XL Chromes

I used these on both my Jaguar (Am Pro II) and Jazzmaster (Am Original 60s).How they're different form round wound strings:Flat wound = no string sliding noise. This can be considered a pro or a con depending on your preferences. It's also useful considering the next point...Wound G = nigh impossible full step bends. The ECG24s are already thicker than typical round wound strings, and the G string in this set requires a lot of effort to get a full step bend. It's possible, but requires a more effort than I'm used to - or even capable of - doing casually. But with the noiseless sliding, it's easy enough to slide up that full step when you can to compensate.Thicker = Setup adjustments. I used these on guitars that were set up with 9s prior. It took a little bit of tweaking to get the action back to where I liked it. Not a ton, but a little. There were zero changes needed at the nut, these should slot right in to any guitar set up for standard gauge strings.On the Jaguar, they replaced what I set up most of my guitars with; a set of D'Addario EXL120s. They, unsurprisingly, darken the tone compared to a set of light gauge strings and create a very mid-forward timbre. I like the way they feel, and it's a fun change of pace, but I'll probably buy the ECG23PLs next to see if I can get back some of that brightness. If those don't do it, I might go back to EXL120s. That's just how I like my Jaguar to sound. Your tastes and preferences may be different.On the Jazzmaster, Wow. I had always heard that Jazzmasters benefit greatly from flat wounds, but I never wanted to believe it. Now I'm a believer. Anyone who's picked up a JM can attest to the amount of treble they typically put out. The ECG24s took that treble heavy EQ and effectively flattened it out. It now has an excellent and pleasant balance across the whole frequency range to my ear. The treble bite remains, but it's been tamed to a level that isn't as harsh on the ears. They also seem to have deadened the sympathetic vibrations that JM bridges are known to inherently have. They've been effectively eliminated from mine, and I'm still using the stock threaded saddles that the guitar came with. I will definitely continue using these for my JM.Overall, I say they're worth a try on any guitar you may own. But, they are a must-try for anyone that owns a Jazzmaster.Pro Tip: If you want to try flats and still want brighter tones, get an EQ pedal. Everyone should have a Boss GE-7 in their arsenal anyway.

I'm sure why I bought these and had no idea what I was getting into. I like to play a jazzmaster heavily overdriven through a boss blues and then a fuzz pedal, preceded by a wah, through a fender Princeton. Sound is like heavy david gilmour. These strings are very different from anything I've used in the past, which have always been cheap ernie ball wound strings. Here are the cons (after a couple days of playing): They feel weird - very unnatural without the regular wound feel. My fingers do not slide as well on them - they feel sticky, kinda like a suction cup feel. Also, the G string (well I tune a step down, but you know what I mean). - is really weird. It is not your typical thiner string. It is a fat one, and it's really hard to bend it up a half step. I mean, it IS possible, but you have to bend it really far to bring the note up a whole step. Weird. The B & E are bendable, yet thicker than I'm used to.When I first installed these strings, I was like WTF, and actually was thinking to rip them off and replace them. But, I didn't have any other strings on hand, so I just played my guitar like usual, jamming out to some blues, classic rock, psychedelic backing tracks. Then I began to notice - the guitar's voice had been significantly altered. And here is the reason I'm not really sure what I'm gonna do, and I may even leave them on, or buy a second guitar, maybe a strat, which I can set up with regular strings --- the Jazzmaster, with these strings, changes sound so much, it's unbelievable. It adds balls, weight, grit....it almost makes it sound like what I'd imagine a reallly good Les Paul might sound like (that's a guess). For anything that involves non-soloing - playing chords, playing songs, there is a significant improvement in sound. The guitar now, through the setup I'm using, has without a doubt the best sound I've ever been able to produce in my life. I'm going to have a hard time taking these strings off this thing because of that. I was a little concerned my fingers might take too much of a beating trying to bend these fat ass strings, but idk - I think I'm gonna try to limit my playing to ~30 min / day while my fingers adapt and stick with these, and like I said, maybe get a second guitar that's set up with regular strings ( nickel wound 10 - 13 - 15 xxx ). Here's another thing - so an issue I have when soloing is I am going in the direction where I play so many notes I kinda sometimes feel like I'm just jabbering away and making sounds without making musical statements. What these thicker strings do for me, is they kinda make it harder to play quite as fast, but each note you do play will have more character, so it encourages me at least to slow down a little and really enjoy the articulation??? ( the character ) you can put into less notes. In other words - my playing actually sounds, to me, more professional, more like what I hear on great records....bottom line, these are friggin amazing, yet uncomfortable in ways, strings.

D’Addario XL Chromes Electric Guitar Strings deliver exactly what they promise—a buttery-smooth feel and rich, mellow tones. The flat-wound design minimizes finger noise and makes sliding effortless, while the polished stainless steel wrap adds a layer of sophistication to your sound. Perfect for jazz or any style requiring warmth and depth, these strings maintain excellent intonation and durability. Highly recommended for musicians looking to elevate their tone with ultra-smooth playability!

I am a beginning electric guitar player and I learned that on a bass guitar, that flat wound strings are super comfortable on the fingers, especially for slides. This particular set is still a little too heavy for my fingers and when I installed all of these strings as they come, the tremolo system required extra springs and the tension rod had to be tightened in the neck. I did not like the way it played with the extra tension that made the strings hard to bend and hurt my fingers.My special trick and best solution to turn these into wonderful, easy bending, light playing strings is to not use the #48 heaviest E string. Buy a separate .008 or 0.009 gauge string to use for the first E string and then shift all of the others over. See my marked up package in my photo. This trick gives you a wonderful 8-38 or 9-38 smooth set with the following:1-E 8 or 9 (purchased separately)2-B 103-G 144-D 20w5-A 28w6-E 38w48w - not used