I read an article by roger Mayer in which he claimed that which strings you used affected your tone even more than pickups. Maybe I can find it again

If he's talking about guage, hes got a point. Thick strings are a big effect on sound versus thin strings. Stevie Ray Vaughan played on 13s but was known to use as thick as 18 in the studio for tone.

But thats as far as you can take that. Nobody but a lunatic would ever suggest that, say, d'addario strings sounded super different to ernie ball or fender strings. The differences between brands are marginal at best. The differences between guage are massive but entirely independent of brand.

Yes, he was talking about gauge.

Here's the article.

Interview with Roger Mayer: The Secrets of Jimi Hendrix's Guitar Setup | Guitar World

Maybe tone wise but as far as quality goes I've probably bought 8-10 packs of Ernie Ball strings ever and popped more of those than almost 20 years worth of d'Addarios.

Oh yeah, no doubt.

But when brand spanking new, I don't think any set of standard, nickel plated 10-46 strings, can be reasonably identified as different.

Obviously metallurgy, treatment, coating, etc, will all affect the lifespan of a string, and how it weathers abuse and playing, but it generally should be the case that they're very similar otherwise.

And even then, the differences are marginal until the strings are worn out and rusty. I know you like to keep the strings on a long time for that "dead" sound, whereas I use Elixer's precisely to keep the new "zing", so that will factor into it I'm sure. I can count the number of guitar strings I've ever broken on one hand, of any brand.

This is true, but no Ernie Balls lasted long enough to lose the sheen. What I'd really like to be able to get is half and half packs. Dead sounding low strings and super clear highs. I just really can't stand the brightness of a new low-E etc.

Elixir strings are what I use generally. They last awhile and maintain good tone quality.

So I'm trying to adjust the action on my epiphone dot. I take the truss rod cover off and give it a try but the damn thing is impossible to reach with the angle I'm given. There has to be a way. Any suggestions?

How did you guys learn to setup a guitar? Specifically truss rod adjustments. I want to know how to do it properly. Can I learn how to do it through an online resource without ****ing up my guitar? I hear that truss rod adjustments are a very feeling based kind of procedure.

The main thing to remember is to not tighten the rod too much while making adjustments. Most sites and resources will recommend no more than a 1/4 to a 1/2 rotation before rechecking the balance of the neck.

The other golden rule when it comes to doing maintenance on your instrument is - if you don't feel comfortable doing it, then don't. While you 'can' seriously mess up your guitar via the truss rod you'd have to seriously screw that thing into the neck and ignore a lot of warning signs first.