Am I the Only Person Who Doesn't Use Ernie Ball Strings
 

I know I am not the only one, but I really don't understand why they are so popular.

My personal experience is that they sound REALLY twangy and I can never get them to last more than a week; usually around a week later, I break a string, almost always the third string (G).

Honestly where I live, for electric, if I want anything other than those in a decent brand, I have to mail order them. They don't even sell crappy brands of bass strings here, only Ernie Ball for bass.

Also, every time I turn around, somebody is trying to convince me to switch and thay they are so much better, almost like a cult; I never have seen anyone do this with any other brand od strings.

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I always had bad experiences with Ernie Ball strings, so I stopped buying them years ago. Fortunately there is a vast selection of other brands available at the store.

That's what I mean, I have had nothing but bad experiences over the years every time. Not just a few times but literally EVERY time. Most other brands are fairly comparable and decent, with some just being fantastic.

Ernie Ball seems to be the most popular and yet it remains the single worst brand I ever have used. Even cheap off-brands do better.

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Not by a long shot.

I've used many strings over the years, but I always fall back on D'Addario half-rounds for my electric and Martin phosphor bronze for my acoustic.

Ernies probably have their place somewhere in the guitar world, just not mine.
And yes, I would break them in a week as well. I can keep a set of D'Addario on my electric for literally a year. (Did it.)

There are far better ball strings out there.

I never have problems with string breakage, ever. I've only broken strings due to negligence. I've used Ernie Balls on my electric, and they last for months and months with all the weird shit I do to them. My acoustic is a different story, ernies barely last a week or so due to the fact I change tunings so much. Wear develops on a specific part of a string (The G string mainly) and the winding unravels after a few days and it then it starts to sound like I wrapped it in a piece of foam. I use D' Addarios on my acoustic now, which take much more abuse.

I use the same on my acoustic, I use FireWire on my electric.

I never did a lot of tuning or abusing of them when I had to use them, and that is with any kind of Ernie Ball.

So if the consensus is generally that they're not so great, why do they have such a cult following?


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I use GHS Boomers Electric Bass and Guitar Strings. Elixer Strings for the Acoustic.

I am sorta addicted to using finger grease on my strings and fretboard. It does seem to actually add life to the strings, but the extra finger action is what I'm after mainly.

http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/6914/25104817.jpg

There are other brands of finger grease to choose from that are not quite as messy as the spray is.

A stick roll on is available for example. I know... (sounds like a brand of antiperspirant). :p:

I've used Finger Ease before. I didn't notice very much of a difference for me, aside from a slight reprieve from finger pain that was primarily caused by sliding up and down the lower strings. Then again, unlike most electric guitar players who typically, as far as I can tell, use 10-46's, I use 10-52 or 11-56.

Not sure if that makes much of a difference though.

Thats my fault, I forgot to mention I'm a bass player, if that makes any difference. But I do use Finger Ease on 6 and 12 string acoustics and electric guitars as well.
I guess what might work for one, doesn't always do the same for another. :)

Its like, I'm addicted to it in a small way or something. I just hate the extra drag I get from my (Bass) strings dry, without straying them down first (Let strings, fretboard dry a little) before playing. I sometimes spray the back of the neck also. I will admit, it takes a little more time and effort into the cleaning of the guitar itself using Finger Ease.

And for the same reason I use Elixirs on acoustics, they have a coating over the strings that supposedly, add life and better action to the strings, and I like the full and bright ring I get with Elixir strings on the acoustic too.