A 1 Year G# 3rd String

Justin B. French · Post by **Justin B. French** » 2 Dec 2002 5:26 pm

I got my Carter D10 in Sep 2001. I am retired and only play at home, averaging 2 hours per day and normal use of the A, B, & C pedals. After breaking a couple of 3rd strings I installed another D'Addario .011 string on Dec. 3rd 2001. It's still there. Everytime I hear a "Pop" I think "there it goes" but it was the 4th string after hitting the C pedal. (4) 4th string E strings broke in that time and the only other string to break was (1) 10th string B.
I am putting this on the Forum because it seems rare for a 3rd string to last that long and I thought some might wonder how long would strings last if you don't replace them every so often.

Jud, Steelin' in Norfolk

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Sam Minnitti · Post by **Sam Minnitti** » 2 Dec 2002 5:33 pm

D'Addario is my string of choice on the 6-string, but I haven't tried them on the steel.

Is your whole set D'Addario or just your 3rd?

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www.samminnitti.com

Jim Smith · Post by **Jim Smith** » 2 Dec 2002 6:22 pm

I once had a .011 Dekley string (made by D'Addario BTW) that lasted 13 months of six nights a week playing on my D-12 Dekley.

I finally changed it because it was so old that it fretted almost one fret flat above the 12th fret!

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Jim Smith jimsmith94@attbi.com
-=Dekley D-12 10&12=-
-=Fessenden D-12 (coming soon)=-
Stereo Steel rig w/Boss GX-700
IVL SteelRider w/JV-880

Jeff Peterson · Post by **Jeff Peterson** » 2 Dec 2002 6:27 pm

Gee, just think how long one would last if you put it on and never played at all!

Justin B. French · Post by **Justin B. French** » 2 Dec 2002 8:02 pm

The 3rd, 4th and 10th strings that I replaced are D'Addrios. All the others are the originals that came with it from the factory, Ball I believe. Jud

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Bobbe Seymour · Post by **Bobbe Seymour** » 2 Dec 2002 8:37 pm

I tie my third strings to the changer with rubber bands so they don't bend going over the top of the changer finger, my last one I put on has been there for over thirty two years. I do have to change the rubber bands as they rot though.
Am I kidding or telling a untrue story? No more than anyone else on this thread!

Jerry Hayes · Post by **Jerry Hayes** » 3 Dec 2002 5:59 am

Hey Justin,
Haven't seen you for a while........If you can get out and about we'll (The Legends) be at the old Moonlight Room this Saturday night in Bowers Hill. Thursday night we'll be at the Hardee's in Portsmouth and the Va.Beach location on Friday from 8 to 10. Thursday is 7 to 9. Glad to see you're having good luck with your guitar. I just put some strings on my guitar that I bought about 4 years ago at Scotty's which are Jagwire brand. They've been on there about two months now and so far I haven't broken any yet. I only do about a half hour a day practicing though. As you know I mostly do lead guitar gigs but I have done a couple of steel gigs in that time. Have a good 'un and I hope to see you soon........Jerry

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Livin' in the Past and the Future with a 12 string Mooney Universal tuning.

Bill Ford · Post by **Bill Ford** » 3 Dec 2002 6:12 am

Bobbe,
I think I hold the record for the G#/A string installed the conventional way.....D12 MSA,20 years.
BF

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Bill Ford

Bobbe Seymour · Post by **Bobbe Seymour** » 3 Dec 2002 8:04 am

Oh Bill, I bet it sounds great too!

Jim Smith · Post by **Jim Smith** » 3 Dec 2002 10:12 am

Bobbe said:

Am I kidding or telling a untrue story? No more than anyone else on this thread!

I can't speak for the others, but my story is true. Admittedly after a couple months the string sounded really bad, but after it made it that long, I couldn't resist seeing how much longer it would last.

I changed the rest of the strings a few times and kept an .011" and my string winder handy waiting for it to break, but it just wouldn't.

Roger Rettig · Post by **Roger Rettig** » 3 Dec 2002 11:13 am

Jim
Take it off, send it to me. I'll put it on my guitar and I'll send you the two bits back within a week!

Reggie Duncan · Post by **Reggie Duncan** » 3 Dec 2002 11:45 am

Bill only plays C6th. Hey, Bobbeeee, can you use the rubber bands off the newspaper?[This message was edited by Reggie Duncan on 03 December 2002 at 11:46 AM.]

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 3 Dec 2002 2:26 pm

I put my customized '69 Sho-Bud Maverick in its case under my bed in 1977, moved it from Tennessee to California, then to Boston, then to Philly, and took it out in 2000 (23 years). The whole think was only about a half-step flat, and the third string was still there, rusty like all the others, but unbroken. I played it about 10 seconds before changin all the strings. True story, but I ain't proud of it.

Bobbe Seymour · Post by **Bobbe Seymour** » 3 Dec 2002 3:49 pm

Nor should you be David! (ha! ha!).
There is also a trick you can do to to make the .011 last forever by using a new, (not used) prophylactic birth control device.(sometimes refered to as a "Johnny rubber" in southern states) It works very well in areas near salt water. It involves packing the string tightly in this unit , making sure it is air tight. This will last forever or until you install it on your guitar, which ever comes first.
[This message was edited by BobbeSeymour on 03 December 2002 at 03:50 PM.][This message was edited by BobbeSeymour on 03 December 2002 at 03:56 PM.]

Jeff Peterson · Post by **Jeff Peterson** » 3 Dec 2002 4:00 pm

I tried that Bobbe, but it always got hard.

Bobbe Seymour · Post by **Bobbe Seymour** » 3 Dec 2002 5:07 pm

Justin B. French, Good to get your email today, you old "home town buddy!" It seems as though any string will "last forever" if it is not tempred well enough, unfortunatly, they don't sound very good if they aren't tempered. On some guitars, this isn't as noticeable as on others. Every thing is a trade-off here, it's what you want, longivity or tone and sustain. I personally put tone above all else, it's like a contest to me to see how much better I can get my guitar to sound than anyone else can. Like being in racing, or playing golf, you just want to win. Some guitars and strings just aren't even in the race.
It's just all in what you personally want. I use a Hilton pedal, Emmons Push-Pull guitar,Cobra Coil strings, Geo.L. cords, BJS bar, Sho-Bud amp (and different Peavey models), a RV-3 for reverb and ecco. I'll put this rig against anything, any time. However, I can also make several other brand products sound good too, but if I change ALL of the products to something else, I can't seem to recover much of a great tone. You can substitute some things and still sound OK, but --------> Not all of them! I am only talking only tone quality here, not weight,technoligy,or anything else, just what matters to me most, TONE. I listen for things that 99% of players don't notice or care about, it's my job. I do like portability though,I guess that's second. [This message was edited by BobbeSeymour on 03 December 2002 at 05:22 PM.]

John Bechtel · Post by **John Bechtel** » 3 Dec 2002 7:52 pm

Bobbe, Jeff; I take a portable with me where ever I go! "Big John" http://community.webtv.net/KeoniNui/doc

Jeff Peterson · Post by **Jeff Peterson** » 3 Dec 2002 8:13 pm

You could see how long a pork chop would last on the counter at your house, as opposed to mine, and your place might have a longer shelf-life than mine.....but who the hell would want to eat it to check it out? People ask me about steel guitar maintenance, and the first rule to me is...fresh strings. This is above lubing and douching and probing and everything else. Fully half the time you spend at the endplate is due to the fact that your strings are getting too old to play. Now please don't lay the brand thing on me. They are literally all the same.....stainless or nickel--pretty much the only difference. You like 'em and they work for you.....great. But, if you like them so much...change them often. As strings get old, besides losing clarity and harmonics, send your pedal and knee levers into fits of 'raise & loweritis'. You keep compensating at the endplate, and then have a bunch of turning to do when you do finally change strings. If you can't afford to replace often, wipe..wipe..wipe....I mean, don't ever look at them without wiping them clean. They will last as long as they last....just remember, once you have to get after the endplate tuning, you should change. If you have to get after the nylons every couple of days on a new set of strings....it's time for a new guitar! So much for me on the old string thang.
Oh yeah, Bobbe's not much on technology.....that's why he uses a Hilton pedal...thanks so much to my little bitty influence. I'm determined to bring him somewhere close to the 21st century. .....peace..