DR Strings HI-DEF NEON™ - MULTI-COLOUR Coloured Electric Guitar Strings: Medium 10-46

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Coated strings such as Elixir’s promise to extend the life of your string, repelling the gunk and sweat that builds up when playing. While some players prefer the natural feel of an uncoated string, not to mention the lower price, string coatings have evolved to feel evermore natural. They will still feel a little bit different, but they will also stay brighter longer. Tonally, players often argue that coated strings don’t have the brightness of an uncoated string. Their argument is that the coating can muffle the sound somewhat hindering it’s natural brightness and resonance.

Coated Electric Guitar Strings | DR Strings - drhandmadestrings

We speak to plenty of guitar players every day and you may or may not be surprised that there're players out there that can tarnish a standard set of strings in a matter of minutes due to sweat and acidic perspiration from their hands. Whilst coated strings are great for these players, their extended life certainly appeals to many other musicians too. For the traditionalists out there, the added coating makes the string feel ‘unnatural’ with many saying that they can actually feel the coating making a significant difference to the playability of the string.There are other considerations, however, like tuning stability and durability. No string is fully break-proof, but you should be looking for those with high tensile strength.

Strings HI-DEF NEON™ - MULTI-colour coloured Bass Strings DR Strings HI-DEF NEON™ - MULTI-colour coloured Bass Strings

While color coding is nothing new for those of you who play acoustic orchestral stringed instruments like violin, cello, and violas, it’s not as common when it comes to guitars and bass strings. Color-coded strings as they are also called are not that common, and there are two reasons why they are being manufactured. First of all the colored ends make it easier for you to identify each string and change your strings. Just like D’Addario, Fender is also known for producing electric guitar strings that have colored ball ends using color names that were previously used on their guitars. Then we have a less straightforward color code from LaBella, a company that decided to move towards a more environmentally friendly solution: In 1989, DR Strings re-introduced hand-made round core string making to the general market. It requires a lot of skill, time and care, but we feel it’s worth it because we can hear the difference between a handmade string and a machine made string.Of course, this simply isn’t the case and this is where things start to get interesting (if you’re string super nerds like us!). The differences really come to the fore when you consider the coating itself and how it’s applied to the string. Both elements being the secret sauce of each brand if you will. The color code D’addario applies to their electric and acoustic guitar strings, starts with the thinnest gauge and ends with the heaviest gauge and it looks like this. Evidence of this is in Elixir’s most recent Optiweb electric sets. Over the years they have continued to thin out their coating and their latest electric offering is their ‘lightest coating yet’ and is described as having ‘the same crisp tone as an uncoated string’ and providing a ‘natural feel’.

Guitar Strings Have Colored Ends? - Range of Sounds Which Guitar Strings Have Colored Ends? - Range of Sounds

The colors each company uses are different and even if we take a string from D’Addario with a red-colored end and swap it with a red-colored string from Rotosound, one will be a red- A note and the other one red – D note. Whilst Elixir do seem to reign supreme, there are some close competitors when it comes to popularity. Granted, adding a coating to strings does add an extra stage (or more) to the manufacturing process and as a result, coated strings do cost more than standard uncoated strings. However, if you look at the bigger picture, coated strings often work out more economical in the long term…. I also want to mention that while D’Addario’s color-coded strings are meant to make the process of stringing a guitar more straightforward and easy, it’s also part of their sustainability campaign, to reduce waste. Fender String Colored Ball End Strings Above - This images shows the coating on D'Addario's XS Acoustic Strings and how it acts as a protective layer for the string underneath (Image Courtesy of D'Addario)

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Finally, we have a very affordable string company, Clearone and their color code for their strings are: If you’re a beginner, you’ll want to start off with a lighter gauge of electric guitar strings. The lighter the gauge of string, the less tension it produces - and that makes it much easier to play. We’d recommend a set of .009 to .042 gauge strings - as we feel that this is a great middle-ground to start on. You can go lighter, but the tone will be compromised - or you can go heavier, but playability will suffer. Dunlop is another brand that began using a color code system and like Rotosound they also use three colors in a similar manner, rotating between them: As you can imagine D’Addario is still an innovative brand so it doesn’t come as a surprise that they are the most famous company that produces color-coded strings for acoustic, electric, classical, and bass guitars. Each color code marks a different string, and it’s unique to the company.

Guide to Coated Strings - Strings Direct Guide to Coated Strings - Strings Direct

When it comes to D’addario nylon strings, most of them don’t have ball ends, but when they do the colored ball ends are marked completely differently like so:

As mentioned earlier, coated strings are no longer a new phenomenon in the string world. In fact, you’ll see that a good chunk of string brands have a coated set or two in their lineup. You’ll also notice that it’s not just electric and acoustic strings that are available. Coated Bass, Classical, Mandolin and Banjo sets have become more readily available over the years. Electric guitar strings are relatively inexpensive as far as guitar accessories go but they're also one of the most vital components of great tone. As strings age they go dull and lose their vibrance, as well as making your guitar sound like the intonation is out as you move up and down the fretboard. Thus it's key to ensure you've always got a great sounding set on whether you're writing, practicing, recording, or performing. Above - Image Courtesy of Elixir Strings - This advertisement from Elixir clearly shows how all the sweat, dirt and grime from our hands and the atmosphere can work their way between the windings. It’s actually for this very reason that some brands like DR’s Veritas strings insist on coating the central core of the wound strings too. At first you may think, what’s the point of doing this? The central core isn’t exposed to your fingers or the atmosphere? So, whether we’re talking about guitar strings with colored ends or not it’s best not to mix strings from different sets, and if one of your strings breaks it’s better to change the whole set or buy an individual string instead. Closing Thoughts