Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
These strings are affordable, and have never given me a problem . |
| Disadvantages: |
As with any other strings, these will NOT make newbie guitarists sound like seasoned pros . Oh, well . |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
yes |
I first began using D’Addario’s line of acoustic guitar strings approximately two years ago, and have not regretted it for even a moment.
The strings I prefer are the “Lights,” priced anywhere from eight to ten dollars per set and found in every music store I have ever visited.
They are bronze-wound, with color-coded ball ends to assist in stringing them in the correct order (i.e. the black ball end goes in a certain place, the red goes here, et cetera). I think it’s a bit much, considering that I DO know how to string a guitar properly, but if it helps somebody else out I won’t complain much.
They are also sealed in a special package that prevents corrosion and other damage to the strings. The packaging consists of a cardboard envelope, and one of the anti-corrosion bags with all six strings sealed inside of it – thus, it’s environmentally responsible, and buyers can feel a twinge of do-goodiness over that.
The strings themselves are very easy to string up, and are very long, which means they will adequately fit pretty much every acoustic guitar ever made. This also means that I have about five inches worth of excess string to clip off, but that doesn’t bother me as long as I don’t manage to poke my eye while cutting them!
As for the “feel” of these strings…they are not very slick at all, and are best suited (in my opinion) for folkish
music or finger picking. Jimi Hendrix songs won’t be covered very well with these strings, I’m sad to say!
The sound of these strings depends partly on the guitar. I have used them on my Takamine G-240 mostly: This combination creates a deep, rich series of tones with a clear and crisp air about them. In other words, intermediate guitarists such as myself will have no problem creating beautiful music with these strings.
As I said, these strings are not very slick, so be sure to build up the fingertip calluses. Even the Lights will leave a nice series of impressions after an involved and lengthy jam session.
Longevity wise, D’Addario is a little above average. I play my guitar quite often (at least six times a week, several times a day when I can get away with it), and find myself re-tuning my instrument often. Even with all the adjustments, tuning, and playing, I only have to change the strings about once a month because they either go dead (don’t sound good at all) or break (which I do a lot regardless of what strings I’m using).
So, to me, it’s more than worth the
price, as I’m getting a very good set of strings. As an added incentive to those of you who enjoy collectible memorabilia, D’Addario offers Players Points inside all of their string packages. The points can be redeemed along with a specified amount of cash for things such as players’ stools, jackets, and caps.
I realize that better guitar strings exist, but I believe I’ll stick with D’Addario – not because lots of best-selling recording artists endorse them, but because they’ve proven themselves time and again. I don’t believe in buying something just because a certain celebrity endorses it, but at the same time I DO believe in finding an affordable product that offers nothing but the highest standards to the consumer. So far, D’Addario has not failed to satisfy my needs. (Gee, I wonder if they’d pay me to say that?)
You will find a wealth of information at daddario.com – better yet, go out and pick up a set and try them out for yourself.
