Opinion's on Elixirs Nanoweb

[jazzyitalian]

Hey all-

I was going to try out the Elixir string as an alternate option to the Markley Blue Steel's we typically use in the basses we build.

I'll have a chance to try them for myself as I have a set on order. We'll no doubt come have our own opinions in short order.

But what I'm really interested in hearing are the opinions of others. So whether you use these strings regularly or have played them, please chime in. What are your thoughts in 10 words or less?

Cheers,

Jeff

[ezbass]

'Feel and sound like standard nickel wounds with longer life.'

I fitted sets to my 5 string fretted and fretless basses after using D'Addrios and Elites for years (nickel wounds) and I've been very pleased with the outcome.

[Ou7shined]

Love 'em. They are my string of choice now. Although there was a run in period while I got used to the frictionless feel and the wee overshoots when jumping many frets at once. Prefer the nickel over the steel but there's not much in it.

[NancyJohnson]

I concur that they're my choice of string now...a bit staggered that I got a set on Amazon UK last month for £27.00 and now they're £36.00.

Ten words or less? 'Amazed how good they are; six months in, still zingy.'
P

[Kev]

Not so positive from me I'm afraid. I have had two sets and both have had a flaky finish very quickly ( a few hours ), almost makes the string look frayed. The sound is... boring, for want of a better word. They are initially quite bright but very quickly lose the slight zing. In their defence, the tone after that initial drop does stay pretty much the same for months. I wouldn't buy another set as there are better strings out there.

All IMO, of course

[LiamPodmore]

I wont use anything else now, on guitar or bass. I'm only on my first set of each, but the set on my acoustic have been on since March, and the bass since May, and they still sound good enough for me to be willing to record with them, though they are going to get changed rather soon.

Liam

Edit to say that i've just ordered a set of 45-105 nickels on Amazon for £31, which is a LOT cheaper than anywhere else i've seen.

Edited November 21, 2013 by LiamPodmore

[velvetkevorkian]

My string of choice for all my basses ( I even manage to coerce an .022 wound guitar string up to high E for my 7 string). I like the consistency, and they're bright but not too bright.

[jazzyitalian]

Thanks guys! This is all good feedback....And to Kev's comments, I too had that flaky experience with DR Black Beauties. I do hope your situation was an isolated experience. Because, if the set I have coming flakes, I'll likely give up the idea on Elixir no matter how great they sound.

Cheers,

Jeff

[flyfisher]

Is it possible that the flaking is related to using a pick and those without problems are only using fingers?

[PaulWarning]

I used them for a while, and suffered with flaking I thought it was because I used a pick, then someone on here, sorry can't remember who suggested I be very careful when fitting them to make sure I didn't damage the coating when pulling them through the bridge, they were a lot less 'flaky' after that, very smooth feel.
I now use DR neons, (cause they come in pink and green, great for Punk ) they're also coated but feel like normal strings and last ages, although they don't flak the colouring comes off were I hit them with my pick

[Grissle]

Ya I have to admit there good, okay really good. I'm really picky and was bent on finding some fault in them but couldn't. Now if recording I might (might) change them? But I wouldn't need to. Never had the fraying problem but I'm pretty careful when installing them. Cheers

[Ou7shined]

My Nanowebs start to "fray" (not sure I've ever seen them flake or chip) after about a 9 months to a year of VERY heavy finger playing.

Oddly enough DR's start to go at the frets after just a few plays for me.

[PaulWarning]

[quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1385041911' post='2283734'] My Nanowebs start to "fray" (not sure I've ever seen them flake or chip) after about a 9 months to a year of VERY heavy finger playing. Oddly enough DR's start to go at the frets after just a few plays for me. [/quote]
Yeah, I noticed that the frets had dug into the string last time I changed my DR's, I just put it down to the fact that it showed up a lot because of the bright colour, Better than the string digging into the frets I guess

[molan]

Newer Elixirs are much better in terms of fraying than older sets. I've been using them on at least one bass for years and have definitely noticed improvements

The new steels are good too. Haven't had enough time to really get used to them yet though.

[brensabre79]

I love 'em. I tried the steel ones a while ago and didn't like the tone of those. i usually use steel because Nickel ones always go black very quickly for me. A normal set of steels will last me 2 gigs tops (a week) before they are like rubber bands. I tried the DR coated (red and black) neither lasted much longer than normal strings for me (maybe 4 gigs) and with a pick the coating flaked away.

6 months ago, on the recommendation of someone else who has a reaction with normal nickel strings I tried the Elixir nickels. They are still on my bass and zingy as the day they were put on. About half of our 3 hour set is pick work, no flaking or fraying for me! After a while the black will start to appear where the coating has worn down, so far this hasn't happened for me.

I used to spend £100 a month on strings to keep the treble alive! not any more.

[xilddx]

Didn't like them at all, they felt slightly rubbery and the coating flaked.

I tried Cleartone EMPs and they are fabulous. Warm and zingy, last for ages, no flaking, even after more than 6 months of use. Way better than Elixir IMO. They are also only £23.50. They make Warwick EMPs, which are more money for some reason but the strings are exactly the same I am told.

This ebay seller is where I get them, he is excellent.

[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cleartone-6445-Nickel-Plated-EMP-Treated-Bass-strings-45-105-/370627957370?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item564b25d27a"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item564b25d27a[/url]

Edited November 21, 2013 by xilddx

[chrismuzz]

Bloody love em. Snapped after just over a year when the sound was just starting to darken. I like the steels a lot!

[chrismuzz]

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1385057487' post='2284001']
Didn't like them at all, they felt slightly rubbery and the coating flaked.

I tried Cleartone EMPs and they are fabulous. Warm and zingy, last for ages, no flaking, even after more than 6 months of use. Way better than Elixir IMO. They are also only £23.50. They make Warwick EMPs, which are more money for some reason but the strings are exactly the same I am told.

This ebay seller is where I get them, he is excellent.

[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cleartone-6445-Nickel-Plated-EMP-Treated-Bass-strings-45-105-/370627957370?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item564b25d27a"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item564b25d27a[/url]
[/quote]


Great tip by the way dude, when this set of daddarios dies in about a month I'll get onto these!

[Kev]

[quote name='jazzyitalian' timestamp='1384994263' post='2283384']
Thanks guys! This is all good feedback....And to Kev's comments, I too had that flaky experience with DR Black Beauties. I do hope your situation was an isolated experience. Because, if the set I have coming flakes, I'll likely give up the idea on Elixir no matter how great they sound.

Cheers,

Jeff
[/quote]

Funny, as I have never had the flaking problem with Black Beauties!

I very rarely play with a pick too.

[Thunderbird]

I had some Elixers on an Ibanez I had many moons ago seem to remember they were good they were a bit sticky for want of a better word even after cleaning they still felt sticky but in truth I got the bass used so had no idea how long they had already been on there or if they had been abused slightly off topic I was given some Ashdown Engineering strings a few years back they came in a tin a seem to recall I liked them but have never seen any for sale any one know if they were promo give a ways or something? sorry for the slight thread hijack

[goblin]

I've recently converted over to them. I've sworn by DR for the last two or so years, but I played a Jazz and Pre EB Stingray with them and they sounded and felt fantastic (I couldn't even tell they were coated!). My G&L also came with them, and again they sound and feel great. I guess only time will tell me how I get on with them in the long run.

[Moos3h]

Negative here I'm afraid.

Dull and lifeless and frayed quickly too.

I wont use anything else on guitar but for bass its a big no.

[Satrugar]

I also had the problem with heavy fraying and a "sticky" feeling with Elixirs in the past. But since they changed the coating - maybe 1-2 years ago - they are simply the best strings you can find on the market. Fantastic feeling, no fraying even after many months of heavy use and a set lasts me around a year. Normally I'd change strings once a month or so...
I like the steels a bit better than the nickels, but the difference between them isn't huge.

[Steff]

Sorry can't fit in 10 words but here it is:

I am a long time Elixir user (10+ years). For a pub-club-theatre gigging bass player I might say there isn't any other brand that comes even close in terms of durability (Never heard of the Cleartones posted above but I'm just about to order and try them). I do 3-6 gigs per week and if I play any other strings, including the coated DR's, they get very dark and muddy after only 3-4 gigs (my hands sweat a lot while I'm playing). Elixirs last and last and last... Never had the coating flaking to me, apart from when I played them for a year + on my main bass (in the old days).

However I must agree that there's a trade off and it's big especially if you are a tone freak (I am in a way).
They do sound dull and some kinda dead compare to regular strings. So if you are more of a recording/stadium/festival touring bass player I wouldn't recommend.
I could never get the same tone with Elixir that I get from ErnieBalls on my StingRay5. In fact any other decent set of strings has more clarity, much more growl and definition. For about 3 gigs that is.

So whenever I have an important studio session or higher profile gig, I put on a set of Ernies. Rest of the time - Elixirs.
Hope that helps.
Steff

Edited December 16, 2013 by Steff

[shizznit]

I have been using Elixirs for several years. I love they way the feel and sound. The coating gives a lovely silky feel when running your fingers up and down the neck. The polyweb coating that they used a while ago did tend to feel quite sticky after a while and started to flake off towards the end of their life, which almost put me off them. Then Elixir started to produce the nanoweb coating. They feel even better now...no stickiness and the coating stays intact very well.

The tension sits in the middle. Not too slack or too tight...just right. I also like the fact that you can choose the gauge of your low B or high C strings. But, can be a pain in the backside if your store is lousy at keeping their stock levels poorly and run out of your preferred gauge. It's a nice idea, but in practice I have been frustrated on many occasions and now buy my strings on the internet (at a cheaper price too).

The tone is superb. Very well balanced. The longevity of the tone is the most impressive feature of Elixirs. They bed down into a more rounder tone just like any other string, but it takes longer than any other brand I have used and stay fresh sounding for longer, which is really handy when you are doing a long recording session and need consistency. When they do eventually bed in the tone is still very perky, the intonation is solid and it stays that way for weeks, even with constant use. When they do come to the end of their life you may find yourself replacing them for hygiene reasons...when they become mucky and don't wipe down easily. Even when they get do get into that state they still sound good.

I can't recommend them enough. I use nickel strings on my Fender J and Lakland 55-02 and I use the steels on my Shuker Überhorn and Warwick Thumb BO. The nickels are a little warmer, naturally, but still have enough defined mids to aim for a modern tone. They are very versatile.