D'Addario
D'Addario has been making strings in New York since the family moved the business from Italy, and the numbers are the point: it is one of the largest string manufacturers in the world, supplying everything from the XT coated sets to the NYXL range designed to hold tuning under heavy bending. Strings rarely make headlines, so D'Addario appears in our archive where it belongs — in setup and maintenance guides, gift round-ups and the spec sheets of new instruments shipped factory-strung.
What Are Guitar Strings Made Of? The Ultimate Beginner Guide to String Materials & Tone
Learn what guitar strings are made of. Explore how materials like bronze, nickel, and steel affect your instrument's tone, feel, and lifespan.
- Guitar strings
- Orchestral strings
- Reeds and mouthpieces
- Drumheads
- Accessories
- XL nickel wound
- NYXL
- EJ phosphor bronze
- XS coated
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D'Addario FAQ4 questions
How big is D'Addario?
It is a family-owned and operated American multinational based in Farmingdale, New York, reporting more than 1,100 employees, and it is led by John D'Addario III. Its subsidiaries include Evans Drumheads, ProMark Drumsticks and D'Addario Woodwinds and Orchestral, so the reach goes well past guitar strings.
What is the difference between XL and NYXL strings?
NYXL uses a reformulated high-carbon steel core that D'Addario says holds tuning better and takes bending harder, with more midrange output. XL is the long-standing nickel-wound line and remains the volume seller. NYXL costs more; whether the difference justifies it depends on how hard you play.
What do the D'Addario string codes mean?
The prefix is the family and the number is the gauge set — EXL110 is the 10-46 nickel wound set, EJ16 the 12-53 phosphor bronze acoustic set, and so on. Learning the two or three codes you actually buy is faster than reading the packet each time.
How old is the D'Addario string business?
The current company dates to 1973, but the family's string-making goes back generations further in Italy before that. The modern operation is a large manufacturer rather than a workshop, which is the reason its strings are the default stock in most shops.