Why are D'addario XL strings so popular?

[Dan_reeves]

I am currently playing Prosteels - what I like about Daddario is string to string pack to pack they are the most reliable and consistent brand I have found. I have never had a bum string from them, not once. They also hold tuning better than any brand I have tried.

Their sound may not be your cup of tea, which I get. I don’t really care for nickels in general myself. But I love Prosteels and Chromes and they have never let me down.

 

[Hounddog409]

The problem is you aren't comparing wine to wine. You can't just go from flats to round wound strings on a dime and not be prepared for a completely different experience. You are comparing wine to champagne.

As round wounds go, I don't care for XLs on bass because they are a little too stiff and they lack "character" for the lack of a better word. DR is my string of choice, but if I need a cheap set that I can grab from a store, I will go for EBs before XLs. The D'Addario XLs just aren't my thing.
I'm trying a set of Chromes right now. They are better than some of the flats I've tried, but I haven't decided if they are of any value to me yet.

Yep. What he said.

Dont care for them at all. I am a DR fan.

 

[b_carville]

I like the XL's.
I think they are the most consistant brand of rounds out.Seem to have the best quality control.I never got a bad pack in 34 years.Can't say that about the other brands I've tried & I like the sound on Fender/Fender type basses.
I don't like Chromes or Pro Steels.Pro Steels seem harsh to me.Flats I like Thomastik's.I'm actually wanting to try other strings again.

 

[michael_t]

As a former acoustic guitar player in my younger days, I used to use D'A Phosphor Bronze strings almost exclusively because they were the most readily available at any local music store and relatively affordable. Also, their QC was very consistent; in fact, I don't remember getting even a single defective string during the 15 years I used them.

So, it was only logical for me to try the trusted brand first when I took up the bass at the age of 52. What appealed to me at that point about D'A was they were one of the few companies that published tension numbers. (Yes, I'm a die-hard numbers enthusiast.)

I have since moved on, but D'A remains a brand that I have no problem recommending as a good starting point for people who are just starting out on bass.

 

[swarfrat]

You are comparing wine to champagne.

Not fair to flats. Champagne is just overpriced white wine, which all sucks regardless of price. Just drink your vinegar straight for the full effect.

 

[sikamikanico]

They're cheap and they work fine.

Like most rounds, XLs won't have the full punch of the flats. In my mind, they lack (upper) mids, but have more going on in the high end. They're just different strings, and you can't just go back and forth to compare. You need to adjust 4 things: 1) your expectations - they are designed to do different things; 2) your gauges - try heavier strings if you want more fullness; 3) your setup - including action and pickup heights; and 4) your technique - chiefly where and how hard you play.

But some strings just don't work on some basses. I got close with XLs, but not all the way. I switched to Pressurewounds for more fullness (I found 50-105 just a bit too stiff), and it's a good in-between point.

 

[Drucifer]

I like the fact that on a site dedicated to talking about bass, people try to use wine or tractors or automobile tires as metaphors to explain how strings sound.

 

[Muttleybass]

Well, I like them. Always available, reasonably priced, and they don't seem to break after 2 weeks. They sound great to me.

I never really knew this was a thing... I just tried almost every other string out there and wound up settling on the Nickel EXL170's .

 

[PWRL]

I love their balanced tension super lights, especially on my Jazz. Even tension, even sound, and they're not nearly as floppy as you'd think, nor as twangy as you'd think.

 

[rydin4lifebass]

For me, they just work. I wanted strings that offer my gauge preference in the four and five string sets, that were affordable, readily available, and consistent. The XL's fit the bill for me in every way. I only wish they had silk ends at the tuning pegs, but most rounds don't so that's not a deal-breaker. I've tried rounds, flats, and tapes from Ernie Ball, GHS, DR, Elixir, and probably others in nickel, nylon, stainless, etc. and settled on the XL's for my round needs and the D'Addario tapes for my tape/flatwound needs.

 

[oldcatfish]

I just put some on after a few years of not using (replacing a set of chromes) on a aria p bass and they are ok but lack the body of the chromes , that I have on 3 other basses.
Thought I needed a set of round-wounds because that's what you do!
Allow me a wine analogy - It's like comparing a Shiraz to a blend (any blend will do)
I am not a cork sniffer! But the difference between chromes or flat-wounds is chalk and cheese
Subjectivity has so much to answer, if xl,s are the to go round-wound the other round-wounds must be like a Pinot noir or even a rose, lacking even more body and sustenance.
Tell me I,m wrong! Tell me why. don't tell me it's fit for purpose, it's subjective, it's a slappers thing, it's a modern thing, versatility, etc, bore me if you must, I know there is no comparison, , horses for courses and all that jabber, but surely flats (not having tried anything but chromes) must be the connoisseurs choice. sorry the serious bassists choice.

--I am one of the players that love them. I have tried a lot of other strings (including Chromes), but keep going back to them (if you're referring to the nickel ones).

Here is why I like them so much...they are versatile (with tone knob and eq, I can play any genre of music), they are very inexpensive, they feel nice (not too stiff/floppy and not too rough), they are available at almost every music store, and for me they last a very long time.

I am one of the few people that prefer the "dead nickel wound" string sound. For me, they sound a little too bright for about the first month, but then sound great for several years. After 3 or 4 years, there is about a year of just ok sound, before I feel desperate to replace them.

The same goes for the D'Addario xl electric guitar strings and phosphor/bronze acoustic guitar strings too....but the useable time frame is shorter. For them I get about 1 week of too bright, but then about 6 months of "great" time, followed by another month of "ok."

I know several guitar players who change their strings weekly...I am so glad that I don't feel the need to do that. I suspect that it has something to do with the composition of the player's sweat corroding the strings. I have kind of dry skin and I wipe off the strings with a dry cloth after every use.

Because they are so inexpensive and long lasting....they save me a fortune. I have multiple basses and guitars, and so do my children. I don't even really look at other types of strings anymore, unless I am trying to cure a case of GAS and want something new...then I try something completely different just for the change. But I always seem to go back to the xl's.

 

[minimalist freedom]

New to talkbass and I have to say I love the response to this my 3rd post.
I get the impression Talkbass is full of thinking , playing bassists that know what they want and take the time and perseverance to search and sometimes find what they want and sometimes just keep joyfully meandering through the bass world

Xl's still not my fav.
Chromes and ghs pressurewounds are.
That says something about what I hear
Or expect to hear in my interaction with my bass, fingers , heart , mind and my strings!
I started on xl s many years ago, also boomers, rotos 66's and some others including hartke ( anyone liked hartke strings)
xl,s are okay
Thats been my string journey so far

 

[Mister Boh]

Consistancy is a big deal for me. I use ernie ball 10s for guitar not because they are my favorite but because they are reliably good.

Haven't tried the XLs but i used GHS boomers for years and was never let down. A bad experience especially with bass strings which are pretty damn expensive can be a deal breaker at least for me.

I got a bad batch of labella flats and almost swore them off even though i really like them.

 

[minimalist freedom]

As a former acoustic guitar player in my younger days, I used to use D'A Phosphor Bronze strings almost exclusively because they were the most readily available at any local music store and relatively affordable. Also, their QC was very consistent; in fact, I don't remember getting even a single defective string during the 15 years I used them.

So, it was only logical for me to try the trusted brand first when I took up the bass at the age of 52. What appealed to me at that point about D'A was they were one of the few companies that published tension numbers. (Yes, I'm a die-hard numbers enthusiast.)

I have since moved on, but D'A remains a brand that I have no problem recommending as a good starting point for people who are just starting out on bass.

 

[minimalist freedom]

That's what I started on

 

[IconBasser]

In my mind, they lack (upper) mids, but have more going on in the high end.

Quite the opposite, I think. What XL's have more than every other roundwound are upper mids in abundance. What they seem a little shy on to me are the lower mids, which strings like Chromes and Boomers have quite a lot of.

XL's are the strings I always come back to, like a local pub or a slightly frumpy on again off again girlfriend that isn't particularly exciting but makes a decent chicken dinner and won't complain when you lay around drinking scotch in your 20 year old underwear. I always feel like they're not quite the perfect string that has everything that I'm after, but they just seem to work for me, more than any other string I have tried.

 

[michael_t]

XL's are the strings I always come back to, like a local pub or a slightly frumpy on again off again girlfriend that isn't particularly exciting but makes a decent chicken dinner and won't complain when you lay around drinking scotch in your 20 year old underwear.

Well put!

 

[sikamikanico]

Quite the opposite, I think. What XL's have more than every other roundwound are upper mids in abundance. What they seem a little shy on to me are the lower mids, which strings like Chromes and Boomers have quite a lot of.

I guess it depends on what freqs you consider upper mids (vs lower mids), and what bass. On my P bass, I found that I wanted to boost slightly at 800Hz to fill what was missing. One of my old amps called that upper mids, so that's my reference But I see that for some, that's mid mids or even the upper end of lower mids, so go figure...

 

[IconBasser]

I guess it depends on what freqs you consider upper mids (vs lower mids), and what bass. On my P bass, I found that I wanted to boost slightly at 800Hz to fill what was missing. One of my old amps called that upper mids, so that's my reference But I see that for some, that's mid mids or even the upper end of lower mids, so go figure...

Aye, pretty much. When I hear "upper mids", I think 1.5-3 khz

 

[TimB 619]

Good strings, good price. As with every string brand out there, some will love them, some will hate them. If you like them, great! If not, lots of other choices out there.