[u]No Elixir experiences here[/u]. Heard their praises sung by some, decried by others, but ultimately [u]their regular price is simply too rich for me[/u]. Best price I can currently source Optiwebs in 9-42 or 10-46 in a 2+1 promo pack on eBay (legit product) works out at AUD$16/per set. (USD$11.50/set). Tradeoff appears to be great life for feel and tone.

A veritible smorgasboard of choice out there, so far on electric I've tried mainly the prominent brands. I guess that's the reason they manoeuvre to have their brand familiarised with newbs by fitting them OEM to so many guitar brands.

So far for electric I've tried D'Addario EXLs in 9s and 10s, Curt Mangan 10s, Ernie Ball Super Slinky 9s, Alice AE530SL & L 9s and 10s. Fitted to x4 Strats, x2 Teles, and a Les Paul. Pretty hard to beat EXL D'Addarios on balance. Tone, consistency, reliability, longevity, feel, and price which is important when you own a few guitars as they are a consumable and it's essential to change them regularly. There is just nothing like playing a fresh set of strings after initial stretching and bedding in. I prefer to buy quality but pay less for uncoated and change more often for my best experience.

I source my strings in x10/per size & type bulk buys to keep the price down per unit. Slinkys are a bit dearer, but still affordable. The jury is still out on them. Alice AE530s (Chinese) are an amazing up and comer, excellent value buying from AliExpress even per single unit buy. Like most things Alice, they perform as advertised. Fortunately at present, my bulk buy price on D'Addarios is only about AUD$2/set dearer which is neither here nor there in my overall annual expenditure. But I'm always on the scout for anything new undiscovered which is quality for when neither affordability nor economic sense might continue to favour sticking with the familiar big name brand.

Similarly with my acoustics. They all came fitted OOTB with OEM coated D'Addarios which have been very good, especially in their impressive extended service life. As they've worn out and been replaced, it's been with D'Addario EJ16s after trying my first few sets of them. Not only is their bulk buy price right along with all the other characteristics previously ascribed to my electric D'Addario experiences, but in the particular I especially love and [u]prefer[/u] both the [u]feel[/u] and [u]tone[/u] of them. Especially on the Concert bodied acoustics.