D'Addario EJ11 80/20 Bronze Acoustic
Light, .012-.053
The bright, brash acoustic string the whole category was built on
Under $15
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The short version
80/20 bronze is the original acoustic wrap alloy, developed in the 1930s, and it is the brightest thing you can put on a flat-top. Eighty per cent copper and twenty per cent zinc gives a hard, glassy top end with a lot of immediate projection - the sound of a new set of strings, which is what most people mean when they say a guitar sounds good. The trade is chemical: zinc oxidises quickly, so that top end starts fading within a couple of weeks of regular playing. The core is a hexagonal high-carbon steel, which grips the wrap wire and is why these hold their intonation.
How we rate it
Scores are Fretline editorial ratings on a 1-10 scale. They are our own assessment and are not supplied or endorsed by Amazon or by any manufacturer.
- Brightness
- 9.0
- Sustain
- 6.0
- Durability
- 5.0
- Feel
- 7.0
- Tuning stability
- 7.0
- Value
- 9.0
Specifications
| Brand | D'Addario |
|---|---|
| Model | EJ11 80/20 Bronze AcousticLight, .012-.053 |
| Category | Strings |
| What it is | |
| Strings in the set | 6 |
| Materials | |
| Alloy | 80/20 bronze |
| Winding | Roundwound |
| Core | Hexagonal high-carbon steel |
| Coating | Uncoated |
| Measurements | |
| Gauges | .012, .016, .024, .032, .042, .053 |
| In the box | |
| Sets included | 1 |
10 verified fields, taken from the manufacturer first and the Amazon listing second. Fields the manufacturer does not publish are omitted rather than estimated.
What it gets right
- The brightest common acoustic alloy, with real projection when new
- Hexagonal high-carbon core holds intonation better than a round core
- Light gauge suits almost any full-size steel-string without a setup change
- Cheap enough to change often, which is the actual answer to string life
Where it gives ground
- Zinc oxidises fast, so the bright top end fades within weeks
- Can sound harsh on an already-bright guitar
- Uncoated, so sweaty hands kill them faster still
Who it is for
What owners report
Patterns drawn from published owner reviews. Summarised, never quoted.
What comes up most
- Owners repeatedly describe the out-of-the-box brightness as the reason they buy them
- Consistency between sets is mentioned often - rarely a dud string in a packet
Frequent complaints
- The most common complaint by far is how quickly they go dull
- A minority report breakage at the ball end under heavy strumming
Recognised strengths
- Decades of use mean the failure modes are well understood and few
Recognised weaknesses
- Nobody buys these expecting them to last
The verdict
Buy these if your guitar is dark, or if you are recording and want the strings to cut. On an already-bright dreadnought they can tip into harshness. The honest limitation is longevity: 80/20 goes dull faster than phosphor bronze and much faster than anything coated, so if you play daily and hate changing strings this is the wrong choice. At this price that hardly matters - a set costs less than a coffee, and light gauge is the safe default for any full-size steel-string.
We do not publish prices, because Amazon prices change constantly and a stale figure helps nobody. Follow the link for the current price and availability.
Sources
Compared with
- D'Addario EJ11 80/20 Bronze Acoustic vs Belfort Phosphor Bronze Acoustic
- D'Addario EJ11 80/20 Bronze Acoustic vs D'Addario EJ16 Phosphor Bronze Acoustic
- D'Addario EJ11 80/20 Bronze Acoustic vs D'Addario Pro-Arte Nylon Classical
- D'Addario EJ11 80/20 Bronze Acoustic vs D'Addario EJ27N Student Nylon Classical
- D'Addario EJ11 80/20 Bronze Acoustic vs D'Addario XS Phosphor Bronze Coated Acoustic
- D'Addario EJ11 80/20 Bronze Acoustic vs Elixir NANOWEB 80/20 Bronze Acoustic
Other strings
Belfort · Strings
Phosphor Bronze Acoustic
Light
Cheap phosphor bronze from a brand with no published specification
D'Addario · Strings
EJ16 Phosphor Bronze Acoustic
Light .012-.053, three sets
The default acoustic string, and the one to buy if you are not sure
D'Addario · Strings
EXL110 XL Nickel Wound Electric
Regular Light .010-.046, three sets
The electric string most guitars leave the factory wearing
D'Addario · Strings
EXL170 XL Nickel Wound Bass
Light .045-.100, long scale, four strings
The four-string bass set every other set gets compared to
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