EXP vs Elixirs

Heya Pix,

I think you will find some guitars they sound better on than others, my Yairi sounds good with both elixirs and EXP'S  . I honestly think tho the EXP's have a little more clarity and maybe a bit brighter. On the HD-28 I don't use Elixirs. I put a set on and didn't like them and I have tried Exp's also but I think it sounds best with Martin SP strings. On my Masterbilt Epi it likes both elixers and exp's.

I honestly can't tell you what are the best between the two. I am speaking for the Elixir Polywebs and I do not like the Nano-web

the polywebs start fraying but they last a long time even tho they look bad, I have a set of EXP"S on my Yairi and I just did recording using a pedal into Audacity and it was really nice and clean.

Kinda weird with the Martins isn't it i have tried Elixir, EXP's, Gibson, and others but it likes Martin SP strings. I have had the exp's on my Yairi for quite a while, I am thinking about 2 month's but it hasn't been played alot . I was just thrilled with the recording I did today, I'm learning a little more all the time. Today was the first time I have ever recorded any of my guitars that I thought sounded good, some of it is the Yairi electronics and some of it  the strings.

Yairi's are a very special breed, I am lovin that guitar more all the time. I put a B-Band pickup in the epiphone and with a new set of Exp's I am gonna do some recording and see how it stacks up. I have a LR Baggs I-Beam pickup  in my Martin and the only way to record it is with a condensor mic.The pickup seems to work ok live through  amp or PA but records terrible with the pickup

Let me know your thoughts on the EXP"s after you give them a go, I only tried the nano-webs one time on the Yairi and I took em off and threw them in the garbage. Now after trying so many strings and seeing how different guitars react to different strings I should have tried them on something else.

The reason I have been doing alot of recording, I like to hear my guitar from a listener's perspective. It seems the guitar always sounds different when your out in front of the soundhole, and it's hard to be there when your playing it.

If you have an older "beater" I'd highly recommend you try a soundport on one and see how you like it. It will give you the listeners perspective all the time I'm a die hard believer in them and all my acoustics either have them or are scheduled to get them once I decide on a design. Everyone that has tried mine has asked why all guitars don't have them and I've installed several for others already. As with all newer projects, It's intimidating at first ,cutting a hole in your guitar, but the benefits far outweigh the risks IMO. -Pix

You're right geo, The exps are definitely a bit cheaper! I got 17 sets coming to me for $75 bucks!  Nano light pbs have been my choice string. I move all over the neck and love the quietness of the Nanos during slides and such. Hopefully the EXPs will have close to the same feel. I haven't noticed a drop in longevity with them though, I still get 2-3 months from a set of Nanos and I play 3-4 hours everyday & more on weekends. -Pix

Yea Wayne, That's a good preview of a soundport. However, The electronics hole is (usually) squared and for proper porting it is recommended to use curved ports for best results. Also the size of the port in relation to body size is important and most electronic boxes have larger holes than what would be recommended for a sound port. So you get an idea with them removed but it's not real accurate comparison to a properly installed port. I'm not sure how much of a difference you would hear between the 2. Just repeating what I read up on... I'd thing too large a hole would have a pretty adverse affect though... You'd loose too much air pressure and tone and projection would suffer.

All your recordings I've heard have sounded superb!

Pix don't throw them away, my cowboy chords would love them

Do you use Nano or Poly Elixirs ?