I bought this stuff from Strings Direct, and they sent me through the product in a totally different packaging and bottle to the one shown on the web site. They may have been passing off old stock, or something. (SD Comment: Packaging has changed. Image is previous one) Either way, first impressions on this aren't all that great. The problem is that its quite hard to compare treated strings with untreated outside of a laboratory environment, and there is always the possiblitly of an 'emperor's new clothes' scenario. This product does not have the 'wow' effect of Elixir strings. In fact, its quite hard to notice any difference at first. A marginal difference, maybe. If you have used Elixir strings in the past you will be disappointed with this stuff. It's much weaker, and does allow dirt to form unlike the Elixir product. It is nowhere near as thick, however, and affects the feel of the strings far less. It does make the strings feel a little 'taut' in my opinion, and takes some of the bounce out of them. I may be wrong about that, but thats how it seems to me. And I'm not sure how long an application of this stuff lasts - presumably you need to keep treating it. The big problem is that it doesn't make your strings feel nice to play. A good string cleaner, such as the Jim Dunlop brand, makes strings feel quiet, smooth and frictionless. I don't get that feel from the Stringlife product, so I tend to apply Stringlife once and leave it to dry with new strings, and from then on just use a good string cleaner. Not bad, but hard to recommend at this price.

Quite simply &#150; this works, and works very well indeed. <br/> <br/>I have always cleaned my instrument after every session &#150; and in terms of the strings, this has meant pinching each string individually between my thumb and forefinger using a clean rag and running up and down it until no black residue is visible on the rag. Despite this, my guitars (EBMM JP6 &amp; Fender Am Deluxe) still lose intonation after only three weeks and the strings require changing. <br/>I have tried fast fret (which only cleans the tops of the strings) and the swipe (which just isn&#146;t up to the task) and thought that I was just one of those unlucky individuals who had to change their strings more frequently than most. <br/> <br/>I decided to give this stuff a try when I bought my last lot of strings and am simply amazed. I don&#146;t use the applicator like it suggests (as I&#146;m not keen on coating my fret board with anything other than sweat ;-) so I soak a small part of my rag before cleaning my strings using the same technique that I have always done (i.e. pinching them individually between thumb and forefinger). <br/>It has been 5 weeks since my last string change and despite being darker than when they were first fitted (all strings tarnish regardless due to contact with the elements) the guitar suffers from no intonation issues and they still appear to have plenty of life left in them. <br/>In short, this is going to more than double the life of my strings and save me a packet each year!! <br/> <br/>I would recommend that you try this (if your strings suffer like mine used to), but not to use the applicator (as this will only clean the top of the strings and over coat everything else in gunk) and to instead use the technique that I have adopted as my strings &#145;squeak&#146; with cleanliness after every session when I give them a polish &#150; which is the tell tale sign that the strings are still good to go for a few more sessions yet. <br/>

I'm not saying that the guy below is wrong because everyone's body chemistry is different. However... it's probably extended the life of my strings by around a third. Excellent value, my first bottle still has a little left after nearly a year. I play (like most guitarists) every day without fail so this extra life obviously helps the wallet. Bur remember it's not just rust or dirt which alter your string's life. Like any other tensioned metal a string will eventually fatigue and therefore lose it's harmonic and tonal response. This in mind... why not buy some of this and at least rid yourself of part of the problem... that 'orrible gunge!!!!

I bought one of these a few months back and used it fairly regularly. It cleaned up the strings nice and left a nice smooth coating like you get from new strings. My mother recently threw it out as it was lying round the house and she thought it was prit stick, and thought it lost its stickyness! So I have ordered another!!!

... this stuff makes my new bass strings sound dull and lifeless, it makes the strings overtones change, if i coat plain guitar strings with it, they still turn black, all strings i used this on aged as if not coated. <br/> <br/>This is in my opinion a waste of money

the guys review up there ^^^ is 100% spot on, hes right it is great stuff, lasts for ages, i thought ah! its a lil pricey for what it is at first. then i realized it lasts months on end, and i play 8 hours a day sometimes. this stuff when applied before u play forms a polymer coating around your strings. which means when sweat comes off of your fingers, it sticks to the coating, not the strings, when u rub the strings down after playing, it takes the coating off with the sweat on it, leaving the strings in new condition, then apply some more, stick ur guitar on the wall and no worries.. no horrible black strings, no cuts in ur fingers from rust strings...

I'm one of thoose people who just cant touch anything on a guitar without it rusting seconds later (even my black floyd trem is rusting)!!! <br>This stuff is fantastic! its not greassy (unlike that Kyser stuff), its easy to applicate without covering your frets (unlike that Kyser rubish) and it really does bring the life back to your strings (unlike that Kyser crap)! and it doesn't smell bad (unlike that Kyser shite! and our drummer)! <br>I use Dean Markley blue steels and Stringlife and my strings never loose it! if anything its too good!! I now have a habit of being really lazy when it comes to changing them! <br>If you rust strings...BUY it NOW!

I've been playing for years,and it's the first time I've come back to buy some more.To me this is the first one to work.