change strings

hi,i'm a beginner and i have a question how long is the strings life..my strings have 3 month but i don't know if is the moment for change..i don't recognised any change in the sound of the strings and i don't know any technique to recognised him..help me in this 2 problems solving..

thaks

Originally Posted by: lucapiegaia

hi,i'm a beginner and i have a question how long is the strings life..my strings have 3 month but i don't know if is the moment for change..i don't recognised any change in the sound of the strings and i don't know any technique to recognised him..help me in this 2 problems solving..

thaks

It's always difficult to hear strings degrade because it happens slowly and overtime. When you change your old strings out for new ones, you will hear the difference, because it is fairly drastic.

As for how long strings should last, that is up to you and depends on how much you play and how you store your guitar. If you play a lot, you can be okay with changing strings once every month or 2 months.

Hello Luca!

Besides upon breaking a string, when to change strings depends very much on personal taste and budget, and how often to change them is very dependent on many factors:[br][br]Do you use nylon or metal strings?

Do you use anti-corrosion coated strings (for metal strings)?

Do you play often, for long times? Do you sweat much? Do you live in a humid place?

Do you clean strings after you end playing for the day?

Do you use string care products (like fastfret, etc)?

I only play electric, so I cannot help on classic/spanish/flamenco guitars. In my case, I use anti-corrosion strings and change them when I feel them sharp (specially when doing bends) and I start seeing rust spots (usually close to frets). So I guess I change them more for the sake of playability rather than for tone. I leave that for better players than me...

Originally Posted by: lucapiegaia

hi,i'm a beginner and i have a question how long is the strings life..my strings have 3 month but i don't know if is the moment for change..i don't recognised any change in the sound of the strings and i don't know any technique to recognised him..help me in this 2 problems solving..

thaks

Something to add to this is; if you wipe your strings and guitar neck with a microfiber cloth or cleaning supplies for your guitar. A quick wipedown with a microfiber towel will give your strings a longer life and it's good for overall guitar care.

Like others have said, every couple of months is a good cadence but remember, it is not a law or anoything. When I was young and broke, I change a string as it broke. That's how I 'changed' strings. I wasn't a prolific string breaker so my string would last forever but eventually they lose their brightness mojo and you just have to change.

So, there isn't a specific time required to change but every few months, if you can, not a bad idea.

lucapiegaia, as already mentioned, there's no set answer to this question that many ask.

I'm going to share my opinion by asking you a question back.

Are you going to change your own strings, or pay someone else to do it?

Here's why I ask; As GTA pointed out, it's hard to judge string breakdown as it happens, but when you change old strings to fresh strings, WOW, they sound nice. Sounding nice encourages me to play more, and that's the goal, right?

Strings are relatively inexpensive (in my neck of the woods anyway). If you're changing them yourself, you don't have much to lose. Change them after two months, and see what YOU think. If the change is dramatic to you, then change them again in one month, and see what YOU think. Find your happy place.

I will say that I believe that wiping down does help extend string life. Cleaners like Dunlop 65 Ultraglide, and GHS Fast Fret, also help in my opinion.

I'll just add two ways I determine this:

1 - Look at them in the light, check out the reflections, and look for any discoloration. There will be a darkening in the areas that you commonly play, as opposed to areas you don't ever touch. The oils in our hands will leave behind residue and corode the strings.

2 - I am so accustomed to the sound of strings that I can easily judge their newness immediately, after 30 years of playing.

Over time your ear will get used to what fresh strings sound like and what your own tastes are. You'll just know.

We ALMOST ALWAYS change to completely fresh strings before shooting a GuitarTricks tutorial. Some instructors like to have them on a few days to find their own sweet spot.

I am an EXTREME case but when I am recording an album or anything very important I change strings at the very least every other day on my electric. I am crazy about bright strings! I can hear a big difference even after 3 hours of playing. But that's my own personal quirk and taste. Other people would not agree. :)

-Carl.

Like most things, strings are even cheaper if you buy them in bulk. I usually buy 12 packs and it take me a year to use them up.

Originally Posted by: snojonesLike most things, strings are even cheaper if you buy them in bulk. I usually buy 12 packs and it take me a year to use them up.

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This.

Originally Posted by: snojones

Like most things, strings are even cheaper if you buy them in bulk. I usually buy 12 packs and it take me a year to use them up.

good idea for professionels who change strings every gig, not so good idea for amateurs, strings aren't vacume packed so they will oxidate even in their package and the last pack will sound just as dull as the strings on your guitar so waste of money

I was fortunate in that the store I purchased my guitar from (3 months ago, yesterday) offers a free string change every 3 months for life. So, unless I break one, I will be changing strings every 3 months. [br][br]Since I have shifted to mostly fingerpicking, I need to get better at wiping them down after every session. I could definitely tell the difference in sound when I got home, especially on the lower 3 strings.

I live in a hot 'n humid saline coastal environment, play every day and my hands sweat salt 'n acid. Fortunately the entire house including my music studio where the instruments are stored is air conditioned. Regardless, on the guitars which are being played daily, even though I apply Dunlop Formula 65 Ultraglide String Conditioner before and after playing, uncoated metal strings will have oxidised and turned completely black within 6 to 8 weeks.

Every bulk pack I've bought brand regardless contains 10 sets rather than 12. I'd easily consume those within 3/4 of a year restringing just two guitars, and as I have more than two, the immediately to hand convenience and massive cost saving in buying multiple packs makes practical as well as economic sense for me.

Don't know I'd subscribe to the, paraphrased, 'gone bad in 12 months' theory. They are't bananas or tomatoes. D'Addario refer to their static bag enclosures as "corrosion resistant packaging" the strings within treated with "VCI corrosion protection". No, they're not vacum packed, but they are treated with corrosion inhibitor and each set is individually heat sealed in the bag from moisture and other contaminants. Deterioration over a twelve month shelf life? Arguably insignificant.

Ultimately, sensible purchase volume certainly depends upon individual application and string changing routine. How frequently one changes strings, including how many guitars one might concurrently have using that gauge of string. Bulk works for me.

Originally Posted by: hsnoeckx

Originally Posted by: snojones

Like most things, strings are even cheaper if you buy them in bulk. I usually buy 12 packs and it take me a year to use them up.

good idea for professionels who change strings every gig, not so good idea for amateurs, strings aren't vacume packed so they will oxidate even in their package and the last pack will sound just as dull as the strings on your guitar so waste of money

I use Rotosound guitar strings and they come in a foil packaging that says it's moisture proof for a long life, I buy them in bulk as I change guitar strings every three weeks when I'm rehearsing regularly with my band and I've not had a problem with any packs going bad. I'm not sure if other brands use the same packaging as I've been using Rotosound exclusively for the last 8 or 9 years.

you are all lucky guys that live in the states, in Europe and now living in Azia ( hot and moist all year through ) D'Addarios come in paper bags and are many times already oxidized on the shelf, same aplies to other brands and for those lucky guys that have a shop full of guitars, the OP looks like he has only one, draw your conclusion depending the part of the world you live in.

Two considerations; how many hours of playtime (not how 'long' they've been on the guitar) and how were they played (pounding heavy metal or sweet folk finger picking?). And of course the environment, the manufacturer, string gauge, string type, yada, yada, yada.

It's gonna have to be an individual decision based on one's own experience.

There is one guy that has a fair sized presence on YouTube that said at least once that he "never" changes strings on his electric guitar. Of course, he also said he was buying guitars as an "investment" and as life insurance to leave to his wife. Tsk.

Originally Posted by: hsnoeckx

now living in Azia ( hot and moist all year through ) D'Addarios come in paper bags

Counterfeit D'Addarios Herman? Every D'Addario string set I've bought (AU, but local distro imported from the US), without exception regardless singles sold in a retail cardboard sleeve, 10 sets in a cardboard box or 5 sets in a promo tin, the individual string sets within [u]always[/u] come enclosed in heat sealed grey plastic bag with a serial number and scannable QR authenticity verification with a replacement guarantee, as counterfeiting of their product is rife. See images below (my pix) of regular D' Addario packaging.

10 set bulk box of the above, my favoured purchase volume.

Most local guitar players here can't even afford a complete set so they are even sold per string . As for counterfeit, most stuff comes here from China and as you might be aware of, that is the biggest xerox machine on this world but nothing we can do about it unless we order them from Amazon.com and pay ourselfs blue to get them here so I switched to Elexir strings and they, although packed in a paper bag per string to, together with Dunlop 65 string cleaner at least last some longer.

But hey, that's live.

Wow, Herman, that really sucks! Can you get someone in the US to buy a few sets of strings for you and send them to you, or would the cost of sending them make it just as expensive as you ordering them yourself at the inflated price? Black market guitar strings -- who'd have thunk it?

set D'Adario's xl120 on Amazon are 11 Euro, freight and import taxes are 17 Euro so one set from the states is 28 Euro. If I order 10 sets or more I get into trouble with the customs who think I sell them and earn money on them, no proper papers and they will destroy them and I loose the money.

Set D'Adario's xl120 ( exactly same pack but likely copies ) on Lazada ( which is like the Thai Amazon ) including taxes and import...... 4 Euro.

Local music shop asks 10 Euro and he orders them from Lazada to.

So this is a no brainer for the foreigners that live here.

Almost everything we order comes from Lazada and that stuff is for 99% Chinees.

If you're buying counterfeits Herman, which it looks like, you might like to try these and see what you think of them. Supplied inside a plastic bag inside a cardboard sleeve inside an end opening retail display box.

I've been using AE530 L's and SL's as my alternate standard "go to" electric strings since I tried them. I like them [u]a lot[/u], and the price per set is icing on the cake. Including international shipping, they're available from AliExpress per set at about half my local price per set of D'Addario sets even bought in bulk.

Thanks for the tip, even Elexirs seem to be more cheep there