How long do your strings last?

[David Hartley]

My friend Vic Eaton came over on Saturday.
He bought over his black Rains he bought 4 years ago, just for a check up and a bit of tuition too.
He has practiced on it every day since having it.
He has never broke a string, and it as the same set on it from new!
Now that's what I call a good set of strings.
I said shall we stick a new set on Vic, and he declined, why he said,?
It still sounded bright and clean, so I agreed. Leave them on.

How long do yours last?

[Joseph V. Sapp]

David:
alot go's into that question. "in General" considering not breaking a 1st. , 3rd., or 10th., or 5th., I find woodshedding everyday, (Aprox. 2hrs.), and a couple gigs a week,,,,a set last's me about 4 to 6 weeks. if I start loosing sustain, or touching the end plate,,,I change them ASAP.....

Joe

[Craig Schwartz]

seems to me that when the 6th string fades flat quickly on the tuner, I start to get a little concerned for the rest of the smaller strings, possibly That I`ve overplayed the dang thing to much, that could happen quikly or take 6-12 months, But it will happen, Its the one thing that registers in my head for whatever reason, I dont know ????

[Dale Rottacker]

I've got the same strings on my guitar that were on it when it when I got it from Mickey...I'm not sure what they are but they've been there for about 2 and a half years now...I would have replaced them before now, but have had a delay with the strings I've ordered...I'm looking forward to new strings, as a few, mainly the 6th just lack the Pop they once had.

[Ronnie Green]

Most of us have a acid that reflects off our bodies into our hands. I have a friend I've known all my life that plays lead guitar and he has to change strings at least every 2 weeks. It's strange but true. Some people have no acid in their system. It can deadend strings fast.

[Joe Naylor]

I was told when I first started to play the steel (back when I was about in the second grade - we did have rubber tires and autos )

To change them the day before they broke (no I have remembered that since the '50's) However I knew a guy that had a lot of acid in his body and he changed his after 2 gigs.

Many steel players say they lose tone and then change them. Certain pedal steels (I am not going to mention any names to not name the guilty ones ) break strings much more often than others. I was just told by a guy that had sold one of those steels that every 15 hours of playing he would break a certain string - he had proved it over and over.

Tough question

Joe Naylor
www.steelseat.com

[Brett Lanier]

One of my buddies has that deadly acidic sweat too. If you saw the bridge plate to his main tele you wouldn't believe that its only 1year old. Completely covered in rust. It looks like hardware from a 60 year old guitar that's spent a lot of that time underwater.

I probably change the strings on my steel every 3-6 weeks. Tele strings every 1 or 2 gigs.

[David Hartley]

Thats interesting you talk about acid hands. I think I am in that category, I do change strings when I see they've lost their shine near the changer where I block, or of course when they've lost sustain.

My friend Vic works on automobiles, and do does Keith and their strings always look like new. It must be the impregnated oil in ther hands that keeps their strings shiny.

[Tony Prior]

good grief , another string thread....


I am quite certain strings are not meant to last forever...

3rd strings probably last as long on ANY guitar..it really depends on the amount of B pedal action...a speed picker will break more 3rd strings than a Hank Williams player...physics...ok some axes do have a better pull design..but the ball end wrap is still the weak spot...
Car tires last 40,000 miles, it could take 3 years or 6 months to go 40,000 miles...the tire doesn't care...


Someone says, "I practice everyday"..what does that mean...? I sit and play a few songs for 30 minutes, or I woodshed on a speed phrase for 3 hours ? The same phrase over and over ....Define practice ....


I am sure many here will say that strings have been on their axe for months, maybe even a year..."my guitar doesn't break strings" ...

so I would ask working players..( weekly )

Why on earth would you go to a gig with strings that are more than say 3 months old for the entire set and what would ever possess a working Pedal Steel player to go more than a week or two without changing the 3rd and possibly the 5th string often....?


me..the entire set every 10 or 12 weeks, 3 and 5 every other week if I am on weekly gigs. Always before a big stage show.

$4000 Instrument..2 x .50 cent strings... I yield the worlds record as to how long strings last to you guys...I'm going for the worlds record for how long I have gone without breaking a string on a gig !

We have massive conversations regarding tone...my take..if your strings are starting to fade you are chasing tone...if your strings are fresh..that's where tone starts...I gig every week on the Telecaster, I change strings every other week. I do not use hi dollar premium strings, I use standard Fender 150's or 250's, they can be bought for about $2.50 a set in bulk..

If you have old strings on your axe..your tone is suffering and you are compensating with tone knobs...

Change your strings...

thats all I got...

[Jack Stoner]

Tony has hit on some good points.

When I was doing road gigs, it was every 10 shows (considering we were doing daily or even some times two shows a day). I didn't want to break a string or have the potential to break a string on a show. Our lead guitar player changed the strings on his Strat every two to three days.

I'm only doing a weekly show, one day a week plus an occasional one night show, and can go 6 to 8 weeks before I change. Strings could probably last a lot longer but fresh strings just sound better, not considering potential breakage due to metal fatigue from all the raising (pulling) strings.

The guitars I've heard where people have had the strings on for an extended period sound like crap.

[Tony Prior]

The guitars I've heard where people have had the strings on for an extended period sound like crap.

Well Jack..tell us what you really think !

I don't know if they sound like crap but I know you get the most out of your Instrument with fresh strings...

[Sam White]

I do not play out but I practice 2 to 4 hours a day every day and I don't change my strings for about a year or so not because they loose their sound i just change them as I thing they are about due. I now have Sid Hudson's Live Steel Strings on it I changed about 3 months ago and they sound as great as the day i put them on.Any one who has not tryed them should as they have a better sound and Sustain on them. I love the sound I'm getting from this Great Steel Guitar that Ray Walker and Jack Palmer built and those great Strings. Thanks for the great strings Sid Hudson.
Sam White

[steve takacs]

I find that on my keyless guitars, the strings last much longer (about four times longer), particularly the 3rd and 5th of the E9th. Of course, they do sound a bit dead if I leave them on for a year, so I change them about once a year. Some guys probably pick them harder than I do, which may increase breakage. stevet

[Ron Page]

If strings last 4 years, someone either doesn't play much or can't reach the pedals.

I pop and .011" in about 2 weeks of regular practice --I'm talking maybe 15 hours/week.

[Gene Jones]

Back in the early days of the 1940-50's when I began, I usually changed strings only when they broke. The reason being was that the older strings actually sounded better as they aged....especially the bass strings.

Youngsters must remember that there were no effects in those days except a tremelo on the original Fender amps.

Later in my career I changed strings only because I was afraid that they might break during a show.

[Don Ricketson]

I have asked this before and have never had an answer. Has anyone ever put some kind of counter on the 3rd string to see approximately how many cycles it makes before it breaks? I know different guitars can make a difference, but there is bound to be an average.... Anybody ?

[Daniel McKee]

I usually get a few months out of my strings but I only play maybe an hour a day and just at home.I have yet to break one on my all pull guitar and I have had it several months now but my pull release usually breaks the 3 4 or 5 string after 5 months

[Alan Brookes]

How long do my strings last ?
Until they break.

I have dozens of instruments of all sorts. I can't afford the time or expense of continually changing the strings.

I even save old strings for future use. A broken guitar string that's not long enough to go back on a guitar may well be long enough to go on a mandolin.

[Sid Hudson]

I think I'll go have a drink

[David Mason]

They sound just as good as they did new!

No doubt, only said after comparing a recording of the new ones to the old ones, because our ears would never ever acclimate... what percentage of people who think they sound marvelous do, indeed, do so?

Regarding what Gene Jones says, I know that a number of older gentlemen will claim that the old steel used in tools and machinery was much better that what's common today, and I have certainly wondered about the crumbly gray potmetal that you get underneath the plating in a typical Ace Hardware screwdriver....

Does "planned obsolescence" belong in this conversation?

[Roger Rettig]

When I'm working a show (playing two hours every night) I'll change both my 3rd and 5th every week - maybe a bit excessive but getting caught out in mid-song with no 5th string feels like the End Of The World!

The 3rd? Not so much but still a minor irritation when it pops.

Under these conditions I usually intend to change the other strings on E9 every four weeks - in reality I keep them for twice that long! C6th? Hardly ever - I sort-of enjoy that dull sound with that neck. If I'm just noodling at home then regardless of how much I practice I don't change any of them.

I HATE changing strings...

[Tony Prior]

When I'm working a show (playing two hours every night) I'll change both my 3rd and 5th every week - maybe a bit excessive but getting caught out in mid-song with no 5th string feels like the End Of The World!

The 3rd? Not so much but still a minor irritation when it pops.

Under these conditions I usually intend to change the other strings on E9 every four weeks - in reality I keep them for twice that long! C6th? Hardly ever - I sort-of enjoy that dull sound with that neck. If I'm just noodling at home then regardless of how much I practice I don't change any of them.

I HATE changing strings...

Wisdom right here....and experience too..

all that matters...unless of course we are going for the worlds record on how long strings last..

To me it gets right back to

Why would a regular working player ( gigs) even consider NOT changing strings ? And perhaps that is the dividing line.. Maybe we should ask this in two questions..


1) If you are a regular working player, meaning weekly gigs and constant rehearsal, how often do you change strings...

2) if you are mostly a stay at home "bedroom" player and do not gig often, or at all, how often do you change your strings.

two totally different and unrelated scenario's..

[Jack Stoner]

Tony, my use of "crap" was the G rated version.

[Hook Moore]

I think I'll go have a drink

Make mine a double..

[Jim Pitman]

"Stop...and let me drink about it. Some blood got in my alcohol stream." - the Spurs.