String comparison resource?

i would start by researching the artists that have the tones you like or want to emulate.
a google search will usually give this up if you use a bit of imagination.
also, the string manufacturers sites will often list artists that use their brand.
imo any other method(s), (including users reviews/opinions) are about personal taste, and may not reflect yours.

TL has the right approach.
What I found was that based on the suggestions and feedback on sites, I purchased strings and found that I did not like them. I bought a set of DL Strings (made one town away from me) and really did not like them at all. Up to that point I thought that I did not have the experience to tell if I liked a set of strings or not. But I knew I did not like them after 10 minutes of playing. Didn't sound right or feel right to me.

Went on to purchase a set of ELIXIR Nano Web strings and loved them! That said, what worked for me was the buy and try method. Granted I went through DL, Martin, D'adds and ELIXIRs to find this out but, to me, it was worth it.

There's also the cheapskate method - go to a guitar shop and try out guitars. Most of the new guitars have little hang-tags that say "Strings by D'Addario" or whatever, and Fender and Gibson use their own. Slightly less cheapskate - you can often buy single strings so get only one or two strings (plain and wound), and see how they feel to you before going for a full set.

Sometimes you can get lucky. When Elixir launched they gave away packs of E and G strings for free. The E's went out of stock real fast :wink: . These days I mainly put Fender Stainless strings on the Strat and Gibson Vintage strings on the RD Custom, with Elixirs on the homebuilt Tele. Dean Markley was my favourite in the 80's but they've gone down in quality. My son swears by D'Addario on his Ibanez, but is also happy with Fender stainless strings.

If you're into classical, there's a whole section on strings on www.delcamp.net.

On electrics, I've been using Ernie Ball's for a couple of years. Before that I used GHS Boomers. I also bought a couple of sets off ebay of No-Name 10-46s - BIG mistake, the B string would not let you bend it.

I've gone with the "try and buy" and "ask other players what they use, then try and buy" methods. For a while, I was in love with Ernie Ball (the hybrid slinky pack, 0.09s), but wanted to put heavier strings on one guitar to tune down. The store was out of Ernie Balls in 0.11s, so I tried GHS Boomers and love 'em. I'm wanting to pick up a set of Boomers in 0.10s to test, as I still have about 3 sets of the EB hybrids. I have 3 electrics, so I figure why not have 3 different size strings?

I have 3 electrics, so I figure why not have 3 different size strings?
I have 6 different sized strings on each of my guitars. :D :D :D

I have 3 electrics, so I figure why not have 3 different size strings?
I have 6 different sized strings on each of my guitars. :D :D :D

I admit, that took me about 15 seconds to get :oops: :D

I have 6 different sized strings on each of my guitars. :D :D :D

That'll wake up your brain...

:D

I'll probably be ready to experiment after the next batch of string changes. I've been using the D'adds, Gibsons and Fenders lately, although I've become a bit less thrilled with the Fenders for some reason. I tried EBs way back when I first started, but I would not have been able to tell good guitar strings from chicken entrails back then.