I used these long ago and tried a set for the first time in years last nite. Heres what happened, and i'm not sure if it was me or what. But i have 2 strats that sound different as strats go, but when playing them in a band mix or jamming to tunes on the PC as i did last nite, they sound close enough so that they both cut the same and all that. Subtle differences. so when i put one down and pick the other up i get that subtle difference but they basically cut the same and work equally as well in a sound mix. So i'm playing my main strat last nite with SIT's and just running thru a bunch of tunes on the PC. Something doesn't seem quite right, but i just attribute that to the typical differences in my hearing, how i'm feeling that nite etc. you know how that goes. But it really seems like more. The tone isn't cutting thru and i can't hear myself, so i turn up slightly and then i'm ytoo loud. No amount of amp tweaking will allow me to get a good blend. It's just too lacking in brightness/articulation. Wondering how my ears could be that off i decided in mid tune to swap strats to my other one with the D'addarios i've used for years. Wham ! Instant cut, perfect blend, without exaggeration nite and day !

i can't do this all the time because i have people living above me and can only do it when they aren't home. So i cannot just give it another try today. so i wanted to ask if anyone else has had a similar experience with SIT strings. I have never noticed such a huge tonal difference between 2 brands of strings before, and i will have to further test them. But right now it looks to me like these strings are to blame.

I live close to where SIT strings are made, and I used to use them years ago, but I don't anymore. They lose their tone rather quickly I noticed, but I always thought it was because I have a very aggressive left hand vibrato, and I'm equally aggressive with the tremolo bar.
What you experience with SIT's are the popular opinion of all the guitar players in this area. No one uses them around here anymore.
It's too bad, Virgil is one of the nicest guys you'd ever meet, and he's been involved with building guitars since the days of the "Log" guitar which was the prototype for the Gibson LP guitars.
The problem is, he's just not up on the needs of guitar players in the current day and age.
SIT's would be good fopr players who have a very conservative, and clean toned playing style.
I hate to say it that way because Virgil is one of my favorite people in the world. I have to tell it like it is.

_________________
I only have two brain cells left, and I'm saving them....for this weekend!

I can see that being the case. (good for clean) They just don't have enough punch and presence for dirtier tones. Then again even clean i wonder how they cut in a jazz mix. After all, jazz players need to cut thru the mix too, just not as intensely.

The heavier gauges hold up a bit better.
When I was getting string from them, I had Virgil custom make sets for me for my Strats that were .14-.58. Those held up pretty well as far as tone, but the lighter gauges did'nt do too well. For a time, they were making some various sets of strings to try to get into the more modern guitar tones, (this was back in 93' BTW), and they were a bit more aggressive, but I don't believe they are still making them.
You see, SIT was not a big operation. When Virgil and I went to the shop and he showed me how the strings were made, it was in a basement of a store on Kenmore Blvd. They've moved the operation into a bigger building in downtown, but I believe they discontinued some of the additional string products.
I can call Virgil and see what they are up to lately and see what kind of strings they might have for more of the modern stylings. It's very possible that where you are, they may not order anything other than the standard strings that SIT has been putting out since the 70's.

_________________
I only have two brain cells left, and I'm saving them....for this weekend!

I used them once and made a mental note to never use them again. I honestly don't remember the deciding factor though.

_________________
You dig?

i changed back to D'addarrio tonite. theres no doubt, it wasn't in my mind ! Me too....mental note to self....never buy SIT again ! new D'addariios and all the goodness is back.

I've been using Super Bullets on my strats and occasionally, D' Addario's, but the latter don't seem to last as long. SB's have a warmer quality to them and hold up reasonable well.
About a month ago, I tried some DR High Voltage strings on one of my Strats and I'm really hooked on them at the moment. I thought they'd be too crisp or maybe even brittle sounding, but they are'nt. The ones I liked to use but have a hard time finding them are the DR Pure Blues.
I still use the Super Bullets on my humbucking guitars.

-Harley

_________________
I only have two brain cells left, and I'm saving them....for this weekend!

I tried the DR strings too, but not "high fvoltage". Just the standard ones. And there too i was disappointed. Not that they OR sit are bad, just that for the way my personal rig has evolved over the years, they just don't go well with it. Maybe if i used fender amps and brighter pickups or some such thing they'd work for me. But D'addarrios just work. So i'm done messing with strings. I learned that old lesson years ago, but my never ending inquisitive nature still sometimes gets the better of me....
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it". I'm gonna start living by that when it comes to strings at least.

I think the D'Addario's sound good too, my problem with them is that I break them too quickly.
If you are referring to the DR Tite-Fit strings, I agree, they are nothing to write home about. The best ones I've used on the Strats are the Pure Blues from them, but I can't find them at GC, they are always sold out. I just happened to try the High Voltage ones on a fluke, and as it turned out, they really woke up the tone of my 1980 X-1 Strat, and the 60' custom Strat with the Texas Specials. They still have all the warmth, but they cut through the mix a bit better now.
My style of playing ranges from Classic Rock, Fusion, Jazz, Rockin' Blues, to Progressive Metal. So, it's really a nice thing to be able to use the same guitar to play all those styles.

-Harley

_________________
I only have two brain cells left, and I'm saving them....for this weekend!

Super Bullets and GHS Boomers for me, though I'll occasionally use D'Addario also. Of course, as an amateur home-guitarist, I seem to sound the same (amateurish) with any string.

I'm just the opposite. Every time I jammed with someone, I'd break one or two strings a session with Super Bullets. It was getting really frustrating. I ended up switching to D'Addario, and haven't broken a string since. (And I'm not a hard strummer)

_________________
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them."-John Wayne

The fact that I use super-hardend steel pick, might have something to do with why I break so many strings, then again, maybe not. If this were true, then I would break any string that I played on no matter what.
Everyone has to go with what works for them, and I respect that.

-Harley

_________________
I only have two brain cells left, and I'm saving them....for this weekend!

I wouldnt blame the pick. I used a brass pick to play hardcore punk for years and broke about 3 stings in well over 130 gigs. I absolutely thrashed that old jackson. I did round the edges of the pick the more i used it though.

Gotta admit theres no sound to rival a good metal pick. I still use it now on my brass saddled tele when i play slide. My slides also brass, can you spot the theme

_________________
No no and no

Yeah Niki,

You got a lot of brass

Actually, I make my own pics from tooling steel. been using the same one for 10 years now. Not a bit of wear

_________________
I only have two brain cells left, and I'm saving them....for this weekend!

I no someone who uses thre Flatwound strings and swears by them and there powerflats which are supposed to be semi flat. I have played his guit with the flatwonds and I must say they felt good when playing and had a nice sound. I think they were .012's

_________________
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson