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Topic: Anti-Rust/Corrosion Elc Strings

Does anybody know of a brand of electric strings that offers anti-corrosion plating like Elixir's have on the steel strings (GBE) and leaves the wound strings uncoated?  Basically like taking the 3 steel strings from a pack of Elixirs and 3 regular wound strings (D'addario, Ernie Ball, Etc).

I have really acidic fingers so I have to put a new set on before each gig, which is fine but I hate when half way thru the gig i can start to feel that nasty friction building up on the steel strings.    The Elixir strings have some kind of "anti-corrosion plating" on the steel strings and it really does work, but I just can't handle the dull mushy sounding wound strings due to the coating.  I do EVERYTHING i can to clean my hands thoroughly before I pickup the guitar and on breaks but nothing keeps regular stock elect steel strings from corroding rapidly except what ever Elixir does

Thanks

  • Registered: 2011-03-15
  • Posts: 120

Re: Anti-Rust/Corrosion Elc Strings

Strings are a touchy subject. Some might say it means the difference between greatness and mediocracy, others would just see them as stuff to make noise with.
After a couple of years of shopping around I found my 'perfect' string set and I have no plan of ever changing. I buy them by the dozen (or more) and replace um once they go black.
Having changed at least 200 sets last 6 months (I work in a guitar shop), I can tell you there are differences in plain strings. As far as I know the plain string are just plain steel for just about all brands, but there is big difference between plain strings from brand A and brand B. Other than the iron/carbon mix they use (aka the type of steel), I think it mostly has to do with packaging. The vacuum sealed brands have a much better plain string than the old school paper bag brands. The big difference is in the wound strings, ea nickel, chrome, flat wound, coated etc.
There's a handful of really different ones I found. Some brands make gold plated plain strings which last significantly longer than normal plain strings. The Carl Verheyen set  has gold plated plain strings but only comes in 9-46 and after a couple of gigs the gold will wear off and leave you with a normal plain string.

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  • From: North Carolina
  • Registered: 2008-10-26
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Re: Anti-Rust/Corrosion Elc Strings

Go pure nickel they don't rust as fast as steel.  I didn't think that Elixer did their plain strings only the wound strings would be coated... but I could be wrong on that.  Thats how my acoustic feels and it has Elixers on them because I never play it.

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Re: Anti-Rust/Corrosion Elc Strings

oldgtarz wrote:

Strings are a touchy subject. Some might say it means the difference between greatness and mediocracy, others would just see them as stuff to make noise with.
After a couple of years of shopping around I found my 'perfect' string set and I have no plan of ever changing. I buy them by the dozen (or more) and replace um once they go black.
Having changed at least 200 sets last 6 months (I work in a guitar shop), I can tell you there are differences in plain strings. As far as I know the plain string are just plain steel for just about all brands, but there is big difference between plain strings from brand A and brand B. Other than the iron/carbon mix they use (aka the type of steel), I think it mostly has to do with packaging. The vacuum sealed brands have a much better plain string than the old school paper bag brands. The big difference is in the wound strings, ea nickel, chrome, flat wound, coated etc.
There's a handful of really different ones I found. Some brands make gold plated plain strings which last significantly longer than normal plain strings. The Carl Verheyen set  has gold plated plain strings but only comes in 9-46 and after a couple of gigs the gold will wear off and leave you with a normal plain string.

So what is that magic set?

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Re: Anti-Rust/Corrosion Elc Strings

AD3THREE wrote:

Go pure nickel they don't rust as fast as steel.  I didn't think that Elixer did their plain strings only the wound strings would be coated... but I could be wrong on that.  Thats how my acoustic feels and it has Elixers on them because I never play it.

They do. The old school original polywebs didn't do anything with plain steels but some time ago they came out with their other elec guitar ser called Nanoweb. Supposedly thinner coating. They claim they're more like the sound and feel of normal strings. And also they have some type of anti-corrosion plating done to the steels 

Just got done with a gig. Had to get rid of those dull wound strings so I replaced them with d'addarios. Left the elixir steels on to see if they would last another gig. In terms of feel they still feel good which is amazing but I paid extra close attention to the sound and I did notice that they do kinda suck. I have Lollar PAFs and my amp is a very strong cutting mid range style amp without much chimeyness on top so i dont have A lot of brightness to spare so if a string even remotely has a dull sound it can be like trying to play a spanky clear rhythm part or lead riff on flat wounds into a dark jazz amp
So I guess I'm back at squre one.

  • Registered: 2011-03-15
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Re: Anti-Rust/Corrosion Elc Strings

adcard wrote:

So what is that magic set?

I've been using Ernie Ball Power Slinky's 11-48 for the last 20 years

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  • From: New Hampshire, USA
  • Registered: 2010-12-21
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Re: Anti-Rust/Corrosion Elc Strings

oldgtarz wrote:
adcard wrote:

So what is that magic set?

I've been using Ernie Ball Power Slinky's 11-48 for the last 20 years

check out Curt Mangan strings I use 11-48 sound and feel great

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  • From: West Sussex
  • Registered: 2011-05-17
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Re: Anti-Rust/Corrosion Elc Strings

Optima strings are gold plated and they last a lot longer (and feel very smooth) - they are more expensive but you get that back in extra life.

  • Registered: 2006-12-27
  • Posts: 42

Re: Anti-Rust/Corrosion Elc Strings

I find it is not so much rust and corrosion it is the amount of time they are actually on the guitar... I will leave a guitar for months at a time with relatively fresh strings and come back to it and it will not tune up properly.  I use Ernie Ball 11-52 sets.  They last as long as can be expected and rarely break.  I do not believe there is a magic set that stays new feeling and performing out there.   Guitars are like race cars... They need fresh rubber every once and awhile and the more you play them the more they need...
Joe B

  • Registered: 2008-10-10
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Re: Anti-Rust/Corrosion Elc Strings

+1 Joe!  I work for a company that makes coated strings, albeit in a different division (why have a guitarist work for the guitar department, that's crazy talk).  I won't mention the name but, our product is named in this thread. We make a good product, and I guess if you don't change your strings a  lot, they help.  They have tried to sell me for years on these strings and have failed.  The tone sounds supressed to me...still after many iterations (15yrs with the company).  I have also tried to get that department  to endorse notable players such as yourself...and failed. We really don't have enough tone junkies working in that section, and input from an EJ, yourself,etc would be valuable for creating a great coated string.  I just don't think we are quite there yet although, some would argue with me because the sales do so well.  I'm sure Ibanez out sells Gibson in terms of numbers, but that doesn't mean I would rush to buy one.  It still feels like hype to me. May be looking for a new job if they read this.

I am all for changing strings when needed and I still use EBs 10-52s. 

I work for Optima  wink

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  • From: Detroit
  • Registered: 2006-06-02
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Re: Anti-Rust/Corrosion Elc Strings

I bought a bottle of Finger Ease... you spray it on the strings and even the back of the neck. Ironically the spray is for your fingers and hands more than it is for the guitar, but they say to spray it onto the guitar. I have found that I really like the Finger ease.... and I hate gimmicky stuff. My fingers slide up and down the neck much easier, and the strings look nice and sparkely. I used FastFret when I started, and I didn't like the oily feeling... I like FingerEase much more... and I have a designated string cloth where I now wipe my sweat off the strings when I'm done playing... seems to help with the life of strings.


I use Elixirs on my Korean acoustic... but my J45 I use normal acoustic strings.
Ernie balls on my gibsons, and Daddarrio on my fenders and PRS.

I personally like putting a new set of strings on a guitar. It's a nice ritual. What I don't like (as Joe has mentioned) you put new strings on a guitar... come back a month later, and they're all gross.

I tried Cleartone strings on my acoustics, and my fingers had them junked up after two days, and the tone was dead right out of the box. I'm seeing now (see video) they're trying to get the market of people who "can't tell" they are coated strings...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AXX0XnRWLM

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12 Reply by airportdon (edited by airportdon 2011-11-16 10:06:12)

  • Registered: 2006-06-30
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Re: Anti-Rust/Corrosion Elc Strings

Yes Finger Ease has been around for many many years( at least since the 70's for me)....great stuff once you get used to using it....

And so castles made of sand melts into the sea, eventually.........
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Re: Anti-Rust/Corrosion Elc Strings

oldgtarz wrote:
adcard wrote:

So what is that magic set?

I've been using Ernie Ball Power Slinky's 11-48 for the last 20 years

Tried some EB's (regular slinky 11-46)
honestly haven't tried them in years, but man they sound and feel dynamite. Warmed up pre-gig hard enough to pretty much wear out the D'addario's I've been using previously. Loved the feel and sound at the house and I'm about to go back and finish this set with hour number four and they still sound and feel awesome. They have plenty lastingness for me and sound WAAAY better on my rig than the anything I've tried. Don't know why I'm only now trying them for the first time on my current rig in my current band, but man. Home run!!  Thanks

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Re: Anti-Rust/Corrosion Elc Strings

airportdon wrote:

Yes Finger Ease has been around for many many years( at least since the 70's for me)....great stuff once you get used to using it....

Haha - I used to use Fingerease a lot back in the 80's when I was gigging.  Haven't for a long while, but recently I found an old can from back in the day in one of my old gig bags.

Just the smell of that stuff evokes some great memories of times past... *sigh*

I don't use it at all these days, as I don't like the slippery feel much.  I just wipe down my strings thoroughly after each playing session and I find that they last a long time that way.

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Re: Anti-Rust/Corrosion Elc Strings

another unexpected benefit with the EB Slinkys that I have noticed....I put a new set of EB Slinkys 10-16 regulars on right before my wedding gig this past Saturday.  Played the gig and left the strings on there.  I have practiced a lot these last few days.  Maybe 10 hrs or more doing mostly all lead stuff up and down the neck all over the strings.  So obviously the strings are way past completely dead as would be expected, but unlike the D'addarios, they still have a pretty smooth feel to them.  Not as smooth as a fresh pack obviously, but for completely dead strings that have taken this kind of abuse, its not too bad.  Comfortable enough that I can just keep practicing on them.  and interestingly enough I can still hear certain overtones and harmonics i get out of the steel strings sometimes when my pick inadvertently hits them just right on the very very tip of the jazz III pick and at the right spot on the strings themselves.  I would expect not to hear them so well thru dead strings.
All this is what I'm liking out of the EB Slinkys as opposed to the D'addario's I was using that start dying really quick and progressively  get more and more friction'y rusty and sticky and can pretty quickly become unusably gross feeling. 
These still fine for practicing.  Doesn't matter that they're dead sounding since I'm just doing a low volume dark saturated OD into my blues jr