I agree with what slejhamer said about your guitar telling which strings are best. All the strings people are talking about here are quality strings, so just go buy a few different brands and try them on your guitar. Strings that sound GREAT on one guitar will sound completely crap on another guitar.
Also, I noticed you said you were in the process of learning barre chords. Before I learned to do them, I would try and make a barre chord every once in a while, just for practice. I could never get all the strings to ring, one or more would always be muted. It was frustrating. Finally, I came across a song that I just HAD to learn because I found it so beautiful. The song happened to have quite a few barre chords in it. The song is played with a capo at the third fret, which made barre chords much easier for me. I was able to learn the right technique, and then when I tried to do barre chords without the capo--it worked!
then I got talked into purchasing Dean Markley alchemy's ...
Let us know how you like them. I used them once on a Yamaha and thought they were very good.
But again, the ones that work best for someone else's guitar may not work best for yours. On the same Yamaha, the phosphor bronze Elixers were horrible, but those are what my Breedlove likes best. (Well, Martin SPs really, but those just don't last for me.)
Your guitar will tell you which ones he/she likes best. :)
Before I gave my thoughts about this brand I thought I should play with them for a week, and see how they hold out. I'm back' and well you mentioned you've used them before on your Yamaha and thought they were very good. I concur slej', Dean Markley alchemy are a great set for fingerstylists, my notes have never rang out as beautiful as they have been doing the past few days! I am very surprised I am getting such tone and durabilty with these strings (lights btw too) still after a good week worths of playing (I practise a lot) and wear strings out the first day. These have proven to be a great brand. (and I looooove how the harmonics sound just lovely)
Also, I noticed you said you were in the process of learning barre chords. Before I learned to do them, I would try and make a barre chord every once in a while, just for practice. I could never get all the strings to ring, one or more would always be muted. It was frustrating. Finally, I came across a song that I just HAD to learn because I found it so beautiful. The song happened to have quite a few barre chords in it. The song is played with a capo at the third fret, which made barre chords much easier for me. I was able to learn the right technique, and then when I tried to do barre chords without the capo--it worked!
it's true, placing a capo helps with barre chords.
