When do you guys change your strings?

[telemann51]

I change my strings on my acoustics before every gig but I like the sound of older strings on my Tele. They seem to be a little mellower and smoother sounding. I only change them when I can't get them to stay in tune. Then it takes a while before they sound good to me again.

What do you guys do?

[bri]

and starts to sound dull. At my level of playing, it works out to approx once a month. D'Addario 10 - 46 always, always.
My $.02 anyway.
Brian

[Nick Fanis]

My strings NEVER break cause I use Graph Tech saddles so I change them when they stop sounding good.
I ALWAYS change strings before a gig (on the main guitar) or a recording.
When I am touring I change them every 2 dates.
In the studio every 6 playing hours on the same guitar.
At home once a month I guess.....
I like my strings bright and twangy.

[Greg_C]

I don't use graphtechs, but, using proper stringing technique is important helps them to last longer. Also, I wash my hands before playing (especially after eating jelly doughnuts) and wipe my strings after playing.
My criteria for changing strings is when they won't stay in tune or are hard to tune. Once in a while, I'll get a set with a bad string(s) and there's nothing you can do about that.
Greg

[JoeyV]

Arent the ones from the factory any good after 30 years ? Wow they dont make em like they used to...back when I was a kid..strings lasted as long as the guitar did..back then we played 138 Guage strings and we could bend em too...the strings were made of Pittsburg Steel and Granite..

[esquire_player52]

whenever they break.

[tucker gypsy]

every 2 weeks religiously.........eb super slinky's

[ye olde fretmonkey]

If I've got no gigs coming up, I don't change em that often because they don't go dead as quick. If I'm gigging, I can't get more than 2 shows out of em before they go dead or start breaking.

And I've really got a thing about dirty hands, too...can't stand playing (or having someone else play) my guitar if my hands are the slightest bit dirty.

[PVTele]

Originally Posted by bri

and starts to sound dull. At my level of playing, it works out to approx once a month. D'Addario 10 - 46 always, always.
My $.02 anyway.
Brian

Me too, Brian - anywhere between 2 & 6 weeks depending on how much I've been playing, and the weather. Seem to get through more strings in warm weather. Guess it might be that my hands sweat more? (I'm always careful to wipe down after playing.) Only difference is, I always use D'Addario XL120's, 9 - 42.

[Billy Claire]

Usually before every gig... if I've only used a guitar for a few songs, I'll try to keep them on there for the next gig. I have an SG Jr. that has had the same strings for about 6 months but then I only use it for one song live. My main Esquires get restrung for every gig...

but if there aren't any gigs, the strings stay on there until I break my D string..... which is the only string I ever break. And that's on all of my guitars, too. weird...

Billy

[KC]

I read an interview with the great motown bass player james jamerson years ago that went something like this:

interviewer: what kind of strings do you sue?

JJ: the ones that came with the bass.

interviewer: you mean the same kind of strings?

JJ: no, the same strings.

never changed 'em once, apparently. that'll save you some money.

[T Prior]

2 days before a scheduled group of gigs..and at last every other week if I gig over a 2 week period..I notice that the strings and tone are quite different by the second Saturday gig ( 4th gig).

I have been using Fender 150's (now 9's ) for over 20 years now..no reason to change.

In between gigs , if there are none scheduled I generally don't change them unless I am recording tracks at the house.

t

[rusticman]

i change stings on my electric before every gig. (i dont play live that often theese days). the same with my acoustic - before every gig.

i also play bass i a band, and when the strings get to dull i boil them in water and vinegar. after drying their good to go for another few months.

[tenstrings]

Originally Posted by telemann51

I change my strings on my acoustics before every gig but I like the sound of older strings on my Tele. They seem to be a little mellower and smoother sounding. I only change them when I can't get them to stay in tune. Then it takes a while before they sound good to me again.

What do you guys do?

I'm the opposite! I like new strings on my electrics, but much prefer older strings on my acoustics.
I have to give my acoustic strings at least a week to age before I like the sound of them.
I should probably change some strings now that I am thinking about it...
brian

Originally Posted by JoeyV

Arent the ones from the factory any good after 30 years?

Yeah, we always used to just solder 'em into place, and you were good to go. Never could figure out what the purpose of those gears up on the headstock was. I mean, the guitar was supposed to be in tune when you bought it, right? So why would you ever want to change anything? ;-)

back when I was a kid..strings lasted as long as the guitar did..back then we played 138 Guage strings and we could bend em too...the strings were made of Pittsburg Steel and Granite.. :lol:

138?! Izzat all?? You had it easy. We had to go down to the docks and filch some of that big braided cable they used for lashing down shipping containers. And you couldn't hardly scratch it with bolt cutters either, so we had to bite it off with our teeth. Yeah. And bending? Lemme tell ya, playing pedal steel licks on those things definitely separated the men from the boyz. Why, we didn't even consider ourselves *warmed up* until we were bleeding. From BOTH hands. Yeah, that's it...

Hee hee. Joey, you crack me up. :-)) CS

[Madmaestro]

I change my strings every 2nd gig. If I'm not sure about them, I'll run my finger under the bottom of the wound D string and if I feel fret notches, I'll change 'em. I also use cheap WebStrings and have't broken a string in years!(no affiliation)

[Teleologist]

I can get about 10 hours playing time on the Teles with GHS BNRs, but I change them sooner for recording something important or if the low E goes dead. Most of my other guitars go longer, the longest being the Ric 12 that gets restrung about once a month depending on how much I use it.

I rarely break strings and I use whatever brand, type and size works best for each guitar. I used to use Fender 150s on the Teles but ran into too many that were DOA. The BNRs sound better and last a little longer - I like 'em because they sound great right out of the package.

[Big Tony]

I change my strings when they sound bad, or annoy me in any other way. Haven't broken a string in years, and I tend to play with a heavy touch - go figure. I should probably change my strings more often, but I guess I'm just lazy...

[_DanRoy_]

Originally Posted by Greg_C

I don't use graphtechs, but, using proper stringing technique is important helps them to last longer.

what's proper stringing technique? would locking tuners help? I wrap it around the post twice, once over and once under the end, then start turning the machine. It occurred to me that I might be twisting the strings in this process, and possibly making them more break-prone.

I've been breaking strings like a madman lately. I blamed it on the ernie balls, but it could be my stringing technique. anybody else have problems with ernie balls? I'm going to try to find a new brand for now. People over at the HC forums had bad things to say about the EBs too, so it's not just me. they seem to go bad pretty quickly too, which is a good thing on some guitars (I like the dull thud sound with overdrive)

I think the reason I used to buy them so much is that that hot pink package is just so damn attractive. seriously. if the D'Addarios were neon green or something I would have been using those for all these years.

[tele1]

On how bad the chemicals in your hands (sweat) tear up your strings. I can trash a pair of strings in a few hours of playing if I my hands are sweating and I don't wipe my strings off. When I played every weekend I woud change strings every other weekend, and would keep my strings wiped off on gigs............

[Emmitt O.]

....................I can definately tell when strings have been on too long.

I'll always change strings 3 or so days before an upcoming gig. I like to have the freshest sound for the gig and a set of strings is a small investment in tone. I don't break strings when I play, so I just do it for the best and brightest tone possible.

One thing I'm lucky about is that my hands produce almost no acids or sweat. Had a freind play my Taylor at rehearsal on Thursday night, and with one song, he killed the tone in a fairly new set of strings. (Martin SP Phos. Bronze 12-54's) He felt awful about it. It's just that his hands sweat or secrete some "stuff" that gets on the strings and kills them. Dead. He was trying Elixirs that night to see if he could get some playing time out of a set of strings. I feel lucky to NOT have that problem.

I really do prefer the tone of new strings and keep several new sets on hand at all times. Right now I'm trying a new brand called Mastertone. These are fairly expensive strings and so far, they sound nice. Not better than my usual strings, but nice.

Anyone ever try Mastertones?

Take care.
Emmitt O.

[alexbatonrouge]

too many bad experiences with old strings :D

[KingPussBlues]

it's real easy for me. I go by the tone. Sometimes it's a week, sometimes two. I play daily for 1.5 hours to 2 hours at a time. The Dunlop Ultraglide I use to clean them extends the life a bit, but when they start to get a little dull, I change.

That's Me.

John :)

[TeleGeir]

Originally Posted by Nick Fanis

My strings NEVER break cause I use Graph Tech saddles so I change them when they stop sounding good.

You never played in a punk band then...

I know when I played, a gig without at least one string going was not considered a good gig. Today I just change them when I feel they are beginning to sound dull. But then I don't play them that much. Also the danger of course is if one sounds dull, I will just reach for another one. I probably should be a bit more systematic about it.

Geir :)

[Bill E.]

I kid you not.

That said, I don't gig very regularly (nor am I independently wealthy! :) )

(Remember the movie "Alien," when they tried to excise the facehugger from John Hurts' face with a surgical laser? It bled through three decks of a ship...The effects supervisors could have used my perspiration for that effect! )

-B

[ye olde fretmonkey]

Originally Posted by Chris S.

We had to go down to the docks and filch some of that big braided cable they used for lashing down shipping containers. And you couldn't hardly scratch it with bolt cutters either, so we had to bite it off with our teeth. Yeah. And bending? Lemme tell ya, playing pedal steel licks on those things definitely separated the men from the boyz. Why, we didn't even consider ourselves *warmed up* until we were bleeding. From BOTH hands. Yeah, that's it...

Hee hee. Joey, you crack me up. :-)) CS

Hey, at least you had that. I had to git some balin' wire for the unwound strings, and braid 3 strands of it together for the wound strings! We wuz po', out in the country!

[TG]

I use D'Addario .095s and with my tele I change them every few gigs. It doesn't seem to like old strings, for some reason. I can really tell when they need to be changed. It gets really difficult to tune. The tuner says it's fine but it sounds wrong.
But I have a strat too and doesn't seem to matter how old the strings are it that guitar. I can leave them a month or 2, or longer.

[lenny]

i change em when i notice crud buildup on the underside, or if they start to sound crappy. not too often

[Greg_C]

I run the high E about four inches past the shaft and cut, insert the end in the hole in the middle of the shaft, this may be too basic but bear with me, wind up and tune to pitch. Make sure the string winds down the the shaft and doesn't overlap, you should have about four turns. Now, where the string exits out of the shaft there's a little loop of string (technically this is called a bight) popping up. I take my thumb nail and press it down towards the headstock, then I'll push all the windings down on the shaft with my thumb nail so the are as far down the shaft as they can go and retune to pitch, usually the difference is a whole note. This way I don't have to wait for the string tension to even out over time. Repeat for the other unwound strings. When I get to the wound strings I do the same except I reduce the length a bit for each string to compensate for the extra diameter. Also, I make a ninety-degree bend in the string about an inch and a quarter below the cut, this keeps the core of the string from slipping inside the windings and causing premature string death. For the low E, I use carefully use needle nose pliers to push the string down. I usualy have about three turns on the wound strings. With this method I can tune my guitar and it stays pretty much in tune except those times I do behind the nut bends or do some heavy neck vibrato.
Now, there can be lots of reasons for string breakage, usually a worn or poorly cut nut, a burr on a metal part that makes contact with the string (tuner shafts, string trees, saddles etc.) I use a fish hook sharpening stone (shaped like a prism) to lightly knock down any rough spots.
HTH, Greg

[Paul in Colorado]

Out here in the west we use light guage strings, mostly bailing wire. Some of the tougher guys use barb wire, but I never liked the tone and they're too hard on the fingerboard. We use pieces of railroad rail for frets.