I was pretty stoked when I heard D'Addario was going to be selling XLs in a pure nickel wound formula. I'm a long time D'Addario user, and had been mildly frustrated for a the few years that I started occasionally playing pure nickel strings that D'Addario didn't offer a set, forcing me to commit adultery on occasion

I had just put a fresh set of standard XL115s on my Strat when the handful of EPN sets I had ordered arrived, and decided I didn't want to clip them off, so I figured it would be a couple of weeks or so before I could try them.  Then I had a lightbulb moment.

I have a Fender Tele Plus with first-generation Lace Sensor pickups (if you're familiar with the type of Telecaster Johnny Greenwood from Radiohead plays, it's that same model). For those unfamiliar with Lace Sensors they come in several different varieties, each mimicking a particular style of pickup...a vintage humbucker, a vintage single coil, a modern hi output pickup, blah blah blah. They are extremely quite and have little to no magnetic pull. They are also, in my experience, react quite sensitively to the strings that are on the guitar. You can almost tell how old the strings are just by listening to it through an amp.

This guitar also has a lot of output and often overdrives the front of smaller wattage amps almost too easily. A set of ProSteels would probably render clean tones on this guitar nearly impossible I had an idea that perhaps replacing the XL115s I've used on it for...geez...15 years now?...might help tame this beast a bit.  So I put a set of EPN115s on.

This set has really added some nice, vintage-y flavor to a very modern setup. The splittable Red Lace Sensor "humbucker" (really two individual Lace Sensors arranged in a humbucker configuration that can be paired or used individually) at the bridge position has gone from very brassy, aggressive and somewhat thin to taking on a rich, beefy Tele twang in the "3" position (LS closest to the bridge), a honky, wooly, somewhat vocal tone with both LSs selected (not much change here, actually) to a KILLER, barky, dynamic P90 sort of flavor in the "1" position (LS furthest from the bridge).

The middle position, typically very snappy, has retained that snap but now there's a nice midrangey roundness behind it. While standard XLs made it very shimmery and glassy (that's a good thing), the EPNs give it a round, woodier tone that loves a bit of grit behind it.

The neck position didn't change too drastically...it's a Blue LS meant to channel a big PAF humbucker type-of-sound. Still, big, rich and jazzy as before.

The output has been tamed nicely. I can now kick up the gain a bit but still stay clean when I want to.  The tonal changes are not night and day; this is still the same guitar it was before the EPNs. But the subtleties that have been brought out are fantastic.

Anyways, if you've made it this far...congratulations! I'm not ditching normal XLs by a longshot, but I love how these new EPNs are performing so far, and can't wait to try them out on my other guitars. I think they're definitely worth trying on nearly any other guitar out there.

It would be sweet if they offered them for bass, but they do have the pure nickle half-rounds for bass. 

 

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McSpadden M-12W, SH-12CRs, SH-12KKc
Custom LR Baggs Piezo Bridge Pickup on SH-12KKc
LR Baggs Para Acoustic DI Preamp
DigiTech & Boss Effects, Planet Waves Cables and Picks, D'Addario Strings
SWR Super Redhead 450w Combo Amp with SWR Goliath Jr. III Extension Cab

I just wish they would make the move, I'd be the first one to order a couple of sets. 

God wants spiritual fruit, not religous nuts!