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I have run into numerous threads where folks talk about not changing strings sometimes for years. And some are recognized guitar virtuosos. So I am puzzled. I just put a set of TI 12 jazz swings on my tele. It had a set for several months and I wanted to try something else I didn't like. I put the new swings on and had the experience I always have playing new strings...something In the arena of bliss. I've experienced this all my life. when I giged regularly on a Martin doing folk stuff I always looked forward to changing. When I recently put a new set of 14 gauge jazz tapes on my Trenier I was so happy I posted a thread recommending them. I honestly don't know how long that improved tonality lasts, I suspect months of heavy daily playing at most. But I get the impression many disagree and wonder why....aside from the cost of course. Just curious....Peter
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08-08-2023 01:22 PM
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I am easy on strings for whatever reason and I do play my guitars many hours, but I find a decent set of strings can easily last me a year playing about 2 hours a day every day. They intonate and generally work fine. New strings do liven things up but I actually like them played in a bit after about 10 hours of playing. I have had flatwounds last for 2 years and after all they begin to dull but after all they are flatwounds. If they intonate they are usually fine.
Your experience with tape strings is the complete opposite of mine. To me they are the worst strings I have heard some great players who use them, but I don't listen to them because I hate the sound of tapewound strings. They sound plastic and unalive.Last edited by deacon Mark; 08-08-2023 at 02:43 PM.
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With a lot of flatwounds, especially Chromes, it takes a while before they sound their best. There's a harshness when their fresh that fades as they break in. Once they sound good, the only way I'm taking them off is when they die. For me that generally means a minimum of 6 months on a guitar that I'm playing daily.
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My Squier tuners died before my flat wound strings did. Years and years. The strings still sounded great when I had to take them off.
On the other hand, my acoustic 80/20 strings need changing after around 4-6 weeks of heavy play.
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I have an Ibanez metal guitar I bought used, probably 15 years ago. I don't play it that often, but sometimes I do. Still has the same strings on it, too bored to look up changing strings on a Floyd rose.
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I like to oil my new strings with baby oil, so they don't sound too bright.
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Not changing strings before they get dull means to me that feel, crisp tone and playablity, lost it from budget savings and/or laziness.
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I do not have this experience. To me it’s about the same as driving a car before and after an oil change. No noticeable difference.
Originally Posted by Woodstove
Unless I changed to roundwounds. Then I have a week of annoyance until they stop zinging and going flat.
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you could do what the old blues players do, change them when they break
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I think it's probably a combination of taste and economics. Changing strings every couple of weeks can get expensive, and some have more disposable cash than others. Some also prefer the sound of played-in strings. I have some guitars with fairly new strings, and some which haven't had new strings in years. The latter mostly live in their cases in the closet. I tend to change strings when the intonation starts to go, or when I just want to try a different brand/type/gauge of strings. I'm not religious about it, and don't really have much of a routine. Sometimes the voices in my head just tell me it's time to change strings on a guitar, and I sometimes listen to the voices.
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I can think of three reasons
1 - Those who preserve the excess elasticity
The common wisdom is to pull the strings after they are applied to remove the excess elasticity. Another approach is to not guess how much excess there is and just play them in, adjusting pitch as needed for a few days. The idea here is that you don't want to lose any more elasticity than will be removed by normal play... the suggestion being that when folks just yank on the fresh strings they are likely pulling out more elasticity than would occur with just playing them in.
Strings will retain their "reserve" elasticity for a long time if you just play them in; it gives the strings a responsive feel and sound, bouncy, lively, and also may prevent some possible anomalies; when you yank the strings their curvature over the saddles is "set" to a hard angle before you have adjusted intonation. If the subsequent intonation adjustment results in that hard string angle on the saddle being moved inward into the sounding length that can cause problems with tone and harmonic coherence.
2 - Those who clean their strings
Wiping is not cleaning. Keeping strings shiny is nice, but the main concern is what the underside of the string at its contact point with the frets is doing... it's corroding and forming little notches you can feel running your fingernail under the string up and down its length. The habit of thoroughly cleaning the strings after each playing will preserve them for a long time if you get under the strings and use some kind of product. A 4"x4" cut pile nylon carpet sample is ideal, getting under the strings, and cleaning the finger board and frets, too. The strings will stay shiny and the notches will take about a year to form from play, rather than the corrosion accelerating the process to months, or even weeks.
3 - Those who use their guitar's knobs
Those who leave their knobs full up and don't clean their strings will hear the strings are a bit bright but just right in a few days, and as the weeks or months go by they get dull until you change them.
Those that use their knobs (volume and tones in the more middle values) will hear the tone, and as the weeks or months go by they may adjust the knobs up to maintain the same tone for a long time. Noticing that a knob is now full up is your guitar's builtin reminder to order new strings.
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Depends on the string. Plain steel lose their intonation quickly relative to wound strings.
I actually love the brightness of new flatwound strings but not so much that I’m going to change them unless I have to for one reason or another. They can definitely work for yearssss.
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Originally Posted by Woodstove
Flatwound bottoms last for years. I will change out the E and B once any corrosion, tuning or intonation issues come up.
I hate the sound of new strings for jazz guitar.
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My flatwound low strings start to take on the divot from the where you press em on the frets after about two months. That takes about a week or two, max, with roundwounds. I am pretty tough on strings, digging iin for rhythms on the wound and bending the high strings. I change strings every two months with flats. I love the sound of new flats on a good semi hollow. I wish I could keep the more rubbery feel longer before they turn into much less pliable cables.
I will say I don't know how anyone can not stretch the strings out before use, that's just asking for tuning problems. There are enough things to deal with at a gig besides strings that go way out of pitch after every song.
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I like bronze strings new.
I like nickel/monel strings broken in.
I like flatwounds the hell away from my guitars.
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I like Bronze (80/20) on my acoustic archtops. Newer is better Originally Posted by omphalopsychos
I like nickel roundwounds on my planks. Newer is better
I like nickel flatwounds on my electric archtops. Broken in is better
I like silvered roundwounds on my Gypsy guitars. Newer is better
I like Nylon strings on my classical. Newer is better.
All plain strings corrode and the intonation goes out. These get changed more frequently than wound strings
Silvered string wear out fast.
Nickel strings oxidize eventually.
I spend a fair amount of money on strings every year. As a working pro, it is a tax deduction. But it is still a fair amount of money. Playing in tune and sounding good is worth it.
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Completely agree, especially the last part. I've said it many times, to me they sound......flat. Originally Posted by omphalopsychos
Sometimes I swear some folks use flats because they were told "that's what jazz guitarists use"
Sure they'll eat your frets faster but give me the sparkle/zing of rounds.
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I suppose you could say that about every type of guitar apparatus and it wouldn’t be untrue…it’s just that it’s not necessarily true and in the case of flatwound strings - the fact is they can sound absolutely incredible but definitely need to be on the right guitar. Originally Posted by wintermoon
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I think rounds are objectively more vivid than flats. There's more harmonic information going on. However, flats do have their own beauty (and tradition).
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I sort of agree but have been using D'Addario half-rounds for a year or so and they're the perfect compromise between the squeak-free flats and the brighter rounds. Originally Posted by wintermoon
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Thunk!
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For me in many cases you do not know the difference of changin strings... before you actually change it
On guitars that I really play all the time I just try to take it as a must once in while - no matter how I hear it - I just change the set once in a month for example and that is it.
Though on some guitars some strings hold longer.
On classical and steel strings acoustic the new strings can have a huge effect - much more noticeable than on electric guitars imfo (especilly on solid bodies).
With roundwounds I also feel that they sound better after a few days/ a week of playing on electric guitars.
And on lutes I do not change strings sometimes for years really.Last edited by Jonah; 08-09-2023 at 08:16 AM.
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On Bass, practically never.
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I’ve had the same flats on my P-bass since I got it decades ago. I only gig with it if a friend has an emergency or if somebody really cool asks, so it’s been a studio queen for most of its life with me. Back in the ‘90s, I played it for 2 shows with Sista Monica Parker (a wonderful and sadly deceased blues singer and composer) at what I think was her only weekend at Warmdaddy’s in Philly. Originally Posted by GuyBoden
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I tend to change strings (String Joy Broadways these days) every 8 to 12ish hours of gig time. This is dependent on humidity and playing conditions as well as sound, intonation, and how the strings feel. I clean strings, top and bottom, before and after every gig. I also use Finger Ease before every gig. The guitars I am playing at home and not using on gigs may keep strings for 6 months or longer. If I decide to use one on a gig, the strings get changed a few days before.
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