Elixir vs D'Addario Coated

[smogg]

Has anyone done a direct comparison of these two strings?

I currently use Elixirs, which to my understanding are D'Addario nickle rounds with the Elixir nano-web coating. I really like the Elixirs because up to now they have given me the longest life and best feel of all the nickle rounds I've used over the years.

However, now that D'Addario is making their own coated string I am curious about them as they run about $15 dollars cheaper for a five string set than the Elixirs.

So my three main concerns are;
A) Do they last as long as the Elixir (ie: hold their tone)?
B) Do they feel as good?
C) Do they sound as good out of the box?

Any help would be appreciated,
smogg

 

[bassjr]

Hey smogg, I too use D'Addario (both nickle and pro steel round wounds) and when Coated is necessary Elixir Nanowebs. In my experience with the D'Addario coated strings, they came out of the box sounding rather mellow and almost dead, much like how I felt about the Elixir Polywebs when they first came out. As far as holding tone, I only gave them about 6 weeks and then pulled them off the two basses I had them on, so over the 5 or 6 months that I usually get out of Elixirs, I can't say how the D'Addarios would have worked, but the way they came out, I can only assume that they would have been changed much sooner than Elixirs based on what I like tone wise. In the studio i love the D'Addario's, but for most live situations (especially outdoors in the summer time due to humidity), Elixirs are very consistent with feel and sound to the nickle wound. But then again, you may want to try a set and see if you feel way different. Hope that helps.

 

[smogg]

Thanks bassjr,

Your descriptions help a lot. I never really cared for the polywebs but love the nanowebs. So, if the D'Addario coated sounds like the old poly's then I'll just stick with the nano's.

Thanks for the honest feedback.
smogg

 

[Krucial]

I too have d'Addario's on my studio bass and Elixers on my live bass (next to a flatwound and a tapewound). Because of the price difference (and for just testing fun) I bought a set of coated d'Addario's as a replacement set for either one of those. Now I heard this I'm a lot less enthousiast in trying. Never the less: I let you know how they sound and feel within a year...