ElixirStrings 19002 Electric Guitar With Optiweb Coating, Super Light (.009-.042)

Cool, I get to be the first person to write a very public review of Elixir's new series of electric-guitar focused strings. While I don't really follow guitar media anymore (been a while since I received magazines and such), the fact that even an Elixir-only player was TOTALLY unaware of these coming out made me extra-intrigued by them.They showed up while I was attempting to order my usual strings, the Medium (.11 - .49) Nanoweb series, and at first just confused; since when were there Optiweb coated strings? What's the difference? Most importantly, can they really improve their long-standing king of the "$10+" strings given their monopoly on it already?Basically, the answer is yes...by quite a bit. I'll concede the following points before getting in to a succinct review of the product, as it's important:1. I've been totally converted to Elixir strings for about 2 years now, after well over a decade of using D'Addarios or the occasional Ernie Ball Slinky when on sale.2. From my observations, Elixirs in general are a love/hate product and "technology" with few people posting that they're just whatever. Anybody who falls in to the hate/dislike camp for whatever reason likely isn't going to be swayed over by these.3. For some reason, after finding out about a new line of Elixirs I WANTED to like them, so I waited a bit to review them to ensure to minimize any confirmation bias.Those 3 points addressed, I'll get to it: IMHO, Opitweb is a pretty big improvement in two ways, and lI think I'll continue using them over Nanowebs unless their longevity turns out to be dramatically shorter. After restringing my primary guitar, I noticed right away that these didn't seem to require any major post setup stretching or adjusting. D'addarios usually require 3 rounds of tuning, stretching, and then re-adjusting before settling in, at least for me. The nanowebs usually take just 2, but occasionally require a 3rd round after a bit of playing.Maybe I'm just getting better at stringing my guitar and using locking tuners, but after a single round of post thread stretching, they've been remarkably steady in holding their tune. So much so that I have to wonder if it's not the strings, but whatever.Most importantly they have a much brighter and...sharper(?) sound to them, and it's very very noticeable both unplugged and amped up. Not sure about the composition of them and in general I'm not very familiar with what metal or construction technique is involved in what brand, but whatever flack coated strings usually get for being muddy isn''t applicable with these. When tracking through the everyman setup (Scarlett USB Interface -> GR5 and S-Gear 2) there is a very easy to hear difference in high-end frequencies.So TL;DR - extremely similar to the existing product from Elixir, but with a slightly improved sound (if crisper high-end is what you want) and subtle but definitely smoother feeling action when sliding around the fretboard. If you like Elixirs now, you'll almost certainly like these the same or more. If you don't, you probably won't be won over with these. But, if you're somebody who loves the sound of a fresh set of D'Addarios or Slinkys and hates how quickly they fade, give these a shot; might save you money in the end.

I've been a fan of Elixir strings for many years, especially the thinner nanoweb coated electric strings. I used them exclusively when I played with The Nine and rarely needed more than two or three sets a year, though there was typically a small loss in tone by then. No other strings would keep their tone for more than a couple performances and practice sessions. The coating also makes them more comfortable to play quickly with low action since they don't stick to my fingertips as much.Cons? After almost two decades of use, I haven't found any, despite other musicians claiming a cleaner sound from uncoated strings. If there was a small sacrifice in initial sound quality, traditional strings lost their advantage after only a couple uses.

These strings sound and feel like regular nickel strings but last so much longer. I’ll definitely be buying more.

Great guitar strings

I've ordered 2 sets of these over the years for 2 separate guitars. I love the feel of these, makes sliding and bends more comfortable as well. I recorded comparisons between old regular strings and these, and the tone sounds exactly the same. Very durable too, even with my heavy picking style. I'll definitely buy these again.

Great strings that sound nice and crisp and last a long time. They feel slick and stay in tune. I use these thick stings gauges as I tune to D standard tuning on all my guitars. I uses these on my PRS custom 24 10 tops and all my Gibson Custom Les Pauls. I even use them in my custom fender strat. Would definitely recommend trying these out.

good product .

Extremely smooth feel yet no plastic feel, so greatly reduces finger squeak and reduces callusing if you play a lot of rhythm. The sound on the trebles is also a touch fatter than the other biggest selling brands. That makes a big difference to me when you have a thin 9 and 11 on top. With some brands, to my ear you just have nothing on those top 2I just wish the 4th string were a 30 instead of 32. Usually a 10-52 set is 30-42-52. These are 32-42-52. That one difference is surprisingly big. It feels like a beefier set with that D being .002 bigger. I don't think that extra tension is needed because the D is never really a buzzy string, but rather the A and E are.