Elixr G String problem?

I've mentioned on another thread that on a couple of occasions playing live with Elixrs the G string has snapped (on the guitar, CJD) - and on the second time someone said - 'using elixrs - I've had the same problem'. Well, last night at 'The Oak' Richard Riley (a great guitarist/writer/singer who has played in a few bands as well in his time) was performing when his G string snapped. I asked him afterwards if he was using elixrs and he was - said its not the first time lately its happened, and they used to last for ever. Wondered if they have changed their manufacturing process. Anyone else getting this problem? I've changed back to D'Addarios.

I use Elixir PB Nanos on all of my acoustics, and I have never broken a G-string of any sort. :wink:
However, I mainly finger pick, and don't normally do any hard strumming.

There have been lots of complaints about that issue on the Acoustic Guitar Forum. From what folks have posted there, Elixir seems to be pretty good about it. If you call them up and explain the problem, they send you a new set of strings.

I'm pretty sure that Elixirs are made by D'Addario, although I don't know if D'Addario puts the coating on them or if Elixir does that themselves.

It's only been recently (within the last year) that I ever used anything but Martin 80/20 strings. I've not noticed negative affects of Martins from one guitar to the next; i.e., Martins have never made me cringe. I've recently tried Elixirs but not the nano that seems to be the ones prone to snapping 'G'. I've used the poly coated Elixirs and have never had a problem other than they sound like "kay rapp" on a couple of my guitars and o.k. on others. I'm thinking it's probably the wood that makes the difference. I have Elixir Poly Mediums on my beater Sigma D-4 which I play a great deal around the house. It hangs on the wall and doesn't suffer thru changes in humidity so it's easier to grab off the wall and play. I've not broken any Elixir strings.

I have Elixirs on my (1986) Guild D-15M and they ruin the sound of the guitar. I'm going strictly Martin on everything from now on. If they have any drawbacks I'm not aware of it. Perhaps there are better strings (a matter of conjecture) but at least I get consistency on every guitar.

Peace

Bikerdoc said:

I have Elixirs on my (1986) Guild D-15M and they ruin the sound of the guitar. I'm going strictly Martin on everything from now on. If they have any drawbacks I'm not aware of it. Perhaps there are better strings (a matter of conjecture) but at least I get consistency on every guitar.

Peace

Click to expand...

I'm not an Elixir fan so I cannot comment much on those... though a buddy of mine loves them on his Taylor, but he's even lazier than I am (quite a feat) so I think he uses them because he can play forever without changing strings. That G string problem sounds very odd though. While a free set of replacement strings is a nice gesture and all, that hardly makes up for the lack of reliability, especially when a string snaps when you're out playing live. Sounds like some solid QC is in order.

I also use Martin 80/20's more often than anything else, though I recently started using similar D'addarios too. The only negative I find with the Martins is that they do go dead fairly quickly. But I agree with Doc, they sound awesome and they are always consistent. I am hoping the lifespan of the D'addaorios is a bit longer because I think they are tonally similar to the Martins, but we'll see.....