I was a bit skeptical about these strings, mainly because of the thinner gauge of the strings. I generally use Martin light strings with .12 for the high E, versus the .11 custom light gauge used here.

And almost immediately after I put them on and tried them out, my initial reaction was, "oh man, mushy and strange sounding!"

But I wisely left them on a few days and let them settle into tune and my guitar. Once they did settle, what a difference!

The softer feel and lighter gauge makes singing and fingering chords together much easier, and I can concentrate on singing and not finger pressure.

The slightly softer feel imparted by the FX process Martin uses also makes the strings buzz slightly, in a Sitar-like way that is mesmerizing.

Just be aware that if you are used to mashing down on the fretboard to finger your chords, it'll make your chords sound slightly out of tune/sharp until you develop the lighter touch necessary to finger chords properly with the FX Silk and Phosphors.

They're now a pleasure to play with and I am contemplating restringing some of my other fingerstyle guitars over to these strings.

Martin's new FX130 is an easy to play string that provides warm accompanyment to my voice. This string is a step above the silk and steel in that it is a warmer string, yet provides great resonance and tone. I found the core wire to be very flexible and therefore comfortable. I could focus on the vocals without worrying about the fret work.

Sweet and warm sound with easy play - I love using these for acoustic songs that I sing along with. I've switched my acoustics over to this. My fingers feel much better. When I capo up to the 8th for Cats in the Cradle, I can still work the strings to get the perfect tone. Great stuff!