When Do You Change Strings? |
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Jan 6 2018, 10:25 AM
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Hello folks,
I'm basing this question on a recent issue I had with intonation. It was completely unstable noticed in a REC take by Darius, my ear isn't good enough yet, to notice these subtleties  , then I realised that I still had the original strings on the guitar which was nearly two years old. I changed them and now it's great again. I have to say that I hadn't played it daily for that time, it was an eye candy guitar but for the three months prior to this issue it had been my go to guitar.The thing is, I'm a bit of a collector as well as a student, I have 13 guitars and still want just that one more  this means that some go out of favour for a few months and some are played daily or at least weekly.The question is, at what point do you change strings? Do you change them weekly regardless of condition on those guitars you play a lot? Do you wait for tarnishing, do you go on how they sound, or something else? I'm thinking that the more you play a set of strings, not only do they get flats when they make contact with frets but also metallurgical issues like losing elasticity due to a work hardening kind of effect, particularly if you do a lot of bending. Discuss Cheers -------------------- SEE MY GMC CERTIFICATE  “Success is not obtained overnight. It comes in instalments; you get a little bit today, a little bit tomorrow until the whole package is given out. The day you procrastinate, you lose that day's success.” Israelmore Ayivor |
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Jan 6 2018, 10:55 AM
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I change strings way too seldom. Maybe once every 4 months to be honest. But my fingers, unlike others it seems, aren't made of total acid
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Jan 6 2018, 04:04 PM
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Jan 6 2018, 05:14 PM
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Months for most of my axes. Years on a few of them. I hate changing my strings!
For the one's that get played all the time, it depends. If I get a 'kink' over a fret, if I break a D or an A string, one string refuses to intonate, I notice a winding separation, etc. My point is that it has to be something obvious. *I had strings on a baritone for 20 years (and I use that guitar). The only reason I changed them was because I replaced the pickups and my luthier insisted. Having said that, intonation and tuning stability can definitely be affected by strings that are stressed and worn out. All that depends on how you play and the acidity of the sweat from your hands. This post has been edited by klasaine: Jan 6 2018, 05:19 PM -------------------- - Ken Lasaine
https://soundcloud.com/klasaine2/foolin-the-clouds https://soundcloud.com/klasaine2/surfin-at-the-country-hop Soundcloud assorted ... https://soundcloud.com/klasaine3 New record ... http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/kenlasaine Solo Guitar ... https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXZh...5iIdO2tpgtj25Ke Stuff I'm on ... https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXZh...b-dhb-4B0KgRY-d |
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Jan 6 2018, 06:00 PM
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This is all very interesting, thanks for joining in everyone
-------------------- SEE MY GMC CERTIFICATE “Success is not obtained overnight. It comes in instalments; you get a little bit today, a little bit tomorrow until the whole package is given out. The day you procrastinate, you lose that day's success.” Israelmore Ayivor |
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Jan 7 2018, 12:05 AM
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QUOTE (Mertay @ Jan 6 2018, 03:00 PM)  When doing that bend, don't press too hard as I remember your grip is very strong I'm working very hard trying to reduce that and also how hard I pick
-------------------- SEE MY GMC CERTIFICATE “Success is not obtained overnight. It comes in instalments; you get a little bit today, a little bit tomorrow until the whole package is given out. The day you procrastinate, you lose that day's success.” Israelmore Ayivor |
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Jan 7 2018, 01:20 AM
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QUOTE (Caelumamittendum @ Jan 6 2018, 03:50 PM) 20 years! That's amazing! Those strings must have had a sort of unique sound in the end? I don't mean that in a bad way necessarily, just that 20 years of playing must add some sort of...characteristic! They were a little dull sounding but they played in tune. I don't really bend on the bari so they weren't being abused. The new ones definitely sounded better at the time - though at this point they are now 3 years old  I like fresh strings for rock and roll. I have a Strat and an LP that I play most of my 'rock' on and those get their strings changed every 4 or 5 gigs which can be once every 3 months or once a week, if I'm using them 5 or 6 nights a week. I can beat them up pretty bad. This post has been edited by klasaine: Jan 7 2018, 01:24 AM -------------------- - Ken Lasaine
https://soundcloud.com/klasaine2/foolin-the-clouds https://soundcloud.com/klasaine2/surfin-at-the-country-hop Soundcloud assorted ... https://soundcloud.com/klasaine3 New record ... http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/kenlasaine Solo Guitar ... https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXZh...5iIdO2tpgtj25Ke Stuff I'm on ... https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXZh...b-dhb-4B0KgRY-d |
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Jan 7 2018, 02:14 PM
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On a similar note, do strings have a shelf life?
This post has been edited by Phil66: Jan 7 2018, 04:28 PM -------------------- SEE MY GMC CERTIFICATE “Success is not obtained overnight. It comes in instalments; you get a little bit today, a little bit tomorrow until the whole package is given out. The day you procrastinate, you lose that day's success.” Israelmore Ayivor |
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