Guitar String Beta Test?

Looks legit...

     So the D'Addario string company has decided to revamp their guitar string making process. They've revamped the coating, mettalurgy, heck - they even go so far as to say that these are the strongest strings out there, but are they?

     So the other day I get a kraft paper envelope from D'Addario in the mail. Opening it I find this stealth looking strings packet inside. I waited until this morning to put the strings on because I am a busy guy. (Actually I have been fighting a wretched cold.)

     I generally like D'Addario and their strings, so I was sort of excited to get the packet. I recently wrote about how their EXP strings compare to Elixir's on my Taylor 414e ltd.

     I put the strings on my Frankentele. It looks like a tele but has dual coil humbuckers and all of the pots have been swapped out. IT sounds more like a Les Paul these days than a Tele. It's a solid chunk of over driven tone with a slug of sustain and a face built for grunge. She's my second most used electric so I thought she was good candidate for the string beta. How did it go? I'm not so impressed with the performance of the strings or the tone, but rather than ramble, I will attempt to address all of the manufacturer's claims.

     Strongest set of guitar strings ever made. It's 30% stronger than any of it's predecessors: When I pulled the high E string out of the package I noticed shiny spots on the string. These are almost always nicks in the string that can cause strings to snap. While tuning the high E, the string broke halfway between the nut and the machine head. I was at D# and worrying that the string didn't sound right. You can usually hear when a string is getting ready to go. Based on where the string broke, I believe it to be a manufacturer's defect.

     Settles to pitch and holds pitch better: This seems to be correct. The strings did seem to settle out pretty quickly which for me is usually only an issue if I have to change right before a show or during a break, so for those limited instances they would be pretty good.

     I suppose this is as good a spot as any to mention that they have gone with a tin coating on these strings. This is to aid in corrosion inhibition. They also have a really good grippy feeling to them. You can play pretty fast and not have to worry about pull off slipping at all.

     The strings have 6% more magnetic permeability resulting in higher output in the 2 - 5 khz range for punch, crunch, and bite. Yeah... they don't sound that great to me. If a string is going to sound great with distortion it should sound great clean. I thought the tone a little on the dull side, and definitely not better than the original strings.

     Bottom Line: I probably won't buy these strings, nor do I think they will transform the industry. The company has a contest going on that invites people to put up a YouTube video of their "hardest fastest, best solo playing", and label the video with #XLFORMULA3. So far all I have seen is teens playing in their bedroom, which is the likely demographic for this product. For a good laugh go check out the dude who wears a cold weather face mask, and a hat with chicken bones all over it who calls himself "Bones The Guitarist". But hey whatever works for you eh?

*Update* I called the company and spoke to customer service. I wanted to let them know about what i saw on the high e. They sent me out another set of strings. Great job of Customer Service!

 Let me know if you have had a different experience with them, or if I overlooked something.