D’Addario EXP Strings

D’Addario EXP46 coated silver plated strings
Micro-fine coating, Brighter Tone + Extended-Life Compound Plated Plain Steels

Here’s what they say:

EXP coated strings feature a micro-fine layer of corrosion-resistant EXP Coating applied to the wrap wire before it’s wound onto the multi-filament core. The result is strings that last 3-4 times longer coupled with the brightness, clarity, and natural feel of out traditional, world-famous strings.

It has long been a desire of many guitarists to have a set of bass strings that would retain their brightness and punch for longer than the first week. For many of us the acidic sweat from our fingers can eat away at the most brilliant of strings reducing them to dull, dead, nail eating twine. I have known a few fellow guitarists who could play on their strings for months and they would still sound new and fresh, however, like most desirable things it is the exception rather than the rule.

D’Addario has tackled the problem of dying strings very successfully with the EXP series and come up with a bright, robust set of bass strings that defy the deadening effects of corrosion for a much longer time period than normal strings. It is difficult to say exactly how much longer the EXP strings last as everyone has different hands and styles of playing the guitar, however, in my experience the strings easily last twice as long as normal strings, if not more.

Playability

The bass strings are very similar in playability to the standard

D’Addario basses and retain the very high level of quality that has made this company such a success in the past decades. The diameters of the

EXP strings are almost identical to the traditional J 46 strings and the only real difference in playability is the feel of the EXP coating on the basses. One downside of these strings sounding newer for longer is that the string noise that is more present with new strings stays longer also.

Sound

With sound quality being such a personal observation I am hesitant to agree or disagree with calling the basses ‘brighter’ or ‘darker’ than standard basses. What can be said with certainty is that the EXP basses are noticeably different in sound than the standard D’Addario basses but they retain the full, powerful tone that D’Addario is known for. The trebles in the set are standard D’Addario treble strings, which complement the basses well, having a full and traditional sound.

The bottom line…

The great high quality stings from D’Addario that you already know that have longer lasting basses.

Tip: If you want to get longer life out of your bass strings give them a good wipe down with a polishing cloth after you finish playing. This way you can clean some of the dirt off the strings and the acidic sweat will not eat away at the strings between playing sessions.