1 (edited by Astronomikal 2010-10-12 03:56:41)

Topic: Update (as requested) - Martin "Lifespan" Strings

I started this thread:

http://www.chordie.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=15545

And Pete asked me to post an update (post #4) after I had played them for a while.  My verdict:  They suck.

These actually turned black and died an exceptionally early death.  Much worse performance than my standard Martin SPs.  I think my fingers leech acid or something.  (Actually, that's probably true for all of us, but never mind.)

I'm going to try Elixirs next, and if those aren't satisfactory, I'm going to try Pearses.  (Calm down,  Topdown -- Elixir before Pearse only because they're easier to obtain.)

Frustrated, but working through it,
'Nom

"Just because you've always done it that way doesn't mean it's not incredibly stupid." - Despair, Inc.

Re: Update (as requested) - Martin "Lifespan" Strings

When I worked in an electroplating shop I could't even touch stainless steel w/o leaving finger prints on it. I always had to wear gloves. LOL The elixer acoustics I put on 3 months ago are still working fine.

Re: Update (as requested) - Martin "Lifespan" Strings

Thanks Astro.  That's how we learn and measure what we try in the future.  Sounds to me like something to stay away from.  By worse performance, do you mean they didn't sound good either?  Or just didn't last long?  Could they be good for someone who changes their strings real often?  SOme people change strings every time they put on clean underwear.  Anyway, thanks for that tidbit.  Every piece of info helps someone.

You can see all my video covers on [url]http://www.youtube.com/bensonp1000[/url]
I have finally found happiness in my life.  Guitars, singing, beer and camping.  And they all intertwine wonderfully.

Re: Update (as requested) - Martin "Lifespan" Strings

bensonp wrote:

SOme people change strings every time they put on clean underwear.

That's true, Pete. That reminds me I bought 12 changes of underwear - one for January, February, March etc...
Seriously, my perspiration and finger oils are more acidic that most. When I played five hours a night - six nights a week, I was lucky if a set of guitar strings would go a whole week before they became unacceptably dead sounding.
Spilling beer and drooling on your strings doesn't help either.
toots

We pronounce it "Guf Coast".
Ya'll wanna go down to the Guf?

Re: Update (as requested) - Martin "Lifespan" Strings

I think I may have the same problem, toots.  While I don't play gigs, I do play quite a lot each day and I have noticed that my strings start to look slightly rusty up on the frets after a month or so.  Beer and drool is totally another issue that doesn't help.

You can see all my video covers on [url]http://www.youtube.com/bensonp1000[/url]
I have finally found happiness in my life.  Guitars, singing, beer and camping.  And they all intertwine wonderfully.

Re: Update (as requested) - Martin "Lifespan" Strings

bensonp wrote:

By worse performance, do you mean they didn't sound good either?  Or just didn't last long?  Could they be good for someone who changes their strings real often?

Yeah, sorry Pete.  My last post could have been a bit more helpful.  I was on about my 7th beer when I wrote it (not an excuse, just a fact), and tonight I'm only on my third, so this should be a bit better.

They just (for lack of a better word) died, seemingly overnight.  I was encouraged at first.  Like I said, they seemed to take a bit longer to stretch than the regular Martin SPs, but it seemed like they were going to hold tone OK.

I usually play off an on a couple of hours per day, and am not very well-disciplined at wiping the strings down afterward, so that may have something to do with it.

But what I noticed is that while normally there is a gradual decline in tone, these just seemed to go from "good" one day to "bad" the next.  I picked up my D-35 one evening and hit a few licks and then thought "what the heck is going on?"  I looked at the strings and checked to make sure that they were in tune (they were), but it was like I had picked up a totally different guitar.

Bottom line:  I wouldn't recommend them to anyone for anything, especially not to someone who changes strings as often as they change underwear because of the price.  For that I would go with something much cheaper, such as Topdown's recommendation for JP's, which are about a third the cost of the Lifespans.  (I haven't yet tried JPs, but the cost is appealing.)

I hope that clarifies it a bit for you.

Anyway, this evening I put on my first set of Elixir Nanowebs.  So far, so good.  We'll see how they are in a week or so.

'Nom

"Just because you've always done it that way doesn't mean it's not incredibly stupid." - Despair, Inc.