Elixir 11102 Nanoweb Coated 80/20 Bronze Acoustic Guitar Medium 13-56
[11102]

Decades ago I compared a number of acoustic guitar strings on my Martin HD28, expecting to find them all pretty much alike. To my surprise, I found the Martin 80/20 superior to the other brands I tried, in tone clarity. More recently I decided to try various coated strings, including Martin, Elixir, and D'Addario.

Elixir Nanoweb were the clear winners. Both D'Addario and Martin increased finger noise dramatically. Elixir Nanowebs sounded the same to me as the original Martin strings did after about 5 hours of playing, still nice and bright but without the "just out of the box" brashness. Best of all, they continue to sound that way at least four times as long as uncoated strings, probably longer.

I have very non-corrosive fingers. When I'm playing a couple hours a day every day, an ordinary set of strings will last me almost a month, which is far longer than if I let my buddies play my guitar! Unbelievably, the Elixirs will last me a season. Better yet, when I let my acid-fingered buddies play, I don't notice string deterioration. What I mean is, the Elixirs work well for me, and seem to work even better for the guys with the nastiest hands.

Elixirs cost a bit more than uncoated strings, but end up costing considerably less because they last so long. And they sound every bit as good as my favorite uncoated strings! They also are clear winners over the other two coated brands that I tried.