Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum

At The Back => Time Out => Topic started by: broken cord on February 16, 2009, 03:19:51 PM

Title: How often do you change your strings?
Post by: broken cord on February 16, 2009, 03:19:51 PM: The string snapping stories thread got me thinking about how often some of you change your strings. I for one am probably quite offensive to some in that I will sometimes keep playing the same stings for months on end. Granted I am a recreational player and only get an hour or two playing time a day in. However, I rarely ever-snap strings even using 2mm plectrums.

How often do you change your strings?
Title: Re: How often do you change your strings?
Post by: Madiac on February 16, 2009, 03:37:52 PM: Well, im really inconsistant, i dont have a certain interval. When i feel the strings feel really "dead" and look as it to, then i might feel for a change:) So, maybe 2 months?
Title: Re: How often do you change your strings?
Post by: Roobubba on February 16, 2009, 03:40:37 PM: About 3 times a year, if history is anything to go by. And that's using 3mm stubby triangles.

Righto Wez, I know I know, you don't have to tell me twice!

Roo
Title: Re: How often do you change your strings?
Post by: Fourth Feline on February 16, 2009, 03:41:58 PM: I rarely change my strings, other than to try another gauge, unless ( as Madiac said ) they sound 'dead' .

Instead , I carefully wipe them ( not the fretboard ! ) down after each playing with a lint free cloth which has been slightly impregnated with WD40 - and that way they look 'new' for months - whilst retaining that balance of clear sounding yet mellow that I like. They also feel lovely and slinky to play on that way.

I don't like the tone or feel of new ( sets of ) strings - they don't seem right until they have stretched in, 'relaxed' and lost a bit of that brash edge.

Do remember that it is rather 'style dependent' - and my fave strings are Thomastik Flatwounds . If I was a 'Rock God' - ( as many are on this forum ) , or a Country / Funk player - I would probably be changing them often to achieve just the opposite effect.
Title: Re: How often do you change your strings?
Post by: Denim n Leather on February 16, 2009, 03:49:27 PM: Depends on the guitar and material I'm playing. I change strings after 24-30 hours of actual play-time.
Title: Re: How often do you change your strings?
Post by: Stevepage on February 16, 2009, 04:05:36 PM: I think I change mine every month or two.

Usually because they sound dead, I break a string or fancy changing to a different string gauge.
Title: Re: How often do you change your strings?
Post by: hunter on February 16, 2009, 04:07:15 PM: About once a month, or quicker if I play a guitar A LOT.

However I don't do that on all my guitars. Just the 2-3 I play regularly at a time.
Title: Re: How often do you change your strings?
Post by: Catalyst77 on February 16, 2009, 04:07:33 PM: When they break!

Sometimes if i'm going into the studio!

I believe EVH actually likes his crusty :lol:
Title: Re: How often do you change your strings?
Post by: hamfist on February 16, 2009, 04:17:01 PM: About every 4-6 weeks on my main guitar. If I go longer, I know I'll start to get string breakages - which really piss me off.

I don't actually practice much, as most of my playing is rehearsing with the band or gigging, so I guess I'm playing those strings about 25-30 hours a month.
Title: Re: How often do you change your strings?
Post by: Philosoful on February 16, 2009, 04:17:42 PM: I hate being wasteful so:

1 - If they snap obviously.

2 - If they are utterly, utterly dead and orange.
Title: Re: How often do you change your strings?
Post by: dave_mc on February 16, 2009, 05:11:47 PM: not often enough... :lol:
Title: Re: How often do you change your strings?
Post by: PhilKing on February 16, 2009, 06:07:02 PM: I go through quite a lot of strings (but I do have a lot of guitars!). I buy them in bulk where I can and I only use nickel strings. I tend to use the BK strings to do set ups (when I put a guitar together or do any major work on one, I'll string it up and tune it and then leave it a week or so). Once I am happy with the set up I'll put the real strings on and throw the setup strings away. On acoustic I usually get about 6 months out of a set (my hands don't sweat and I'm not gigging any more). On electric it is different, some guitars I change more often than others. But all the guitars (except the basses) get a new set at least once a year, that is over 50 sets of strings a year and many of the guitars have Snake Oil Brand strings on them!. Basses all have Snake Oil Brand strings on them and they will last years!
Title: Re: How often do you change your strings?
Post by: 38thBeatle on February 16, 2009, 08:43:54 PM: I allow around 3 gigs per set but can double that if I use different guitars at a gig. For the last few gigs I've used my Tele for the first set and the Strat for the second and obviously that means that I get more "mileage" out of the strings. This isn't hard and fast and as I use 11's they are fairly resilient.
Title: Re: How often do you change your strings?
Post by: rohlfo on February 21, 2009, 10:32:11 AM: Quote from: hamfist on February 16, 2009, 04:17:01 PM
About every 4-6 weeks on my main guitar. If I go longer, I know I'll start to get string breakages - which really piss me off.

I don't actually practice much, as most of my playing is rehearsing with the band or gigging, so I guess I'm playing those strings about 25-30 hours a month.

exactly the same for me - if I do practice at home I use the acoustic.
Title: Re: How often do you change your strings?
Post by: Antag on February 21, 2009, 10:47:54 AM: Quote from: Philosoful on February 16, 2009, 04:17:42 PM
I hate being wasteful so:

1 - If they snap obviously.

2 - If they are utterly, utterly dead and orange.
+1

Whichever of those comes first is when I change strings.

The one disadvantage to having a large guitar collection is that I am forever changing strings :)

Confession: I find changing 12-string set to be the most soul destroying task of all. So much so that my 12-string acoustic has had just one string change since I bought it in 2001 :oops:
Title: Re: How often do you change your strings?
Post by: nfe on February 21, 2009, 11:28:15 AM: When I was playing for a living I'd go through at least three sets a week on my main guitar. A new set for every gig without fail. Nowadays, I probably get about a week out a set on my main guitar.

I have string-death-sweat. They lose their sparkliness in about 3-4 hours of playing.

I buy 30 sets at a time like, at cost plus VAT.
Title: Re: How often do you change your strings?
Post by: Oli on February 21, 2009, 05:56:17 PM: Generally, it's a few months between string changes (with about 3 hours average playing per day), or whenever i deem the strings to be too dead. My hands don't really sweat, so they last a while, and i hardly ever snap them these days. I'm not such a fan of brand new strings, as i find them just too bright- i'm thinking of trying some halfwound strings to see if i prefer the sound of new strings with slightly less brightness.. if i do, then i'll probably restring more often.
Title: Re: How often do you change your strings?
Post by: HTH AMPS on February 21, 2009, 06:33:29 PM: maybe three times a year, or whenever they break if I'm not gigging.

every gig if I'm gigging - would probably go two gigs if they're in the same week.
Title: Re: How often do you change your strings?
Post by: broken cord on February 21, 2009, 10:53:45 PM: After readng the replys I don't feel so bad about going months on end sometimes before I change strings. I usually just start playing a different guitar if one gets too bad, and then change the strings on two, three or more guitars at a time when enough go bad.
Title: Re: How often do you change your strings?
Post by: Ted 'N' Leo on February 22, 2009, 12:35:23 AM: Really not often enough. If i'm honest, all my guitars need string changes atm. Just not near enough to a guitar shop to buy them regularly, and can't be bothered to buy them online. Next time i'm in a city, i'll get a whole load.

As for breaking, i haven't broken one in about...5 or 6 years maybe?
Title: Re: How often do you change your strings?
Post by: _tom_ on February 22, 2009, 12:41:04 AM: Not very often. I usually wait until one string breaks then change the whole lot.
Title: Re: How often do you change your strings?
Post by: Elliot on February 22, 2009, 01:45:14 AM: Don't have the sweat corrosion problem that other guitarists have, so every 3 months for me. Classical and slide guitars - about every 2 years - either the classical sounds like an elastic band instrument or the slide guitar has too many harmonic overtones.
Title: Re: How often do you change your strings?
Post by: Adam.M on February 22, 2009, 02:16:50 AM: I must not have the sweat corrosion either... though i must say i just changed the strings on my PRS to Dean Markley 9's and the guitar has blow me away yet again, new strings and its twice as good... maybe the old strings were dead, must've been on there for a long while actually come to think of it.

I'll change strings whenever they feel wrong, no reason otherwise.
Title: Re: How often do you change your strings?
Post by: 38thBeatle on February 22, 2009, 10:43:18 AM: Oddly enough I had a string break on Friday night whilst part way through a song in the second set.I had been half expecting it because the set was overdue for changing. I was able to get through the song and swap to my Tele to finish the gig. New set Saturday morning ready for the next gig on Saturday night. Hard tail Strats have their advantages.
I feel sorry for the guys with the corrosive sweat.If I allow a mate of mine to play my guitars the strings are just about dead the next day.
Title: Re: How often do you change your strings?
Post by: Crazy_Joe on February 22, 2009, 01:09:31 PM: Hardly ever, only whena string breaks really. So every 1-2 months probably. But some sets last forever.
Title: Re: How often do you change your strings?
Post by: AndyR on February 22, 2009, 03:41:51 PM: Yeah, I'm one of the corrosive sweat guys... :lol:

When I was gigging, I could expect string breakage on a second gig on the same set. If they survived that, they were ok for a rehearsal, but wouldn't tune properly enough (intonation shagged) for a gig.

Nowadays, not gigging, and with 7 electrics I can play just sat in the living room - it should be hell! But it's not...

Nowadays I tend to restring a guitar when a string breaks, when it's impossible to tune or it feels/sounds really cr@p. I tend to try to keep a strat and a tele in reasonably "fine fettle", the others get done when I'm in the mood for them. I do know that the improvement on a guitar's feel/tone will be 100% when I get round to it (I'm using this as a GAS-deflater at the moment :lol:)

I've recently found pure nickel last AGES for me, unbelievably ages... but I've only tried them in the strat (thumbs up tonally) and a tele (thumbs down tonally, for me anyway :lol:). Next time I get some I might try them on the muled Love Rock as well, but I suspect I won't like it.
Title: Re: How often do you change your strings?
Post by: ChunkyMunky on February 22, 2009, 04:00:12 PM: Only when they break or go ridiculously flat in tone. Since the strings on my RG550 are really cr@p so I need to change them.
Title: Re: How often do you change your strings?
Post by: MrBump on February 22, 2009, 07:41:08 PM: Strings come off? Is that what those turney things are on the pointy end..?