posttoastie
Friend of Leo's
Hard to tell if Adrian had fresh strings here
“It only takes five minutes”.
I guess I don't change my strings often enough. No way I can do this in five minutes.
So great. There's something zen about changing strings for me, no doubt. I enjoy it, good chance to give the guitar a maintenance checkup, tighten threaded items, give it a solid wipe down, etc. I have always changed the oil on my "fun"/sports cars for the same reason.So, the other day I was changing the strings on my Les Paul. They were months old and were sounding pretty stale.
It reminded me of the one time back in 1995/96 that I spoke with Adrian Belew in a recording studio in Boston.
He was preparing for his session and I had a few minutes to chat with him while he was changing strings on his strat.
I joked that he should have a roadie or a tech doing that for him. He was super nice and very gracious. He told me that changing strings is one of the easiest ways to ensure your tone is consistent and strong. (Paraphrasing)
He said “It only takes five minutes and it’s a great way to focus and think about the session at hand”.
He brought a refrigerator sized rack with him and played into a tiny Marshall combo amp.
Just one of those moments in time that I’ll never forget. A very nice experience.
Yep, when I was gigging five and six nights a week I had to replace my Tune O Matic saddles every year.Yep! My Dad had corrosive sweat as well, and likewise a rockin' guitar player I know who plays Les Paul's. My Dad could never wear a cheap watch because the plating would literally peel right off inside of a couple weeks, down to the base metal, and then that metal would pit and corrode like battery acid was on it and fall apart. Stainless steel watches, full SS band too, was all he could wear. Leather would fall apart almost overnight. As for my guitar buddy, he has to replace his tune-o-matic bridge every year or so. They literally just fall apart in the same way my Dad's watches did. No need to mention strings LOL!I completely understand your situation.
Ive never seen AC/DC live, but it’s fun watching them on YT. Angus sweats so profusely his guitar tech had to replace pickups and other parts fairly often because of corrosion from the salt! I’m surprised he gets through 3 or 4 songs without having to replace strings, let alone a whole concert!I change my strings after every gig. Firstly because I tend to sweat a lot whilst playing, and secondly because it gives me consistent tone. Not that the audience can discern ofc. It's also nicer to play. Costs the price of a large beer and is better for my gut than the beer would be![]()
I remember reading way back when that Eric Clapton would leave strings on right to the point where they wouldn’t intonate correctly. Basically old and funky.I hate the way fresh strings sound. It sounds almost like a piezo or going direct into the board compared to what I’m used to. I know the audience doesn’t hear that, but I do and it bothers me.
Flats go dead fast and you hardly ever have to change them. They stay consistent for months. 11+ set plains almost never break. And I prefer that sound anyway, so it’s a win all around.