Daddario EXL140-8

When buying an 8-string I needed some replacement strings, and these were some of the ones I wanted to try. I only use Elixir normally, but seeing that they are either very limited or expensive when it comes to different gauges, I went for these since I used D'addario before Elixir and this set seems to be pretty "go-to" in the ERG community. The guitar I fitted them on was an Ibanez RG8 with a 27" inch scale. First impressions were good, but went south after a bit of tinkering. First of all, light strings were too tight, and a 27" scale isn't even that much for an 8 string. The 74 for the low f# seemed too light however, at least for the scale length. The tension jump to the 64 for the low b is just too steep, and the string was very tight. The sound however was very good. Nice for tight heavy rythm, just not on the f#. Overall, okay considering the options out there but still a very unbalanced set.

In total honesty, most reviewers here are right: this set is a little bit unbalanced (something not uncommon with 8 string sets of any brand) and "long lasting" is not something that you could use in the same sentence with Daddario. BUT...

Having said that, Daddario could be regarded as a premium brand overall. You can easily see that in their packaging, for example (on the flipside, you will pay for that, rest assured), the broad choices and the diversity of the different lines offered by the brand.

The XL line is not their finest offering in terms of quality (they have much better), but there still get the job done.

I was somehow forced to choose these in order to gain better fitment for one of my 8 string guitars, so I can compare this set with a different brand (two others in two other 8 string guitars). I can therefore attest that durability is not a strength for the set (in few weeks they were visibly tarnished), but still sound consistent and nice (just not fresh). It was not cheap and are still going, but I can imagine that these might not be your cup of tea. I will not change these until they die and at that time I will probably select another brand.

I bought these when I purchased my new 8 string, Ibanez S8QM as I wanted to try something heavier to the 9-65 set which came with the guitar. The D'Addario string set came covered in a plastic wallet inside a cardboard box. For anyone who hasn't used D'Addario strings before, each string comes with a different coloured ball end, which are indicated on the plastic wallet, making re-stringing a breeze and add some colour to the bridge of the guitar. The strings are very bright sounding and remain feeling fresh for a long time, which for me was roughly a month of daily practise and playing sessions, which is something I had never been able to achieve with other string brands. I would definitely recommend this set for any 8 string guitar user.