Guitar strings? Brand and Gauge

[NickC]

Electric
Elixer .009 - .046

Acoustic
Elixer .012 - .053

[chief mushroom cloud]

Everly B-52s 10-46
I've tried everything else, and these seem to have staying power, less breakage at ball end, and actually seem to stay in tune longer...
this has been my experience FWIW

[Roe]

depends on guitar:

ernie ball cobalt 9-46 & 10-46
Snake oil Rock 9.5-46
Pyramid blue, green and red 9-46

[rp]

Any of you Europeans know of a mail order place, continent or UK, with prices close to US prices for strings? Should I tell you what US brand strings cost in Italy? Try ~$15! I'm well stocked for a bit, but it looks like it'll be much cheaper to just buy boxes from US on sale and have a friend put in an envelope and mail, but there's always customs. A fair EU seller would be nice.

[boots]

I've settled on Ernie Ball Skinny Top/Heavy Bottom - 10 to 52. I play a Strat, and I've cranked the tension on the tremolo so tight that it doesn't pull out of tune from bending. I rarely use the whammy bar anyway.

The bigger bass strings give me a lot more snap and twang, and more output in general.

[Leo_Gnardo]

Should I tell you what US brand strings cost in Italy? Try ~$15!

No wonder the local crew were so happy when I handed out a couple packs as a courtesy thank-you. Made me look like a hero, well for a minute anyway. I certainly got cooperation when I needed it in a mañana mentality country. And sometimes a wee sliver of Lebanese or Moroccan...

[martin manning]

Any of you Europeans know of a mail order place, continent or UK, with prices close to US prices for strings? Should I tell you what US brand strings cost in Italy? Try ~$15! I'm well stocked for a bit, but it looks like it'll be much cheaper to just buy boxes from US on sale and have a friend put in an envelope and mail, but there's always customs. A fair EU seller would be nice.

Does Amazon sell over there? They have D'Addario's; singles too.

[billyz]

Curt Mangan. Best string i have ever used. Made in USA, Colorado.

[Blackburn]

I've been digging Elixir .010 .046 nanowebs for a long, long time. I really love them when they get to a sweet point between almost dead and heavily broken in. They always keep have a chime about them and it's nice having the longer life because I kill strings in a matter of minutes with my palms. Not bad strings to have when you occasionally go more than a year without a change...

[stelligan]

Curt Mangan. Best string i have ever used. Made in USA, Colorado.

Gotta try these, too. I have heard good things

[rp]

Does Amazon sell over there? They have D'Addario's; singles too.

Good idea I keep forgetting about Amazon, sometimes it's just too obvious. Just checked, non-sale 10 pack of EJ17s is ~$70, $7 pack, and if you knock off ~20%VAT it's $5.60/pack, about US store counter price. Last time I got a 10 pack from like Musican's Friend or Guitar Center w/ a web coupon on a big holiday it was like $37 plus like $7 shipping. So depending on what a Jiffy envelope to Italy is the UK is looking OK though still steep for a usually broke penny pinching hustler like me.

Since here I've been buying just about everything in my life online form UK, France or Germany. UK is great for bike parts and often free ship. Italy is solidly stuck in about 1985, and it gonna wind up like Nigeria in 20 years if it doesn't get it's merda together.

Know what a 50/spindle of CDRs costs here, at least in mall electronic chain stores? Like $45. Who still uses CDs in 2013 you might ask? Italians!

[Roe]

Any of you Europeans know of a mail order place, continent or UK, with prices close to US prices for strings? Should I tell you what US brand strings cost in Italy? Try ~$15! I'm well stocked for a bit, but it looks like it'll be much cheaper to just buy boxes from US on sale and have a friend put in an envelope and mail, but there's always customs. A fair EU seller would be nice.

thomann.de

[rp]

thomann.de

Thanks, just checked, about same as amazon UK, but 20€ ship! That's just silly. Not sure what the Amazon UK ship is.

[tribi9]

Anything but Dunlop strings on my acoustics.

[ER]

I've settled on Ernie Ball Skinny Top/Heavy Bottom - 10 to 52. I play a Strat, and I've cranked the tension on the tremolo so tight that it doesn't pull out of tune from bending. I rarely use the whammy bar anyway.

The bigger bass strings give me a lot more snap and twang, and more output in general.

+1 for strat, went back to these after using all the tone snob stuff. Sound great, cheap, easy to find, and make me feel like a kid again. Put 'em on all my guitars now. Just try 'em. I was a heavy string guy too, these are the best for that fat twang without having to carry superglue in the first aid kit.

I hardly change my strings anymore, my dumble I built sounds like new strings even more than new strings if you know what I mean.