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What do you all do to extend string life.
I'm using Rich Severson's composite set,
D'Addario Chrome Bright Flatwounds
on my new-to-me archtop that I just purchased.
https://guitarcollege.com/strings
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01-28-2025 09:27 PM
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Isopropyl on a cloth before and after playing.
Put some on the cloth and grab each string w it and make a few passes up and down.
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Washing your hands before you play is the easiest way.If you are a heavy sweater than just use a cloth when you finish to wipe down the strings.
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Clean hands and occasional use of Fast Fret works for me.
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So much of it depends on your fingers. I have a friend who always has to wipe down the strings after playing a guitar, or the strings will be dead the next time he picks up the guitar. The moisture from his fingers simply corrodes the strings.
I have never wiped down the strings on my guitars after playing, and, depending on the strings, they last for months; sometimes a year or more.
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Boiling strings is a long-established practice; not that I have tried it. I wash my hands, play Rotosounds, and clean them with a cloth when I have finished. I play thrice a day and change strings twice a year.
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What I do to extend the life of my strings?
Nothing, I am using Thomastik strings. They last one year and that's enough for me.
Ok, I have to add that I have dry hands and wash them before playing.
I have friends who have an aggressive hand sweat. They need to use coated strings to extend string life.
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I wash my hands before I pick up the guitar (most important to keep strings and fretboard clean).
Once a month or so, I use this cleaning tool from Music Nomad to wipe the underside of the strings. (It also got a good soft brush to wipe dust from the bridge and headstock area.)
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I had a friend like that in music college. Nobody would let her play their guitar.
Originally Posted by Ukena
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This sort of string maintenance must depend on individual differences between musicians in terms of the composition of sweat and oil on their hands. I never wipe down the strings on my guitars, don't wash my hands before playing unless I notice that they're actually dirty. I never have any trouble with string corrosion and can easily get a year out of a set of strings, sometimes more. And I don't use expensive strings, typically around $7-8 a set. When I change strings, it's usually out of curiosity to try something different.
FWIW, I think both Peter Bernstein and Jim Campilongo change strings for every gig (as do many other people, although I think that's probably less typical for jazz musicians than for rock and blues musicians).
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On a semi-related note, are strings that have been sitting around for years and gotten corroded beyond salvaging?
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Paper towel. Grime tends to build up UNDERNEATH the string, not just on top. So to keep this from happening...I tear off a small piece of a paper towel, grab around the string with my fingertips through the paper towel and wipe the length of each string. Takes 30 seconds. Does a great job of pulling any kind of finger oils/dirt etc off the string, and you can actually see it- those thick black streaks of corrosion left on the towel especially after a long gig or practice session. Despite sweating a reasonable amount, I can get pretty long life out of my strings- around 6 months or more out of flat-wounds if I'm not too picky about intonation. Less with round-wounds. Also, the heavier the gauge, the longer it seems to take for them to lose their intonation. That being said, If I'm playing hard on them every day, that still cuts the life of the strings in half regardless of care.
Growing up we had a flat-top acoustic that we always kept Elixer Polyweb phosphor bronze strings on. Only changed strings once a year at most. Thomastik Infeld flats do last a long time like people say, although in my experience they sometimes lose their intonation faster than I would like, especially the thin wound G's (20w, 19w, 18w), which is a bummer because at that point they still sound great tone wise. Those fancy thin round-cores that they have seem to stretch out faster than their stiffer hex-cored cousins, at least when it comes to intonation. I've never actually had a set of hex-core flat-wounds on long enough that for me to change them because I felt they sounded dead and needed changed...I would always end up taking them off long before that to go back to playing round core strings (Thomastik's, Pyramids) because they were easier for me to play. But I've heard of people leaving on Chromes or Labella Jazz Flats etc on for a couple years or beyond.Last edited by LandonEavers; 01-29-2025 at 02:54 PM.
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Fast Fret.
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All great suggestions! Thanks!
I use TI Bebops on my archtops and TI Plectrums on my flattop, and Elixir Optiweb on all solids.
They all seem to last reasonably long, but I’m also a ritual hand washer and string wiper. And on occasion, I also use John Pearse String Swipes to wipe off grime and tarnish that accumulated.
I also have one of those Nomads with the brush to use as needed.
With 30 odd guitars to care for all these reduce string changes.
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yep, toss 'em unless you can get around the feel of them when you play. Originally Posted by bluejaybill
but I once had about 10 sets of John Pearse strings someone gave me that were sitting on the shelf for years and had black spots where they touched each other that you could feel when running your fingers over them. I was thinking of tossing them but put them on CL in the free section along w/ a pile of beginner's instruction books and a beginner guitarist took them off my hands, he said he didn't care.
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If you read the ingredients, Fast Fret and other similar products contain only mineral oil. I use baby oil, and get a nice aroma as lagniappe. I don't often use it, though. I don't really take any special precautions, because I consider strings to be consumables, and change them as needed. Wiping strings after every I play, every time, is just more trouble than it's worth to me. I suppose if I couldn't afford new strings I would take better care of them, but it's not a big concern to me. YMMV.
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It'll get you another month or so out of a set of bass guitar strings. Regular guitar strings, nope. Tried it long ago. Originally Posted by Litterick
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Yes..washing your hands is a string saver..
I use a microfiber towel to wipe down the strings after playing..wrap around each string entire length..
if Im not doing alot of bends I can get the better part of a year on a set
and then..into her case..protects from dust and wide temp changes..
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One of these tools was a Christmas gift that I received!
Originally Posted by JCat
...this cleaning tool...
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When I played in a bluegrass band in San Francisco back in the early '70's, I changed the strings once a week on my flattop, which meant about every 3 gigs or so. That way I avoided broken and/or dead-sounding strings. I'm pretty sure I was using Black Diamond strings, and it took a bite out of my budget at the time. It was one of those "If I knew then what I know now" situations – we lived across the street from where the members of Hot Tuna would occasionally hang out. Had no idea who they were – I'd heard of them, but I was studiously immersed in bluegrass at that point, trying to get my chops up to snuff. Originally Posted by Cunamara
Tommy Emmanuel says he changes strings before every show (his roadie used to do it, but he no longer has a roadie, apparently), and stretches them like crazy (pulling them away from the body of the guitar) so they'll stay at pitch. I don't know if he changes them between shows if he has 2 in one day.
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I do this, mostly in the summer months and/or after a rehearsal or gig (I don't do it every time I play), I have one of those strings cleaners, I spray it with windex and clean the strings with it. It works, as black comes off the strings.
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Have you a link to the website of the below? Thank you.
Originally Posted by ruger9
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There are quite a few of them on AMZN, for example -- Guitar Cleaner - Amazon.com Originally Posted by AdvenJack
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Yeah, like Mick said above, I just get them from amazon. Originally Posted by AdvenJack
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Nothing fancy...
A nylon cut pile carpet sample, about 4" x 4"
Cleans both the finger board and the strings, including under the strings; I do this after each playing
A little piece of ScotchBrite pad, about 1" x 1"
This is Teflon made for cleaning metal without scratching. I slip this under a plain string, fold up the two sides, pull up gently and slide the string length (may help to place a finger on the nut to keep the string from lifting out).
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