[Ovationman]

Heres my question for the day,
how do you know when its time to change strings
When i first started playing my fingers were getting tore up so i restrung my guitar with a ultra light gauge strings. Ever since then the strings had never really stayed in tune. i played with it for almost a year. i dont know if i was suppose to do extra steps to it or somthing to avoid this. ( strech the strings or somthing?)
So i got a new ovation celebrity about 4 months ago with standard gauge strings and have had no trouble with it, it sounds good and plays quite nicely.
but how do i know when its time to restring.
i see other posts saying strings last a couple of weeks and im like oh no ive had the same ones for 4 months.
they still sound nice i try to toy around playing on the for half hour each day
To be honest im scared to change them in fear of having the guitar sound like crap and that i might do it wrong and have the same problum as with my first guitar.
guess i could avoid the scared part by taking it to the guitar shop, but i dont want to do that bimonthly.

[Ted Zeppelin]

The way I tell, is when one breaks, it's time to replace it.

But seriously, just when the strings don't feel right anymore. I kept my bass E on for like a year and when I replaced it there was a world of difference in the sound. I wouldn't over do it on the string replacement. I do about six months for the bass strings and the other strings usually break after about a month or so.

This post has been edited by Ted Zeppelin: 18 August 2004 - 04:49 PM

[grzegorz_panek]

3-4 weeks are an optimal solution. Most pros do it like that. (Some play every gig with a different set.)

But sure, you can keep them much longer than that. 2-3 months, even half a year, or year if you don't play the guitar.

You'll just see when they need to be restrung. They're dirty, as if rusty, they sound dull... Very old strings don't tune, make your intonation off.


Don't be afraid to restring. You won't spoil anything.

I don't like extremely heavy strings, but I wouldn't recommend ultra lights. .011 .012 0.13 gauges - something like that should sound better.

[dadfad]

This really depends on what you need to get out of your guitar (and maybe your "cash-flow" situation! ). It's actually better to judge in playing-hours than chronological time. At the top of that list, if you're gigging you might want to change every six to eight playing-hours (the first hour of which is "break-in" time). For not real demanding stuff.... maybe with friends, at parties, etc, but you want your guitar close to its best.... about every thirty hours or so. If it really isn't that important about your tone, you just want it to mess with in your room and something to practice on more than anything else, maybe sixty hours or even longer. Then you start getting "dead" strings that are hard (or impossible) to tune "just right" and things like that. Your ears will more-less tell you when it's time.

[Zep-Bowie-Young Freak]

I heard that gibson says if you play 3-4 hours a day you should restring every 2-3 weeks. But thats per guitar so if you have a couple you switch between its less often.

[okiejohn]

It kind of creeps up on ya, the strings just don't sound quite right, and when you put a new set on it's amazing how good they sound.

Mine start to go south after about a month, but I usually put up with em for a week or two after they should have been changed cause I'm a lazy sob, and just ain't in the string changin mood.

[teraric]

I heard that gibson says if you play 3-4 hours a day you should restring every 2-3 weeks. But thats per guitar so if you have a couple you switch between its less often.

heh... I bought by $500 Norman acoustic electric used about a year ago, and I'm still using the original strings. I play at least 1-2 hours a day, I've taken it on an airplane trip of about 2000km and did a small gig. I have jam sessions at least twice a month, and play for sometimes 8-9 hours in a day with the friend. Thats just the one acoustic, not including the fender or my classical playing.

My strings have never snapped on me and I still love the tone. Lets see thats like 800 hours on this guitar, not including how much the last owner played it.

What'ca think about that dadfad?

Jess

[goldrush]

I heard that gibson says if you play 3-4 hours a day you should restring every 2-3 weeks. But thats per guitar so if you have a couple you switch between its less often.

heh... I bought by $500 Norman acoustic electric used about a year ago, and I'm still using the original strings. I play at least 1-2 hours a day, I've taken it on an airplane trip of about 2000km and did a small gig. I have jam sessions at least twice a month, and play for sometimes 8-9 hours in a day with the friend. Thats just the one acoustic, not including the fender or my classical playing.

My strings have never snapped on me and I still love the tone. Lets see thats like 800 hours on this guitar, not including how much the last owner played it.

What'ca think about that dadfad?

Jess

Let me guess what DADFAD would say: You're lucky you haven't broken a string yet, and if you like the guitar's tone with year old strings wait'll you hear it with a new set!

This post has been edited by goldrush: 18 August 2004 - 11:40 PM

[brad4634]

This reminds me... I heard somewere about someone just taking their strings off every few weeks and boiling them in water for a few minuets, just to get the oil and dirt off/. Any thoughts?

[okiejohn]

This reminds me... I heard somewere about someone just taking their strings off every few weeks and boiling them in water for a few minuets, just to get the oil and dirt off/. Any thoughts?

I've heard of folks doing that with the strings off a stand up bass, but not a guitar...hells bells, you guys sound like a set of strings will break the bank, they aren't that big a deal...less that $10 every six weeks or so.

Are all you folks using elixers?

That fella above, Teraric, is sure gonna be surprised at how nice his guitar sounds when he puts a good set of strings on it.

[dadfad]

I heard that gibson says if you play 3-4 hours a day you should restring every 2-3 weeks. But thats per guitar so if you have a couple you switch between its less often.

heh... I bought by $500 Norman acoustic electric used about a year ago, and I'm still using the original strings. I play at least 1-2 hours a day, I've taken it on an airplane trip of about 2000km and did a small gig. I have jam sessions at least twice a month, and play for sometimes 8-9 hours in a day with the friend. Thats just the one acoustic, not including the fender or my classical playing.

My strings have never snapped on me and I still love the tone. Lets see thats like 800 hours on this guitar, not including how much the last owner played it.

What'ca think about that dadfad?

Jess

Let me guess what DADFAD would say: You're lucky you haven't broken a string yet, and if you like the guitar's tone with year old strings wait'll you hear it with a new set!

Your guess is pretty close, Greg, and more....er .....(mentally searches for word)... graceful than mine would have been! Damn, Jess.... get those strings off of that thing (Ya might need some WD-40! ) and put some new ones on. The sound-change should be dramatic. (And your fingers won't turn as green when ya play! )

[SRVfan2004]

the best time to change your strings is when they start getting all black and scabby and when they start to sound flat and dull with no "zing" in them... also if there r kinks in them form when they have been pressed on the fretboard too much...thats usually the best time to change them. but it really depends on how u want them to sound...if u like that zingy sound change them every 3 weeks or if u want to make the most out of them change them when they start getting all ######ty

[jshrel24]

Alot of people on here will tell you every 3-4 weeks. Which isnt bad, but you can get away with doing it every other month or every three months or so. I wouldnt go longer than that.

I guess you can keep the strings on there as long as you want, just your sound your hurting. So when you think your tone is dull, change em.

[teraric]

I just changed em to Martin 80/20 Lights. The tone is much diff, but I find that the sound is too muddy at times. Some open position chords don't sound like they used to anymore.

I was playin lyin eyes and the chord progression goes like..

CODE

300003
300002
-32010

It's very very simple, but I like Eagles. Any who, now I find that I have to mute out the A on the G and Gmaj7 chords, for it not to sound muddy. I know that it 'should' be muted out in these chords, but I just found funny that it sounded wonderful on the old strings. Who knows, maybe my old A string didn't have the same volume as the rest of my strings and wasn't pushing through.

Jess

This post has been edited by teraric: 19 August 2004 - 04:51 PM

[FlyingZombo]

I noticed you said first of all your guitar doesn't stay in tune with the new strings this could have two reasons one the stretch is still in your new strings or two you have either crossed the strings as you put them on your machine heads or left them too short on the machine heads.
Actually guitar strings are pretty yukky the reason being they are roundwound which means all that skin and sweat from our fingers gets clogged up in the strings!
This causes it to sound horrible or very dampened they lose that nice twangy sound. So it depends how often you play it so do your guitar a favour and change the strings when it sounds yukky and if you play acoustic do a compromise between too light and to heavy I use 0.11's on mine I find that easier for me if you use lighter the acoustic sounds awful and the tension will make the strings too loose! Cheers John

[tunesmith]

Heres my question for the day,
how do you know when its time to change strings
When i first started playing my fingers were getting tore up so i restrung my guitar with a ultra light gauge strings. Ever since then the strings had never really stayed in tune. i played with it for almost a year. i dont know if i was suppose to do extra steps to it or somthing to avoid this. ( strech the strings or somthing?)
So i got a new ovation celebrity about 4 months ago with standard gauge strings and have had no trouble with it, it sounds good and plays quite nicely.
but how do i know when its time to restring.
i see other posts saying strings last a couple of weeks and im like oh no ive had the same ones for 4 months.
they still sound nice i try to toy around playing on the for half hour each day
To be honest im scared to change them in fear of having the guitar sound like crap and that i might do it wrong and have the same problum as with my first guitar.
guess i could avoid the scared part by taking it to the guitar shop, but i dont want to do that bimonthly.

When you have the money........

[okiejohn]

I just changed em to Martin 80/20 Lights. The tone is much diff, but I find that the sound is too muddy at times. Some open position chords don't sound like they used to anymore.

I was playin lyin eyes and the chord progression goes like..

CODE

300003
300002
-32010

It's very very simple, but I like Eagles. Any who, now I find that I have to mute out the A on the G and Gmaj7 chords, for it not to sound muddy. I know that it 'should' be muted out in these chords, but I just found funny that it sounded wonderful on the old strings. Who knows, maybe my old A string didn't have the same volume as the rest of my strings and wasn't pushing through.

Jess

Try playin Lyin Eyes using G, Bm, and C.

I think you'll like it better like that.

[GuitarAnarchist]

Heres my question for the day,
how do you know when its time to change strings
When i first started playing my fingers were getting tore up so i restrung my guitar with a ultra light gauge strings. Ever since then the strings had never really stayed in tune. i played with it for almost a year. i dont know if i was suppose to do extra steps to it or somthing to avoid this. ( strech the strings or somthing?)
So i got a new ovation celebrity about 4 months ago with standard gauge strings and have had no trouble with it, it sounds good and plays quite nicely.
but how do i know when its time to restring.
i see other posts saying strings last a couple of weeks and im like oh no ive had the same ones for 4 months.
they still sound nice i try to toy around playing on the for half hour each day
To be honest im scared to change them in fear of having the guitar sound like crap and that i might do it wrong and have the same problum as with my first guitar.
guess i could avoid the scared part by taking it to the guitar shop, but i dont want to do that bimonthly.

Dadfad is correct (imagine that!)--playing hours will determine string-changing necessity better than time elapsed.

For me, it's about 20 hours of playing time. And even a tone-deaf, ham-handed hack like I am can hear when the strings have died. There's nothing better than the incredible tone from a new set.

As for the expense of changing strings that frequently, what are your priorities? Sacrifice the occasional six-pack, movie outing or Happy Meal and you can afford to change strings when you need to.

[dadfad]

I just changed em to Martin 80/20 Lights......

Jess

Jess, 80/20 brass strings are made of an older-style material. They tend to be very bright when new. The newer acoustic string-materials (like Phospor-Bronze, etc) aren't quite as bright. However, the benefit of the newer P-Bronze is that they hold up and maintain their tone longer than the 80/20 brass. A lot of pro's use the 80/20 brass sometimes because they want that extra brightness. They aren't worried about how long they last because they change their strings extremely often anyway. Maybe every six to eight playing hours. That might be part of why your new strings seem really bright.

[epearson]

I was at a clinic with Greg Bennet and he said he changes his GHS Bronzes everyday! I thought "Holy crap." Anyway, I tend to find that the bass strings on my classical wear grooves in them in a little under a month since I play it the most. My steel string stays in it's case except when I'm rehearsing for a gig with my girlfriend so it can last for a couple months with it's D'Addario EXP phosphor bronzes on it. I just bought a set of Bluegrass gauge for it at the recommendation of the great DADFAD so, I'm excited about those.