There seem to be two schools of thought regarding acoustic bass guitars: the first is of players that dislike the tone of Phosphor Bronze strings on metal frets and go out of their way to move away from that sound, using Tapewound or Flatwound strings to bring out a more "Upright Bass" tone and trading off the natural volume that their acoustic bass has for an almost "metallic-free" tone.

The second, to which I subscribe, see the instrument as exactly how it is named: an *Acoustic Bass Guitar* and both play as well as have it sound as such. We realize that an acoustic bass is naturally far closer to an acoustic guitar then it is an Upright Bass and see them, play them as well as string them up as "Big Brothers" to acoustic guitars, using Phosphor Bronze Acoustic Bass Strings that bring out both the low-end as well as the "acousticness" that an acoustic bass guitar brings to the table.

The positive aspects that D'Addario EXPPBB170 Coated Phosphor Bronze Acoustic Bass Strings have are major ones. Firstly, D'Addario's EXP coated strings easily extends the life of phosphor bronze strings 2-to-3 times the life of standard uncoated phosphor bronze strings. If you're a player that has an allergic reaction to bronze, or one that produces acidic sweat that can "deaden" typical strings, the coating on the strings allow you to play acoustic strings without harm to yourself or wasting money on strings that you'll deaden within a day or two. Also, because of the coating on the strings there's a slight "slickness" to the string that's not an unpleasant feeling underneath the finger. But importantly, D'Addario only coats the "wrap" of the string (the metal our fingers touch that's wrapped around the "core" of the string and *not* the entire string after it's done being made). Because of this method of manufacturing opposed to another brand's coated strings they still ring out very much like non-coated strings and not as if they were "dipped in plastic". The positive aspect of the coating is that it dampens the high-end slightly, which actually addresses what players from the aforementioned "First School of Thought" find a negative - the brightness of phosphor bronze string on metal fret. The EXP coating naturally brings down the brightness just enough while still keeping the feeling of playing an "acoustic bass guitar" to a near-perfect amount.

As a bassist who very much considers himself an "Acoustic Bass Guitar" player, D'Addario Coated Phosphor Bronze Acoustic Bass Strings are EXACTLY what I imagined my Taylor AB-2 Acoustic Bass (a low-production, high-end bass made by legendary builder Taylor Guitars for a short amount of time from the late 1990s to early '00s) sounding like both live and in the studio. If they became unavailable I'd likely use the non-coated version of the string, but imagine I wouldn't be nearly as happy with it.

I put these on my Michael Kelly Club Custom acoustic bass a month ago, and it sounds better than when I first played the bass in the store! Very bright sound-- you can hear it over an acoustic guitar-- great for slapping or just regualr playing. Picks also sound good with these strings. D'addario (as a stringmaking family) has been around since the late 17th century, so these guys definitely know how to craft some awesome strings.