When the Elixir company began offering guitar strings in 1997 coated with a thin coating of fluoropolymer to improve string life, acoustic players were intrigued. Initial experiments by serious bluegrass pickers found that they did indeed last longer on the guitar, a huge benefit for those whose skin chemistry tended to deaden new strings right away. But most found that while string life was extended, the tone suffered sufficiently from what they achieved with bronze strings to make it an uneven tradeoff.
It was a very interesting concept, one that has found favor with a great many guitarists, but grassers have largely resisted. Elixir, owned by the W. L. Gore & Associates, the developers and manufacturers of Gore-Tex, have continued to expand their offerings, finding new formulae of polymers to enhance tone, and thin down the coating even more.
Their newest string may be the one to capture bluegrass musicians. Marketed as Elixir Attune strings, they are available in either the phosphor or 80/20 bronze familiar to flatpickers, with a new thinner proprietary coating on the wound strings. They say that the Attune strings don’t have that coated feel that some players didn’t like, and sound like what you expect from a dreadnaught guitar played with a flatpick
The two plain steel strings receive a rustproofing compound instead of the coating, also adding life to those as well.
It will be interesting to see if bluegrass guitarists give these Elixir Attune strings a try, and what they think.
The strings are available from music stores and guitar shops worldwide, or directly from the company online.
