I broke my high E string today.
This is only significant because I put it on over a month ago.
Again, you say, SO?
Just this- The string looked exactly the same, when it broke, as the day I put it on. You couldn't see where the string lay over 5 fret or 7th fret based on dark, corroded spots on the string. The string was shiny bright from end to (detached) end
My fingers sweat corrosive acid, sort of like in "Alien". I can put on new steel strings and they will start corroding after about ten minutes. This isn't an exaggeration. I wipe my strings off religiously, which allows them to last for a reasonable period of time, but they never have that "like new" feel after the first day or so.
So, I saw an ad for Elixir anti-rust strings. They only came in full sets so I bought a set of electric strings with a plain .10 and .14. It was a $10 experiment.
It was worth every penny. For me the anti-rust strings are truly one of the greatest inventions in all the years I've been playing guitar.
They look and feel very slightly different. They feel great but have about 90-95% of the slipperiness of a new string. But that feel lasts until they break.
They sound, to me, just like any other plain steel string. Remember, I'm only talking about the plain, unwrapped, E and B (the other strings in the pack were tossed out). I'm still using Argies for the wrapped strings.
The reason I'm posting this- Juststrings.com (and othersalso I presume) is about to start selling individual anti-rust strings at .98 each. I just ordered (5) .10s and (5) .14s. 6 months worth.
If you sweat your way through a set of strings and hate the way steel strings feel when they start to corrode you have to try these things!
Troy