How often do you change strings

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NeZ

Posts: 96
Joined: Feb. 14 2007

How often do you change strings

I've seen several posts about what brand and tension of strings people use but not many about frequency of changes.

When I used to play classical on a student model Burguet I found myself changing strings quite often (at least every month if not every 2 - 3 weeks) because they would sound dull after a short period.

Once I switched focus to flamenco I didn't feel the need to change strings as often but still would change strings every couple months.

Now I've got a top level guitar (an Anders Blanca - that my skills definitely don't justify owning) and it's been a SUPER long time since I've replaced the strings and it still sounds amazing.

I've been thinking about changing them just because it's been so long but then I play it and I change my mind because it still sounds great.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 26 2010 16:38:35

at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: How often do you change strings (in reply to NeZ)

i keep the trebles on until the intonation goes bad or they break.

for the basses, i flip them, slide them, etc. every 1-2 weeks and change every month.

and you're right about better guitars needing their strings changed less often. but old strings that are starting to unwind are bad for the frets, or so i read.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 26 2010 16:53:56

gj Michelob

Posts: 1531
Joined: Nov. 7 2008
From: New York City/San Francisco

RE: How often do you change strings (in reply to at_leo_87)

quote:

i keep the trebles on until the intonation goes bad or they break.

for the basses, i flip them, slide them, etc. every 1-2 weeks and change every month.

A reliable rule of thumb. Many other variables may contribute to wear out the strings, such as temperature, humidity, perspirtaion (or wet hands) diffusing over the strings, your own style of playing etc. Therefore, when the basses feel dull you should not necessarily look at the calendar.

Trebles are much more resilient, but they will manifest their expiry as At_Leo eloquently explained.

I personally enjoy the basses after about a week since re-stringing, as use polishes and calms that squeaky friction they initially show. That's me (and Estebanana, really, as we recently agree).

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 26 2010 17:23:47

HolyEvil

Posts: 1240
Joined: Nov. 6 2008
From: Sydney, Australia

RE: How often do you change strings (in reply to NeZ)

hmm i change my strings once every 10 months or so?
I put new string on my yamaha when I got it in march last year.. and it's still on it..
on my anders that I got in june, a new set of strings then and I just changed it about 1 mth back or so cuz i got bored..

i play about 1-2 everyday on avg..

I actually change one string at a time on the anders to listen to the difference.. new basses r so much louder and more 'balls'.. but I dun see the need to have new strings on.. I'm just learning and the sound I get from the guitars are good enuf in my ears...
the trebles sound pretty much the same to my ears.. in tone n loudness etc.. just the texture of new strings is good on the R hand..

cheers

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 26 2010 19:08:02

buleria74

Posts: 135
Joined: Jan. 23 2010

RE: How often do you change strings (in reply to HolyEvil)

quote:

hmm i change my strings once every 10 months or so?
I put new string on my yamaha when I got it in march last year.. and it's still on it..

really does not matter what you put an a Yamaha, sound and quality
is still below zero.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 27 2010 1:01:08

buleria74

Posts: 135
Joined: Jan. 23 2010

RE: How often do you change strings (in reply to NeZ)

IMO, it really depens on three factors:

1. time you play on strings
2. the brand
3. the guitar

among all the premium qualityn strings I have tried, I found
D'Addario Pró-Arté EJ45 /46/44 last a long time. almost impossible
that they break. the base set is so durable that I change the entire
set when needed. I play on average 2 hourse a day and I give them a tough time, I change once a month when using above mentioned (normal tension)
strings. they don't break but I dont like the color and sound as much after 30 days. Savarez 3 weeks, Luthier 2 weeks, Aranjuez lasts 1 week!!!.

and the guitar, some guitars need new strings more often than others.
I have a Jose manuel Fernandez Enriquez negra, and the above is pretty
much my experience.

quote:

Except when i put d'addario ej45, the D string never break, but after 4 or 5 week this string buzz too much, no good sound anymore

exactly, I agree with you.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 27 2010 1:09:37

mezzo

Posts: 1409
Joined: Feb. 18 2010
From: .fr

RE: How often do you change strings (in reply to NeZ)

i change mine depending on the D strings. This one break after 2 or 3 week. So i have to slide it when i notice the breaking sign and after the slide i turn it upside down.
With this "astuce" i can use the D strings 4 or 5 week but the strings buzz and it's painfull.
Except when i put d'addario ej45, the D strings never break, but after 4 or 5 week this strings buzz too much, no good sound anymore.

So i use to change my strings every 5 weeks. More or less.

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"The most important part of Flamenco is not in knowing how to interpret it. The higher art is in knowing how to listen." (Luis Agujetas)

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 27 2010 1:15:15

Anders Eliasson

Posts: 5780
Joined: Oct. 18 2006

RE: How often do you change strings (in reply to NeZ)

This with strings is very personal. Some only like brand new metallic string sound. I like strings which are a week old or so. Less metallic and more woody guitar sound. I change the basses when they get all brown and the trebles once a year or so.
Some guitars accept older strings a lot better than others.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 27 2010 1:15:19

Doitsujin

Posts: 5078
Joined: Apr. 10 2005

RE: How often do you change strings (in reply to NeZ)

I play the same strings till they break, somebody says "your strings sound old", for a gig, or for recording something. Just for me..its ok with bad strings...Makes me play more acurate with old strings coz its harder to make them sound nice when they are old and dirty.

The treblestrings are special.. I dont like to change them because they sound bad for 1-2 weeks when they are new. They always need time to improve...I dont like to go through this period of time..so I dont change them till they are no longer able to tune correctly.. Than its time to change..

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 27 2010 2:11:32

KMMI77

Posts: 1821
Joined: Jul. 26 2009
From: The land down under

RE: How often do you change strings (in reply to NeZ)

I just finished changing mine. They were about 3 months old.

I find that i wear out that fresh string sound quickly trying to play over the top of noise at gigs. My pedro maldonado guitar has a lot of pulsation in the top. It vibrates at quite a low frequency and wears out strings quickly. Quicker than any other guitar i have owned.

My conde sounds great with new strings then it goes through a phase where i don't like the sound. Then it comes good again when the strings are really old. Perhaps this has something to do with the strings creating more and more tension as they get wound tighter, having an effect on the top.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 27 2010 2:31:23

chapman_g

Posts: 227
Joined: Apr. 11 2007

RE: How often do you change strings (in reply to Anders Eliasson)

quote:

Some guitars accept older strings a lot better than others.

Why is that? I have a couple guitars and the one that I find in general is the most powerful not my favorite but the most powerful, loud, also a little harder to play, but the basses really sound like rubber bands on this when the strings get old they lose all bite.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 27 2010 4:44:18

yohan

Posts: 306
Joined: Feb. 5 2007

RE: How often do you change strings (in reply to NeZ)

I use the EJ45's and they are indeed very durable. I think I change every 3 months or so, although I play a lot. But I just hate the sound of new strings

I also clean my strings often, dunno if that makes a difference.

(btw how do you quote on this forum

)

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 27 2010 7:39:34

edguerin

Posts: 1590
Joined: Dec. 24 2007
From: Siegburg, Alemania

RE: How often do you change strings (in reply to yohan)

I change my basses about every month or so (depending on how much I play), my trebles 1-2 times a year.

quote:

btw how do you quote on this forum

use the "quote" button + copy&paste
so your post'll look something like this:

Images are resized automatically to a maximum width of 800px

Attachment (1)

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 27 2010 8:31:21

yohan

Posts: 306
Joined: Feb. 5 2007

RE: How often do you change strings (in reply to edguerin)

thanks, I'm used to the "modern" forums where U can multi quote different people with one click.

(maybe an idea for this foro? a new design,with php, with better functionality?) [

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Feb. 28 2010 6:15:30

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