To the page content

String Set

  • Nickel-plated steel
  • Bright and clear sound
  • Gauges: 009-011-016-w024-w032-w042
  • Pack with 10 sets
  • Available since March 2007
  • Item number 111442
  • Sales Unit 1 piece(s)
  • String gauge 009 - 042
  • Strength of the strings 0,009" – 0,042"
  • Material Nickel Plated Steel
  • G-String Wound No
58
All prices incl. VAT
In stock
1

Super Light, pack of ten

The D'Addario EXL120 is one of the lightest regular sets in the company's XL nickel-wound series – a Super Light gauge (.009, .011, .016, .024, .032, .042) in nickel-plated steel roundwound construction, manufactured in New York and largely unchanged in specification since the 1970s. The 10P designation is a pack of 10 full sets, priced below the equivalent individual purchase – aimed at players who restring frequently enough that buying in volume is simply the rational choice. Colour-coded ball ends run across the entire D'Addario XL range, making it easy for guitarists to select individual strings from this money-saving multipack if they're only replacing a single string.

Daddario EXL120-10P

Hex core and nickel wrap

D'Addario’s hexagonal core wire – introduced in the early 1970s and characteristic of the XL series – provides a secure mechanical grip for the winding. This keeps the wrap tightly in place under tension, contributing to tuning stability and consistent intonation across the scale. The nickel-plated steel wrap defines the familiar EXL tonal profile: a bright, articulate fundamental with a clearly structured harmonic response. In the Super Light gauge, that response feels rather more immediate and open, with a lighter low-end footprint and a touch more emphasis on upper mids and presence. The result is a fast, responsive feel that translates picking dynamics directly into the notes, particularly in cleaner or lower-gain contexts, while still retaining enough definition to hold together under moderate drive. With lower overall tension than heavier sets, the EXL120 offers a noticeably lighter feel under the fretting and picking hand, making bends, vibrato, and legato techniques easier to execute with less resistance.

Daddario EXL120-10P, nickel wound steel strings for electric guitar

Who buys 60 strings at once?

The multi-pack format is aimed at working guitarists, touring players, guitar technicians, and teaching environments maintaining multiple instruments. At Super Light gauge, the EXL120 sits at the low-tension end of the XL range – ideal for players who prioritise flexibility and ease of play. The honest gauge consideration is straightforward: Players who favour expressive bending, fast lead work, or a lighter touch will feel immediately at home on .009s. The reduced tension can also be beneficial on shorter-scale instruments or for setups where minimal string resistance is preferred. By contrast, players who require more resistance for heavier rhythm work or increased stability in lower tunings may gravitate towards .010 or .011 sets instead. All these gauges are available in equivalent multi-packs.

D'Addario Logo

About D'Addario

In the world of stringed instruments, D'Addario is one of the largest manufacturers of strings themselves. The origins of the brand date back to 17th century Italy, but production was moved to New York in 1905 and even today, the brand's strings are still made and further developed in the USA. D'Addario now offers something for every need, from simple and low-priced strings to coated models and Hex-core strings. Apart from strings, the range has been expanded to include various accessories for guitarists, and other brands such as Planet Waves, Evans, Rico, and Pro Mark, which manufacture accessories for various groups of instruments, now also belong to D’Addario.

Daddario EXL120-10P, nickel wound steel strings for electric guitar

Genres, styles, and the XL range

The .009–.042 gauge suits a wide range of electric guitar setups, particularly where a lighter, more responsive feel is desirable. Standard-scale instruments and tremolo-equipped guitars in particular benefit from the reduced tension, allowing for more fluid vibrato and easier pitch manipulation. Tonally, the nickel-plated wrap remains consistent across clean and driven sounds, with the lighter gauge lending a slightly more open and immediate character that's ideal for Country and Jazz, for instance. Clean passages retain clarity and sparkle, while lead tones respond quickly under the fingers, making the set well suited to styles that emphasise articulation and phrasing. For players whose requirements differ, the D'Addario XL range spans a broad selection of gauges, with .010 and .011 multi-packs also available from Thomann for guitarists looking for a firmer feel and greater string tension. For even better value, these three most popular string sets are also available as bulk packs of 25 sets, for a full 150 strings in one solid carton.

533 Customer ratings

4.8 / 5

sound

quality

204 Reviews

BI
Soft to the touch but sharp tone
Benjamin I. 01.04.2019
I'm not going to talk much about the sound, a thousand reviews and countless listeners and professional musicians already know. I tried 11-49's at full tension for a while, they have a lot of nerve but they prove hard to bend. So now I'm only putting 10-46's and 9-42's on my axes.

I found an excellent Madison Strat clone with 22 frets and a very well contoured neck joint so it naturally begged for shred strings, and that means 9-42's. Their unplugged tone is exactly the same as heavier D'Addario strings except the biggers ones have a kinda boosted sound all over the spectrum.

I was afraid that would be heard drastically at the amp but no, they level out when amplified, maybe because the pickups need to be a little closer to the less massive strings. However the main reason for the 9-42's was comfort and I got plenty of it. They feel like hair, they bend super easily but not so much that you don't feel a tactile feedback, they do resist a little bit.

For some reason they detune more after bends than after trem motions but they don't detune more than heavier gauges. By the way, the 11-49's I still have will be mounted on a guitar that has an unusual strong resonance in the low end, I will tune it in D standard and enjoy the fat tone. Full tension with 11-49's was an experiment worth doing but the playability of thinner strings is hard to live without.

Comfort should be the same than 9-42's, I guess. I also bought a super affordable Stagg Strat clone with only 21 frets but the neck feels so fast to me, I'll be putting these 9-42's, too, it will be my other shred guitar, and it might prove faster because of the ergonomics.

To be sure to exploit that speed it'll be fitted with these soft 9-42's, the stock 9-42's don't sound great but they feel right so D'Addario tone has to complement that comfort.
Edit: when I switched from fat strings and soft rounded picks to thicker pointy picks and thinner strings the attack remained sharp.
sound
quality
1
0
Report

Report

G
Nice!
G-MEC 01.10.2020
Been using them for decades. You can't go wrong with these.
sound
quality
2
0
Report

Report

s
serreos 26.04.2019
Από τον ήχο είμαι πολύ ικανοποιημένος, πολύ καλός ήχος.
Σε κάποια σετ όμως μου ξεκουρδιζόταν η ΜΙ καντίνι την έσφιγγα ξεκουρδιζόταν, ώσπου τελικά ξεδενόταν από την πλευρά της γέφυρας. Το αντιμετώπισα κολλώντας με καλάι και κολλητήρι την συγκεκριμένη χορδή.
Ευχαριστώ.
sound
quality
0
0
Report

Report

M
My favourite strings
Machineboy 12.12.2021
9-42 strings with Daddario's high quality and colour coded string ends. I find them easier to bend and play expressively than their 10-46 strings.
sound
quality
0
0
Report

Report