Harley Benton Valuestrings WE 12-53

I've purchased these strings partly out of curiosity. I play the acoustic a lot, mostly using the metal finger picks, and needless to say, that kind of abuse would wear out any strings pretty quickly. Usually, I would just buy more expensive strings, not even thinking about trying out the cheaper ones, because mostly my experience with the cheap strings were bad, but then I've stumbled on these when browsing here on Thomann. I've thought to myself; hell, why not give them a go, they are cheap so there's nothing to lose. After trying them on, I must say I was very pleased. The sound was bright and definitely a considerable and important improvement when compared with the used strings, and after about a month of usage they still didn't break, and that's what I really wanted. I haven't bought them expecting miracles, just wanted strings that will sound fresh and won't break easily, so the home practice and playing would be more enjoyable, and that's exactly what I've got. I would rather put these on my guitar once per week, and that would still be cheaper than one pair of the more expensive strings I would usually put on, which would soon wear out and then I would play on these worn out and dull strings for a month or more, before a new change.

That being said, in the case of recording or live performance, I would still go with the more expensive strings, like perhaps D'Addario or DRs, but for the purpose I've intended it these work out just fine, and when I take the price in the consideration, I feel it would be unjust of me to give them any less than the highest score.

I originally purchased these strings just out of interest at how cheap strings would be. However, I am extremely impressed by these strings. The value for money Is excellent. I have used many (including some very expensive) brands of guitar strings but these are pretty good. I like to bulk buy these so I have lots for gigs & recording. They worked well for me on my cruise ship contract and another guitarist aboard ended up asking about and buying these strings for his guitar. I recently did a recording session and put chose to use a nice fresh set of these strings on my Martin. The recording session turned out really well and is set for radio and tv play later this year. Therefore these strings are appropriate for professional use. The strings stay quite bright for a good week or two and don't show signs of rust for over a month ( I have a set on an old guitar that I don't play much !! ) . I'd recommend these strings

I am a full time gigging singer and guitarist and i have spent years trying to find the 'perfect' string. The upshot is, that doesn't exist. However, there are strings that are pure snake oil and strings that are ok for the price and others that are exceptional for the price. The latter is where these Harley Benton strings fit. I have a very percussive style so i will always break strings from any manufacturer. Experience has show me that and I don't mind breaking the odd string as I replace them all once a week anyway. Usually, all strings corrode badly (often after one gig) and they completely lose their tone. These strings do not corrode at all (despite being uncoated) and I truley don't know what they are made out of for them to be this way as any other 80/20 bronxe string for me corrodes and dies toanlly after just one gig. These don't. They stay in perfect condition and hold their tone long enough for me to re-string the following week. I recently tried a set of strings that cost over £20 from a leadining manufacturer. They last two gigs then corroded and I broke 2 on the 3rd gig. I have tried them all and nothing compares to these and considering they are the cheapest (buying in bulk of 24 makes these strings work out to 22p per string) I cannot get my head around it! Yes, I am a heavy percussive player but I didn't expect the cheapest to be the best. This is after 8 years of research.