I've been playing 40 years , part time and professionally , and have more than 15 but less than 20 stage and studio guitars , playing mainly classic rock , pop , and funky soul.
I didn't really have any strong views on strings , and have used Ernie Ball super Slinky, and d'addario xl , for many years and up until about 2 years ago was using GHS Boomers.
My string choices were dictated largely through multi-pack offers on my preferred gauges- I do however very much prefer the sound and feel of new strings, so get through quite a lot.
About 2 years ago I bought a new Fender Jazzmaster AVRI , and the retailer sweetened the deal with half a dozen packs of Fender pure nickel , the Jazzmaster sounded fantastic , and I quite liked the feel , tension and sound . . . When I put them on a couple of my Les Paul's , I really really liked the sound. . . And the wound string tension. . . Bends seemed easier , tuning and intonation seemed improved , bizarre given that both these guitars have Bigsbys . . . and I became a pure nickel convert.
Browsing some forums , I saw some rave reviews of pyramid nickels, and despite being a long time serious player I'd never heard of the brand !
For the last year I've been using these ,
Buying them 10 sets at a time , they are substantially cheaper than the fenders , .. and if you've never tried pure nickels - and like the sound and feel of new strings I would urge you to give these strings a go - if you get on with them , you'll save yourself a lot of money over time vs the well known brands !