Savarez A140M Phosphore Bronze Medium Acoustic Guitar Strings 13-56

I wrote most of the below as part of a blind test of many brands. At the time I wrote it, I did not know what strings these were. (I know now, of course.)

On visual inspection, they are a little inconsistent. I notice a bit of discoloration on the plain strings in spots. It doesn't feel like corrosion, but it does seem like the gauge of the string is a little bit uneven in those spots. The wound strings look better and more consistent. The twists on the ball ends are a little shorter than I'm used to. The ball ends are color coded; two yellow, two red, two green. Not sure what the point of that is.

Initially, they were quite a bit darker and murkier than anything else I've tried on this guitar. They are also quieter than, say, D'Addario EJ17s. The bass is very pronounced.

After a few days, their tone settled in. They're okay for flatpicking but too muddy and thuddy for fingerpicking. In different light I noticed some specks of black discoloration on the wound strings, but that could be material that has scraped off my pick.

After playing these for a while, I can say they're definitely a bit stiffer than the other strings I've had on this guitar. Em-form barres take more effort than I'm used to, and my calluses are getting torn up.

So, my grades:

Construction quality: B
Volume: B
Tone: B-
Playability: C

If I had to choose between this string set and D'Addario EJ17, I'd take the D'Addarios.