Daddario EXL117

Hi!

I´ve recently discovered these strings for me. I was in the middle of recording process and I needed some fresh strings. I found one set at home and bought a couple of them at a local guitar store. Normally I used to play on Rotosound MA11 sig. set. So I will be comparing them a little.

I play an Ibanez RG2020x tunned in drop c. Over the years I figured out the perfect set for me - it was Rotosound MA11 (11-59), but I ran out of them and needed some fresh strings quickly, so I picked up the daddarios. Although the sixth string is a .56 gauge, the tension is quite nice and the strings feel nice. The quality is nice as well and I can play them for about 1-2 weeks, depending on the playing time. The sound is pretty bright and tight, provoking me to play djent and ola-style chugga-chugga all the time haha :D But to be honest the .59 rotosound string sounds more beefier. Generally the rotos sound a bit brighter and nastier then the daddarios. You should concider this when choosing the strings for your particular guitar. Also the .11 roto string has a little more tension then the daddario one, dunno why lol. The Daddarios are kinda easier to bend as well.

All in all, the daddarios exl117 are pretty good strings for standard D/Drop C tuning. I would suggest you to try the Rotos MA11 though.

I have been using these string for E std, half step down, D std and Drop C for a while.
I like thicker strings with lots of tension, so I've moved over to EXL148's to Drop C and D std.
But these bad boys have more than enough tension in in them to not be floppy all the way down to Drop B.
Like i said, i just prefer heavy gauge strings.
They last a good amount of time with Fast Fret, though they last without as well.
I know some people hate Fast Fret with a passion.

Pro's:
- D'Addario quality and dependability
- Lasts a decent amount of time
- Great sound for a great price

Con's:
- None I can think off.

Just that...
I find in them anything I need, tone and definition-wise, and I just couldn't be happier with their quality!!!
I like to play around with different tunings, and thet offer a wide range of gauges. Also, the fact that a huge range of singles of any gauge are available to customize sets, is brilliant!!!
From time to time I try other brands, and many are OK, but is just I have found my feel and tone with D'Addario, and I'm always going back to using them.
It's a matter of taste, as always when sound is involved.
For me they're PERFECT, I love them!!!

... these strings are extremely playable when brand new. I used to like strings that have been played for some weeks, but now I'm cleaning strings after every session with string cleaner to keep them like new. They have a nice metal-ringing tone. I tune them to D-standard as well as drop C. In D-standard, I heavily use a tremolo bar, so they get loaded pretty well. The last set lasted for about 4 months before the bass A broke. They doesn't seem to be hard at the bottom as I used to know 'hard' in other brands. Once they're set, they are settled overnight to get locked.