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Elixir opinions? Please read

bikeplate

bikeplate

Supporting Member
Jun 7, 2001
11,883
8,066
Upstate NY
#1
Hi

I've been using Sadowsky strings forever. Love them. Problem is I literally go through a set in one night! I clean then between sets and still kill them. This goes for most brands. Whatever is in the oils of my hands destroys strings I also like them to sound like they are right out of the package. I'm forced to boil them and I'm sick of that exercise

My question is are Elixir strings gonna last me longer? How's the tone and feel compared to a conventional set? Are there other brands I should also consider? Looking forward to responses from players who have gone through the same experience

Rob
 
#3
Elixirs will last a long time and do give great tone. I find them to be very clean sounding and feel great to play. The old sayin is you get what you pay for. I use them on my Ken Smith mostly and I get great tone. Hope this helps
 
#4
I'm in the same camp as you Rob - I kill my strings. I've been doing the denatured alcohol thing with great success for about a year. For now though, I'm ok with it but I would imagine that I will grow tired of the routine eventually.

I'm not sure if you saw it, Roger did a guest column in Bass Gear regarding the conductivity of coated strings. He only recommended Cleartone and D'Addario coated as, according to him, the remainder may cause hum problems with electric instruments.

Link Removed

FWIW, YMMV...
 
#5
I was going to mention the hum issue. It has to do with grounding.

Everyone knows that there is a ground wire that runs to the bridge. This ground passes to the strings and then to you.

Coatings like Elixir's interrupt the ground path. In essence you're de-soldering the ground wire.

I use stainless steel, not nickle.

Nickle corrodes easier so they die sooner. Some people's body chemistry is such that this is accelerated. The boiling and alcohol tricks are temporary because they do not remove all the corrosion and other gunk.

Stainless steel, by it's nature, is corrosion resistant. Hence, it lasts longer. They are brighter but, for me, after a week or so they mellow nicely and then hold for a couple of months.

You can trim the high freqs on your EQ to compensate for the extra brightness.
 
#8
1. I do not have your problem, but:

2. I like elixir strings very much, and they do last longer, but:

3. they sound "broke-in" right out of the pack, which doesn't bother me, in fact I like it, but:

4. since they don't have the new round wound "Zing" to them, this may work against you

I think there is a good chance that part of the tone problem you are having has something to do with your hearing, and new elixirs right out of the box may end up sounding like dull, dead strings to you.
 
#9
I'm a fan of the newer Elixirs with the thin coating, but it's a tonal choice that needs to be made. For those of us lucky enough to like the tone of Elixirs, they give the same tone when new as they will months down the road, and there's none of the super zinginess associated with brand new strings - they sound like they're already broken in on day one.
 
#10
Elixirs will last. the nickels have a very sweet and open top end. they do seem to lack a little low end. In my oppinion, they sound best when paired with basses that sound more "woody". You also should probably drop to a size smaller gauge than you normally use, if you try elixirs.

I have not tried the newer stainless steel elixir. But I imagine they probably have a little more low end, as steel from any give brand usually does.

Elixir also tweaked their coating last year, they should be even more durable now. I don't know if they are now conductive or not. I've not had a bass where touching strings for ground was a thing. But, my favorite bassist uses elixirs on her 60's jazz and her sadowsky jazz. Based on the places she has played and the bands she's been in, grounding issues must not have been a big deal >_>
 
#14
I've used Elixr strings on my bass before and liked them. Yes they aren't real zingy but they do sound like broke-in nickel strings. Which I liked. The coating makes them pretty smooth playing too. They did last quite a long time and I can kill strings pretty quickly too. I would probably still be using them except for 2 things. 1, I couldn't find full 5 string sets in my area anymore. It was buy a 4 string set then buy the B separate. Kind of a bother. 2, when I played with a pick I was chipping away at the coating. Although it didn't effect the overall sound of the string it looked kind of ugly.
 
#15
I dont lkike elixers tone nor feel. They also tend to becme fuzzy after awhile from coating. Only coated strings Ive like the sound and feel of are Dr neons. Though those can be a little draggy at first and they dont do haermonics as well as other strings. The latter became part of the selling advert for dragon skins when they said they have fewer overtones then regular strings. Thoug my main problem with then became that of too many dead in box and broken string cases. Never had such a problem with rotosound swing66 or any other string Ive used.
 
#16
The new coating on elixirs is said to no longer shred/get stringy/get hairy/get fuzzy. I just put on a new set, so I cannot yet personally confirm this, but that's the word on the street.

Dragon Skins do harmonics quiet well, if you aren't using a "dark" sounding pickup.
 
#17
Darkstorm, you were using the famously disliked Polyweb Elixirs and not the Nanoweb that all of us like.

Too much coating on the originals was responsible for both their dull tone and the fuzziness associated with the shredding of the coating.
 
#20
Just put a new set of nano web elixers on my ibby,they feel awesome but, they sound "broke in" as well and i looove the "zing " of fresh strings.
Ok all that being said and the fact that they are light strings,(store didnt have my gauge,small town store), im gonna give em a chance cause after all is said and done ,i have what is commonly called "the plague" as well in other words acidic sweat , maybe we should start the string killer club. ? Lol
 

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