FRETS.NET

Hi all, this feels like an unworthy question, but, here I go..
How do you know when your guitar strings are ready to be changed?
And, does your answer differ between electric and acoustic guitars?
Thanks!

Views: 285

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Actually Arthur, this is something that everyone that gets into guitars has to learn and it's not so apparent as it might seem.

 I change my strings when I feel they need to be changed.  Not too helpful, huh.  To elaborate a bit, I change my strings when they "go dead" which is usually caused by the moisture and oils from my hands gunking up and corroding the strings. I also change strings when I feel that they no longer tune correctly. On average, with the amount of playing I do and the fact that I tend to use multiple guitars, I probably change strings about 6 to 8 weeks.  I know people that change them at a much longer interval but I also know some that change them every week or two. I have heard that professionals may change them every day. In the end, it probably depends on you.  BTW, I purchase multiple sets of strings from  www.juststrings.com. Good prices, very good service. 

I only play acoustics, but I change the strings when they sound dead. There is a notable loss to the ring or brightness when they need replacement. I have a Collings that will let me know right away when it needs new strings. On this guitar, the bass E will fall flat. I should mention I use D'Addario mediums, other brands I've used differ in their lifecycle.

As an aside to the "strings topic", I used-to try to stock a bunch of brands and gauges to anticipate repair customer's needs. That proved to be (a). expensive and (b). futile because -just when ya' think everybody's covered- here comes a player who insists on something I didn't have.

Fast-forward to now: before a guitar comes in, I'll ask the customer to supply 2 sets of his favorite strings... one to do set-up during the repair and the 2nd set to send it out the door fresh & new. The alternative (explained beforehand) is that I'll put on a generic set of cheapies, their choice of gauge, at no charge. Some folks really, really like that and, of course, the cost is sorta' built-in to the quote.  Also my kudos for juststrings.com... fair prices, great service.

Mike, I think I heard about juststrings.com from you. I really like their selection and their response time. 

I have all of my main players set up to use the same strings simply because I don't want to "stock" a lot of different sets. I already have enough to track with guitars and other instruments. I can't imagine trying to cover what ever walked through the door.

I worked for a computer maintenance company once that decided that they wanted to stock a lot of spare parts so that we didn't have to wait for shipments and the company could get a better mark up by "buying in bulk". We ended up pitching a large percentage of it a few years later because it was all obsolete by then.  

When you feel like it!

And I say that without the slightest hesitation or facetiousness. It's your guitar, change when you like. 

On my electrics, I change whenever I think the corrosion is thick enough to be a problem. I hardly play those things anymore.

On my acoustics, about every two months, since I'm not a heavy player. On the POS guitar in my third-grade classroom, once a year, because I don't feel like dealing with it.

One thing I find has a major effect on string life for me is string composition. I seem to simply ruin 80/20 bronze strings with my sweat. They corrode and gunk up really fast. Phosphorous bronze is not so bad for me. Wiping down after every play seems to help very little. I'm just a corrosive guy.

Acoustic strings sound dead when they are done and old corroded dull looking strings get the heave as a matter of course.  My customers are asked what strings they use when making appointments and are they supplying or buying the strings.  If the string is anything but our standard house string (Martins in this case) they are asked to supply of we can supply for full retail.    

Same goes for electrics up to a point - if the guitar is in for a setup I insist on new strings as old stuff is going to intonate differently.   We have a full range of one brand of a quality rock string and a partial range of blues style name strings - other wize we can buy in the customers needs.  Most of my customers are happy to take advice about electric strings and generally will go with our recommendations.   We sell our main brand at a "street" discount price so a new customer feels confident we are not ripping them off and we supply them in bulk (which is also popular with gigging musicians).  

My advice to gigging electric musos is to change the strings after rehearsal/before the gig.  Each set gets to do a gig and the following rehearsal.  This virtually eliminates on-stage breakages (which I consider is the mark of the true and dedicated amateur).  However, some of my light-touch non-bending type guys manage to go forever without changing strings.

Rusty.

 

Arthur, to echo the earlier comments...you can change strings whenever you like! I play often and hard so I judge that time three ways: tonally, physically and visually. Dead strings lack the responsive "twang", brilliance and auditory luster of fresh ones. Your fingers probably don't slide as easily on oxidized, worn strings...and of course the telltale sign is the little knick in each unwound string at every fret where the nickel has worn off from bending.

Heavy wear on the wound strings can result in the winding actually breaking. This leaves the string sounding very dull and sometimes buzzing badly. Less wear can distort the winding enough for it to be visible if you take the strings off. When I was an impoverished youth I would keep the strings on for as long as possible. When they started to get dull I would clean them with methylated or white spirits on a rag. Next time I would take them off and boil them in soapy water. I made sure there was enough winding on the tuners so that if a string broke (usually a 1st or 3rd and usually at the saddle) there was enough string left to be able to twist it back on to the toggle, more than just once.

Later in life, if gigging a lot I'd change them once a week at least.

You can expect wear to eventually impair intonation so when cleaning them does not fix this you should think about changing them.

When to change strings?I never really gave it much thought.When you have too,or whenever you want to.Sometimes they sound dead,sometimes they get so nasty you have to change them.I had a student ask me that very same question just last week.He's a beginner so I thought it to be a wise question.In reality strings have (X) amount of playing time on them.This is much more apparent on a 5 string banjo then a six string guitar.Banjo strings being much more susceptable  to wear then guitar strings.This is probably due to their much smaller diameter.After sixty years of playing stringed instruments, I personally change strings when I want too.Ha Ha I remember when I was a kid my wound strings would sometimes come unwound and when they would finally break I would begin to raise so much hell that my parents would finally take me to town and give me the buck and a half for a new set of Black Diamonds.I guess I could be a real pain in the neck(actually much lower down on the human anatomy).With playable strings I seemed to disappear into my bedroom and I was much easier to get along with.Now I buy my strings from SBM.com.I now pay $19.00 a set for Diamantes,made in Italy using the newest carbon fiber and kevlar.My advice change them when you wanna.

Ron,

 You made me laugh! I spent some time trying to save strings too. I used to boil my strings in an attempt to make them last longer. They sure sounded much better when I restrung the guitar... for a little bit. I broke a LOT of boiled strings and I never seemed to be able to get them to tune correctly but, hey, it sure beat having no strings at all.  

I'm a bass player and change strings when the mood strikes (and sometimes that's not very often) but one of my electrics is a '66 Jazz, candy-apple red w/matching headstock.... that's NEVER had the strings changed, at least since I bought in in '81. Boiled a few times in the mid-90's (weren't we all?) ...but nothing since.

They're greasy old flatwounds and the bass sounds like it'd be right at home with Jr. Walker & The All Stars.  So, until one breaks, the set's 31yrs old & holding :)

That could be a record for a player, Mike.

RSS

© 2024   Created by Frank Ford.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service