The Elixir strings are of the shelf simply the best of what I currently find on the market if they lag behind even the sound a little behind D'Addario. You just have to know if you, the guitar, the one also used live (manual welding ...) fitted so that, on the one wants more than once every six months to change the strings, or whether imminent a studio recording. For live operation: Elixir, for Studio D'Addario - so my recommendation. Why? The Elixir bring not all the overtones as the D'Addario. Otherwise barely distinguishable, and therefore, because of its durability (also the durability of the typical phosphor bronze tone, not only the Srtabilität) I recommend the sometimes slightly more expensive compared Elixir.