New strings sound great, I'm always surprised, even after forty years of playing. And the new sound tells me what a cheap guy I am for not replacing them since . . . I can't remember when. I always replace all the strings, but, one at a time. Never take all of the strings off at once. Never leave a stringed instrument un-strung unless you're installing a pickup or refinishing, etc. Never cut them with wire cutters / the sudden snap and release of pressure approaching 50 lbs. for the mid-strings) can be death on a guitar's intricate structure. If I break a string in a gig, I tune the new one a little sharp (half note or so), wait about 30 seconds, and bring it back down to pitch; It seems to take some of the "wanderlust" out of it. I play a steel Taylor.

Rob