DR Extra Life Acoustic Guitar Strings

For the active guitarist, replacing strings is a costly necessity. Guitarists who work regularly can end up replacing them weekly (or even more often) in order to keep their sound brilliant and fresh. With a set of quality acoustic strings costing an average of $10.00, any guitarist changing strings that often better be making some decent money at it!

I have tried a couple brands of so-called 'long life' strings in the past, but in spite of their longer life, they still end up sounding rather dull and lifeless when the protective coating starts to fray from the rigors of regular playing. Though they may not break as easily as regular strings, their sound still degenerates over time, and hardly makes them worth the extra money.

I have never tried DR Extra Life Acoustic guitar Strings before. Back in 2006, the accessories clerk at the local Guitar Center here in Knoxville pitched them to me and, in spite of my skepticism, I paid my $19.95 and bought them anyway. Happily enough, these babies turned out to be a very worthwhile investment!

I took them home and installed them on my old Copley acoustic I keep in the backseat of my car; I figured this guitar, which is subject to many extremes in temperature and humidity, would be the instrument for these strings. I must say, they sounded great right out of the box; bright and sparkly like so many sets of new strings. The true test, however, would be how they sound in the distant future.

So, here I am, barely a week into 2010, and I decided the time has come to write an honest review of these exceptional strings. Even after all this hard playing and exposure to sunlight, heat, humidity, and sweat, the DR Extra Life Acoustic Guitar Strings sound surprisingly good. Of course, they have lost much of their sparkle and response, but still, they are holding up like champs, showing very minimal visual signs of corrosion and decay.

Unlike other long-life strings whose protective coatings fray and decompose after about a year (which severely dampens their sound), the DR Extra Life Acoustic strings have a patented super-thin coating measuring measuring an incredible .0003" thick. Another advantage the DR Extra Life strings hold over their competition is how the wound strings (notably, the "Low E", "A", "D", and "G") are coated.

Instead of coating the wound strings after they're wound, the DR manufacturing process bonds the coating to the "wrap wire" before the bass strings are wound! This ingenious process prevents the protective coating from fraying in such a way that sounds as ugly as it looks. The result, a sound that stays brighter longer from strings that won't break after only a month!

DR Extra Life Acoustic Guitar Strings can be purchased at most music stores or even online outlets such as Musician's Friend for an average price of around $25.00 a set. Although I could let my written endorsement of these fine strings stand on its own, I have included the accompanying video to supply further proof of their superior performance because, as they say, "Hearing is believing"!

Check out this video for the tutorial!