

IN-012 016 025 032 042 054

MM- 030 041 064 081 107 137

I like these Strings, because of the crispness,an the highs,& lows I get in them! (I feel the Bronz,has alot to do with this!)

I can do Country Rock, Rock,Blues,an Reggae with these Strings!

Brett, Like I had heard you mention..you like Shiny,an Metal type look on your Guitars!

If you get a chance, an you would like… Try the Martin Bronze Marquis, on your Acoustic just to see if you like them!

An then get back with me, an give me your opinion on them…:)

* Back years ago I had learned from Musicians, that boiling Guitar Strings, kept them sounding fresh, & new!

I learned that trick,when I use to set up Equipment for Bands years ago!  So as a person goes along,an try’s different

things they learn as they go…

String Cleaner, is good too…One really bad thing that I’ve seen Musicians do is when they go on break. They take a cloth an start

wipeing down their Strings,after they put their Guitar aside during break.  My opinion is that it’s bad,because your wipeing the residue from your

fingers,& sweat as well rite into the 6th 5th & 4th Strings. Inturn it does not, prolong the use of your Guitar Strings..it’s actually hard on them!

I think though, wipeing down the back of your Guitar Neck is fine!

thanks Brett, always good chatting with you…….Joe:)

 

 

Practicing Guitar

[AlleyCatRocker1980s]

Since I did the last post, I changed my string completely!

What I’m using now, is the following..

1. For my Acoustic-  D’Addario  Custom Light Strings…  .011-.052  Phosphor Bronze EJ26

2. For both of my Electrics- D’Addario  EXL110…10-46

Years ago I used D’Addario,  So after so many years, I switched back!

I still like the DR Strings though, they sound really great on both my Electric Guitars!

But I found out, that going back to D’Adarrio they sounded really great on my Guitars…plus I went to a lighter gage

as well!  I probably will keep, these gages from now on.

As for String Cleaner, I don’t use any, but to keep my Guitars shiny I use The Music Nomad Premium Guitar Care System!

Practicing Guitar

[Igglepud]

I buy strings based on what color they are. Red strings look cool on a black guitar.

MY ROCK IS FIERCE!!!

[AlleyCatRocker1980s]

Happy Holidays Igglepud,

Yes they do have the different colored strings too!

I think they have some, that glow in the dark too…I think DR Strings make them..

I had a buddy,that went to College an he was a Drummer. They were playing at a place an

they did the song Whipe Out. Well after the song, my buddy did his Drum Solo.

During the Drum Solo,he had the place turn off the lights,an he pulled out a pair of

Flourescent Glow in the Dark Drum Sticks,an he did the Solo in the Dark….it was totally sick…:)

Practicing Guitar

[MotleyCrue81]

I have a nylon string acoustic but not a normal acoustic guitar yet. When I do get one though, I will have to try those Martin strings. I have heard that Elixirs are really good acoustic strings.

Bring hair metal back!

[AlleyCatRocker1980s]

I had heard, the same about the Elixirs..they are quite good! But at one time, I think I heard

they were hard to get??

Practicing Guitar

[Igglepud]

I have D’Darrio strings on my acoustic and am happy with them. I loved playing my nylons, but got tired of the tone.

MY ROCK IS FIERCE!!!

[safetyblitz]

I’ll usually buy either Ernie Ball 9-42, D’Addario 9-42, or Dean Markley 9-42, default to D’Addario nowadays more out of habit than anything else. If the “private label” brand in the store is significantly cheaper, I’ll buy that, as it’s probably just one of those other 3 in different packaging.

I never have string surface corrosion issues. If I didn’t care about loss of brightness in sound, I could keep strings on indefinitely until one of them finally breaks at the bridge during a bend. As it is, I probably do a full string change maybe once every 3 or 4 months, sometimes longer.

I’ve heard many people suggest that the corrosion thing is largely down to differences in the quantity and chemistry of the sweat people produce. I don’t know if that’s scientifically accurate or not. Widely known and polarizing youtube personality Scott Grove says he is affected by this, and he has recommended using Elixir Polyweb (“NOT Nanoweb!”) strings. He claimed they work for him, and that they are superior to other “coated” strings for reasons he details in a video on the subject.

Found the link:

[AlleyCatRocker1980s]

I like Scott Grove, you can see his You Tube Videos under groovy dj’s,

I remember seeing him,and his band on a show called Star Search…This man, is pretty know it all in the field

of Guitars, & Guitar Playing. Thing is, if you want to see his You Tube Videos you can but he won’t be

making any new ones too soon. Alot of people, on You Tube liked to tear him apart they just didn’t like his bluntness

and dry humor..But that was, what made him so unique an you could pretty much expect Scott to tell you like it is.

But his knowledge,is what I admired in the man & to tell you like it is in terms of Guitar!….at times I found him. quite amusing as well..:)

I hope he comes. back to You Tube soon!…all the Best Scott…….

Practicing Guitar

[MotleyCrue81]

But I have to do pick slides.  :0 I know I have sweaty fingers but I don’t think I have the problem he has. I’ve heard that coated strings kill tone. Maybe, maybe not. Either way I couldn’t get those because I do pick slides all the time, who plays heavy metal without doing pick slides haha?

Bring hair metal back!

[AlleyCatRocker1980s]

very true!

Practicing Guitar

[Danimal]

Ernie Ball Super Slinkys have served me well over the years.  For a string cleaner, nothing special, just a towel I wipe them down with on a completely non-regular basis.

[safetyblitz]

Danimal wrote:

For a string cleaner, nothing special, just a towel I wipe them down with on a completely non-regular basis.

For anyone who sweats on the strings/neck a lot, wiping down the strings and neck with a soft, lint-free absorbent cloth of some kind just to dry them off after you play might be helpful. Cotton would be better than polyester, as polyster tends to just move water or oil around rather than absorbing it. An old cotton t-shirt would probably work well, just pick one that won’t leave a lot of lint behind.

[safetyblitz]

MotleyCrue81 wrote:

I’ve been using Ernie Ball M-Steel strings mainly and they’re good, I’ve tried Dunlop strings and I’m indifferent about them, I also just got some Cleartone strings that I put on today,

If you haven’t already, try a bunch of different brands (and “models”) and see if all of them tarnish as badly as the M-Steels. Maybe there are subtle differences in material or manufacturing that contribute to the problem. D’Addario and Ernie Ball are probably the most widely used electric guitar strings in the world, and I get the impression that the “strings losing their shine” issue doesn’t affect huge numbers of players. Maybe your frequent use of “string cleaning product” is actually making your problem worse?

[MotleyCrue81]

No because when I get done practicing, my strings are kinda dull, new or not, and then when I use a string cleaner it brings the shine back because it gets the tarnish or whatever off of the strings.

Bring hair metal back!

[superblonde]

safetyblitz wrote:

I’ve heard many people suggest that the corrosion thing is largely down to differences in the quantity and chemistry of the sweat people produce. I don’t know if that’s scientifically accurate or not. Widely known and polarizing youtube personality Scott Grove says he is affected by this,

I wonder if it’s important enough for him to change his diet! (That would change his personal skin chemistry.) Though I dont see how it’s as bad as he says, “I rust strings after 30 minutes”.. I think I could put new strings in a pot of warm salty vinegar water and they wouldn’t corrode that fast. Even if it is a combination of his personal oils and the weather of where ever he lives.. I just don’t think rust is speedy like that.. so I guess he is exaggerating and really means, his strings rust after “a while”, like a few days? Best thing to do would be to talk to a chemistry prof, I suppose. Are other objects in Scott Grove’s house completely corroded by his touch, let’s say, his bathroom doorknob, or cheaper non-stainless kitchen utensils, or his car door handle – that’s unheard of, right.

I watched the MM video with Tracy Longo recently with interest.. I guess I differ from all standard opinions because I wipe down my strings with alcohol swabs (buy a box of 100 for $2.00 or whatever at the drug store). I am always surprised at the black stuff that comes off the strings onto the pad. yuck. And for string oils I find it curious that anyone would want an industrial petroleum product on their strings which means it absorbs into the fingers (or gets on the pick and then the pick gets held in the mouth which means.. yuck) — to me the only oil that makes sense is food grade mineral oil which is also dirt cheap and doesn’t turn rancid like others like the suggested alternatives like vegetable oil. I’m not anywhere close to being an expert though so.. I still wonder about it.

After a long time of not doing anything to my strings, I did notice an immediate change in tone for the better after an alcohol wipe down and oil treatment.. they were sounding really tinny beforehand.. it turned the thick strings warmer – at least that’s what I thought I heard.

I'm an intermediate student of Metal Method. I play seitannic heavy metal. All Kale Seitan! ♯ ♮ ♭ ø ° Δ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬
And on the Seventh Day, Mustaine said: ∇ ⨯ E = - ∂B / ∂t ; and there was Thrash; and it had a ♭3; and it was good.

[AlleyCatRocker1980s]

A few years back, I had not played my one Electric Guitar, I turned down the String loosely

as to not warp the Guitar Neck…I wasn’t playing it for a while. I had gotten another Guitar,an was breaking that one in..

A year later, I opened up the case to the other Guitar to find the Strings pretty badly rusted!

The rust was on my Tuning Heads,as well as the Tail Piece!

 

Practicing Guitar

[AlleyCatRocker1980s]

I think there are a lot of pros, and cons to String Cleaner!

On one hand, if there is a lot of sweat build up, gunk on your strings

Cleaner may be effective. The down side, is that Cleaner after a time may leave

build up on the Neck, & Frets on the Guitar Neck.

I remember, Scott Grove saying that to just use regular tap water to clean the Frets of the Neck??

But I just hate the Idea, of rotted wood closely around the Frets of the Neck a real night mare..

How could you, remove build up over the course of time with just plain tap water??

That was the only thing, I kind of questioned Scott on..

Practicing Guitar

[MotleyCrue81]

If you put string cleaner on a cloth, or onto “The String Cleaner” thing that I have, with the cloth you can just pinch the string so that you’re kind of grabbing it from underneathand slide up and down, that’ll make it so you don’t get anything on the fingerboard or neck, and with the string cleaner, it’s impossible to get stuff on the fingerboard or neck.

Bring hair metal back!

[safetyblitz]

AlleyCatRocker1980s wrote:

I remember, Scott Grove saying that to just use regular tap water to clean the Frets of the Neck?? But I just hate the Idea, of rotted wood closely around the Frets of the Neck a real night mare..

I don’t remember whether he claimed that applies to unfinished fingerboards or not. I think the sensible thing is to care for the surface of your guitar neck the same way you would care for a high quality piece of furniture with whatever finish it has. For glossy maple necks, water is probably fine, though if you submerged it for an extended period, water might sneak in under the frets, etc. eventually.

I like rosewood fingerboards because I find them less sticky than gloss-finished maple fingerboards. Once a year I’ll clean unfinished rosewood with a cloth dabbed with a small amount of “Old English” furniture polish (which I believe is mostly naphtha), then polish immediately with a fresh dry cloth. Unless you live in an exceptionally arid climate, I think you’d have to abuse a fingerboard pretty severely and frequently with volatile solvents for “dryout out” of the wood to become an issue. If that ever were the case, just a dab of mineral oil would probably go a long way. I haven’t experienced it first hand, but the horror stories you hear about excessive application of mineral oil to fingerboards sound plausible.

[STM]

I use d’Addario 10 -46. I tried Ernie Ball and I found that though the tone is better initially, they loose tone a lot quicker than the d’Addario strings.

[MotleyCrue81]

Ya I just got some DR coated strings and some Fast Fret cleaner. In a couple weeks I’ll put those DR strings on. I’m going to do pick slides on the strings too, just to see for myself whether or not the coating comes off. I can’t even see the coating on the strings so idk, I guess I’ll just find out.

Bring hair metal back!

[safetyblitz]

MotleyCrue81 wrote:

Ya I just got some DR coated strings and some Fast Fret cleaner. In a couple weeks I’ll put those DR strings on. I’m going to do pick slides on the strings too, just to see for myself whether or not the coating comes off. I can’t even see the coating on the strings so idk, I guess I’ll just find out.

Yep. Regardless of the “hows” and the “whys”, ultimately it’s a matter of putting something to the test and seeing if it works for you.

[MotleyCrue81]

I recently got some Kyser Dr. Stringfellow string cleaner and it seems to revitalize the string just a little bit better than the Dunlop 65 String cleaner. I also got some fast fret, I don’t like it. You can’t get it on all sides of the string. This may work find for people with normal fingers but mine are oily and it’s not working too well. Which brings me to a story. I went to my cousin’s recently and he has a guitar, I picked it up to play and the strings felt really nice and fresh. I asked him hey did you just put on new strings? He said no, those were put on a few weeks ago. And so I was like hrmm, what kind are they. He says Ernie Ball M Steels. Those are what I mainly use but mine are never like new a few weeks after putting new strings on like his were. He also plays a little bit every day too so it’s not like they’re fresh from just not being used. So I have come to this conclusion: I have string eating finger oils. But why? Well I do eat a lot of junk food, fast food, probably not the best diet even though I’m in strong physical shape. I weigh 230 pounds, about 10% body fat. So I’m going to experiment with myself here, I’m going to try to eat only fruits, vegetables, eggs, and mildly processed foods that are pretty healthy. I’m going to try to get myself down to 210 pounds by going running a few miles every day. Once I get there, I’m gonna put on some fresh strings and see how it goes. I haven’t tried the coated DR strings yet but I plan on putting them on next week and since my fingers will still be oily, it’ll be good to test how those coated strings will last. Time to start the experiment haha.

Bring hair metal back!

[AlleyCatRocker1980s]

Thats great to hear Brett!

You know it’s really strange, your talking of a diffrent way that your changing your eating habits..

I started a new regiment, in eating as well!  I’m ‘5-9″ tall an I’m use to being around  175 to 180 lbs..

Two weeks ago I weighed 250 lbs. Wich I feel is quite heavy for my size!

Actually I’m more comfortable, being 170 to 175 lbs…I totally cut down my intake of Alcohol,an I’m mainly on a

Vegetable Diet at this time!……This morning for breakfast I had corn, an carrots, an a light cup of coffee.

I’m pretty much eating alot more vegetables, an sea food….Soon I’m cutting out the coffee,an I’m going to an herbal tea!

Every morning I get up, an I walk like 2 miles…..I’m use to being pretty active because of my job, an being to work every day.

That was before, my job moved to Tennessee…But I remained, in Michigan…an at one time I was a Assistant Line Mgr. for a Company

that Employed 900 people..that job kept me constantly moving through out the day.

But I never had, an oily fingers situation going on..but I had knew alot of people did! So your not alone there Brett..an I feel

your on the right track, in altering your diet!… It will help, the oily fingers plus it will add years to your life!..an that is a good thing!

We all want to keep Rockin, for alot of years…Because Music is the thing we love, an it’s so much a big part of all our lives here…in wich we

love to do!   So good luck on that Brett,……Thing is I gottah, remember is that I’m going to the city in a few days, an I just know I’m going to cross

paths with a Mc Donalds Restaurant, or a Pizza Joint,….I love that fast food stuff too, plus a Coke as well!  But maby, I could grab a Salad so that will be

a good move instead for me…

Practicing Guitar

[rightonthemark]

i have used everything from ghs boomers (that’s what i started on in the 80s) to dean markley, ernie ball to d’addario (and probably some others i can’t think of now). i found d’addarios consitently the best for staying in tune and not breaking. before switching to d’addario i had been using ernie ball strings because they stayed in tune for longer but i started breaking them. i have gone between 10s and 9s and even did a 9/10 mixed set for a while. but now i use 9s.
as for a cleaner…i’ve only ever used ghs fast fret. i always thought it worked well. but i haven’t used a cleaner for well over a decade.

two things i use exclusively are d’addario EXL 120 strings and dunlop jazz 3 picks.

\m/

rock and roll ain't pretty; that's why they picked us to play it.

[Danimal]

MotleyCrue81 wrote:

I also just got some Cleartone strings that I put on today

Any thoughts on the Cleartones?  I just recently got a new Les Paul that had those strung on at the factory and WOW what a difference!  They really sound incredible, to the point I’ve bought more sets to restring my other guitars when the time comes.  I was really impressed, despite the Guitar Center hype, which is usually just a “here’s where we can make ourselves some money” pitch…

[MotleyCrue81]

They sounded really good at first, but they just didn’t last very long with my fingers. The strings are pretty dull and have lost a lot of tone. So I think for people with normal fingers, they’re good strings, but for people like me, they don’t work too well.

Bring hair metal back!

[Danimal]

Well that’s disappointing, sorry to hear it.  Sounds like your best bet is something cheap like regular ol’ D’Addarios that you can restring often to get that new sound.

[MotleyCrue81]

Yepp, just gotta keep experimenting haha. Maybe just put together a small string guide for people with oily fingers haha.

Bring hair metal back!

[AlleyCatRocker1980s]

How to change your Electric Guitar Strings?

by, Fendermusical

I’m shure a lot, of you here in Metal Method know how to string a Guitar…

but this was interesting! An gave me, real sound advice for the next time I go to

put strings on my Guitar!

Practicing Guitar

[Author]

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