Had band practice today, and the ol' ESP needed a new set of strings. Wouldn't ya know it, my stack of D'Addarios that my other guitar player and I ordered from MF was completely depleted. In my area, I have exactly *two* places I can go to purchase new strings. One is a pawn shop, and the other is a pharmacy on the square downtown. I went to the pawn shop.

All they had was GHS brand strings.

It took me a lot of experimentation to find the brand of string that worked best for me. The GHS Boomers I used in the past didn't cut it, IMHO. They had Boomers, Zakk Wylde sig strings, and Nickel Rockers. Seeing no alternative, I chose the Nickel Rockers, paid about $6.00 for one pack (10s), and out the door I went.

Slapped the strings on the ESP (a simple process, with the top loading TOM bridge), stretched 'em out a bit, and gave 'em a good tuning.

Tone: Awesome. Not as bright as the D'Addarios (which I have to play for a while, as they're almost too bright at first), with a "rounder" tone. It was a noticable difference. It will be interesting how long these strings last and how well they keep that tone. It's not enough to make me switch from the D'Addarios, but at least I know there's a good backup out there!