Acoustic guitar players and strings?

On my Martin guitars I use D'Addario EJ17 or Martin MSP 4200. The D'Addario's are perfect for strumming because they are consistent across the board with string balance. T'he Martin's are a bit brighter with a puncher defined sound for finger picking and/or flat picking.

I'm guessing your having finger noise switching between barre chords or just noise in the Low E, A, D, strings? In that case if I were you I would just stick with your D'Addario EXP's and buy a bottle of Finger Ease to help suppress the finger noise and keep your fretboard lubed and smooth.

I've been playing guitar for about 16 years now and have tried every string brand in the market and I always come back to the D'Addario's and Martin's. If the Finger Ease Lube don't help combat your finger noise I can suggest the Elixir POLYWEB (extra thick coating) strings but for my money they are not worth what they cost but they do reduce a lot of finger noise but the coating don't last very long and sheds quite easily.

Classical strings are nylon, not metal. The strings on a western guitar (like a martin) are metal but are different then what you would use on a strat for example. This all has to do with the pickups, body composition, etc. Most strings have a core which is round wound on the 6, 5, 4 and sometimes third strings (E A D G). The 2 and 1 are not wound, the material used on nylon strings can be a type of metal. Some players prefer flat wound, which are smooth when you run your fingers on them. The preference is for tone however.

I have been playing professionally for many years. . I have tried so many different strings I can't remember half of them, but I do remember using a string gauge I haven't even seen since the 70's which started with an .007, and I think it ended with a low E of 32. we called those strings angel hair. The poing is, try out a few things until you find what works. I use D'Ads, 9and a half, 11 and a half up to the 42. If it is merely the noise when sliding maybe a little Dr. Stringfellow on them prior to playing will help. It will certainly reduce friction and make your strings last a whole lot longer. Finger Ease is good but it doesn't preserve like Dr. Stringfellow.

I use regular D'Addario phosphor bronze, mostly. I think finger noise is mainly from technique. At least I'm trying to fix it by not scraping my fingers on the strings. (But if strings are dirty, they're more likely to squeak) .

If you want to stop finger noise then you need to use a coated string. I recommend Elixir Nanoweb light gauge acoustic strings and use them on all of my acoustics. There's no need to fool around with any add-on junk - just use a coated string. Other companies besides Elixir make coated strings but I prefer Elixir.