D'Addario NYXL

NYXL

As guitarists we suffer many frustrations. We all want to play faster, harder, more musically and have great tone. In order to achieve that we have to navigate through the myriad of different guitars, amps, pedals and accessories that are on the market to find what works best for us. At least my string search is finally over…

Here are some of the things to consider when finding the right string:

TUNING STABILITY There is nothing worse than at the end of that epic solo, reaching for that final screaming high note and finding out that the note is flat. NYXL has 131 per cent better tuning stability, so why take the risk?

As a guitarist myself I’ve suffered this problem in the past. It doesn’t matter whether you are playing to a crowd of ten thousand, or the family pet (dog is so often my only audience) we want our strings to stay in tune, sound good, last longer and hold up to the abuse that we give them. With NYXL you can trust that you are playing a premium and consistent product.

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR NYXL STRINGS

STRENGTH The only thing worse than strings ‘slipping’ in and out of tune is breaking one in the middle of a solo. Yep, I’ve done that before too. In order to stop this from happening, NYXL strings use high-carbon, super strong NY Steel. A .010 gauge (standard high e) is 23 per cent stronger than a regular string and a .013 (standard b) is an incredible 42 per cent stronger! This means you can hit those strings as hard as you like, safe in the knowledge that they are 20 to 40 per cent stronger than any other string you have played. (and remember, chances are they’ll; stay in tune too!)

The extra break resistance means you can bend further too. Going back to that screaming solo we were playing earlier but this time we are going to end on a huge two tone bend on the high e string. With a .010 gauge we are at around 90 per cent of the string’s breaking point meaning we are really pushing the boundaries of what this string is capable of. With NYXL however we are only at 75 per cent of breaking point. This is in a much more comfortable range for the string and chances of breaking during this bend are significantly reduced.

CLICK HERE TO TRY NYXL

TONAL PROPERTIES & CUTTING THROUGH THE MIX ‘How do I cut through the mix’ is a question I’m often asked. It is particularly tricky in a live band situationand turning up the volume isn’t always feasible, or indeed the right answer. It is more often about carving a space for yourself in the ‘EQ’ of the mix. The mids control on your amp can certainly help in boosting those much needed ‘solo presence’ frequencies but your choice of string also has a significant impact. NYXL’s reformulated nickel-plated steel alloy boosts amplitude in the 1kHz to 3.5kHz range which are some of the key frequencies for ‘cutting through the mix’ without sounding too bright or shrill. Gone are the days of ‘scooping’ your midrange, modern tone is very mid-heavy and NYXL will help to provide that natural crunch and punch without losing the familiar nickel-plated feeling that we have gotten used to.

All my guitars now have NYXL strings of various gauges and my tone has never been better. More importantly, I know I’m using a string I can rely on.

But don’t just take my word for it, go and try some yourselves!  CLICK HERE FOR NYXL

- Adam Ironside   D'Addario Fretted Specialist