As an amateur guitarist I was skeptical at first, but if the higher price for a set of strings can pay off. I usually have stocked my Lakewood cheap Martin strings. After an extensive test now the following result: - The Elixir strings have a brilliant sound, - This also keeps much longer than normal strings, - I play the strings already about half a year and I'm still happy (with the frequent players might be faster) - Wear is most visually in much recorded region to recognize (the frets 1-5 for me). As you can safely deduce that strings of Elixir with me first choice will remain on in the future. Due to the rare exchange of strings, the purchase price pays off quickly (in conjunction with great acoustics).