D'AddarioGuitar Strings - XS 80/20 Bronze Coated Acoustic Guitar Strings - XSABR1253 - Maximum Life with Smooth Feel & Exceptional Tone - For 6 String Guitars - 12-53 Light

I've been playing guitar for 30+ years and I've tried pretty much every brand of strings in that time. My default brand for most of that was Elixir Polyweb 80/20 Bronze and these strings are superior to those. Unlike the polywebs, which sound a little artificial at first until you break them in, these sound great on day one and really open up after about a week (10-20 hours of playing). And unlike the nanowebs, the coating on these seems to last much longer. While these strings are expensive, you'd have to buy 3 packs of non-coated strings to match their longevity. So they are actually cheaper than regular stings in the long run.Another benefit is the steel core in these strings makes them way stronger than other strings, which is important if you change tunings often as they are much less likely to break when tuning back up to standard.Also, these strings feel really good on the fingers and don't generate much fret noise at all. They are a joy to play on and are less likely to make your fingers sore after long sessions of playing.Lastly, the sound of these strings is really balanced. Some strings have way more high end or low end, but these are really even sounding with good, rich bass and clear highs that don't sound too harsh with treble.Note, I've only used the 80/20 bronze version of these. I prefer that sound to the phosphor bronze, but I assume those are equally good.Long story short, these D 'Addario XS strings are my new default and what I'll compare all other stings to from here on out.

Why did you pick this product vs others?:Best sounding strings to these ears. Last a good long time too.

I love these strings! They retain their brilliance and clarity longer than any other strings I've used.

What can I say? It’s D'Addario. They sound great. They feel great. Has the right brightness. Easy to install. Has the right length to use with different size guitars. Good price. Very playable and they just feel great in your fingertips. Love Them!

Best strings you could put on your guitar

Sound excellent with Enya NEXG and NEXG 2 guitars

I like the metal sound of it a lot... But after 2 months it went rusty

I purchase several things on Amazon and was giving pretty in-depth reviews. From this point on, here's the new agenda…. if it works as advertised, is well made, meets or exceeds the description, is a value, and arrives in a fair amount of time, it will get a "star rating" equal to what my expectations were/are. If it doesn't meet these criteria, then I will most definitely and descriptively tell the short comings of the products and you as a consumer will not have to go through the trouble of buying the product without some background knowledge. If the sell pulls that item and relists under another description, I will put the exact same review on the seller's feedback page. Sellers have done this a couple of times in the past, and I was true to my word then as well as now. DR