Elixir

Elixir Strings started life in a laboratory in 1995. That laboratory was owned by W.L. Gore & Associates, the fluoropolymer company best-known for Gore-Tex fabrics, but which also manufactures patented wire and cable products around the globe. The team which birthed Elixir had been using guitar strings to test protective wire coatings when they had the idea of actually creating a coating for guitar strings -- one that would make them sound better for longer.

Now, that wasn't a new idea in the slightest, but the difference was one of expertise. Rather than a string company trying to better understand coatings, this was a chemical engineering company simply tweaking their process to incorporate 'good tone' as a desired outcome. Meticulous research, experimentation and testing ensued, and the results were sent out to 15,000 guitarists for appraisal.

The POLYWEB and NANOWEB coatings are the result, and these use a "a microscopically thin, advanced polymer tube that surrounds the string to protect it from corrosion and dirt without making any contact whatsoever with the critical area between the windings where the 'zone of tone' is found". What that means is you buy fewer sets of Elixir, and ones you do buy sound great and resist wear.

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