Well, my Artist strings finally arrived after a week in the post (the UK mail system has gone to pieces over the last couple of months, it used to be very reliable). So I've tried them out on one guitar, replacing a 15-month old set of D'Addarios that were starting to feel slightly tired. They hadn't had a lot of use, but were just starting to feel a bit sticky to play though they sounded fine.

The Artist set's wound strings look a bit duller than new D'Addarios, but they all feel smooth to play and sound fine through the amp.

Only slight drawback so far is that the generic packaging (to reduce cost) means that there is no list of all the string gauges within the set on the package, just a generic sticker with a part number - from which you can guess they are 10-46s. You have to look at the website to check the intermediate gauges. Strings are individually packaged within sealed clear plastic, with E-1st, B-2nd, G-3rd printed on them. So not a good idea to mix up the individual bags if you have sets of both 9s and 10s from them.

But it doesn't take long to mark them with a Sharpie if you aren't sure. As they are all the same string gauges as D'Addario 10-46s. I can remember exactly what the gauges are without looking.

So, looking hopeful for them at the moment.