String Life

Subject: String Life
From: 53
Date: 03 Apr 02 - 09:28 PM

I usually get about 4 to 6 good hours on my strings and I would like to know what is the norm for strings?

Subject: RE: String Life
From: GUEST,Russ
Date: 03 Apr 02 - 09:54 PM

I change a string when it breaks. As Reed Martins says, "It's a sign from God."

Subject: RE: String Life
From: GUEST
Date: 03 Apr 02 - 10:00 PM

I think it depends on how and how much you play,as well as what kind of skin you have (acidity and what not). I get about two weeks from mine.

Subject: RE: String Life
From: Bert
Date: 03 Apr 02 - 10:16 PM

It depends on your budget. I'd guess that 53 has more money than I have ;-)

Subject: RE: String Life
From: catspaw49
Date: 03 Apr 02 - 10:17 PM

Depending on the type of materials in the string, the construction of the string, the gauge of the string, the pitch, the winding design, the amount of dirt on your hands, the amount of dust and dirt in the air, the temperature, the humidity, the acidity of your hands, how hard you play, and of course assuming that both the bridge saddle and nut are properly cut and the action is adjusted properly.........a string will last 10.293 hours or until it breaks or just sounds dead or maybe longer or shorter times if you call Roto-Rooter when practicing after midnight.

Spaw

Subject: RE: String Life
From: Bill D
Date: 03 Apr 02 - 11:17 PM

autoharp stings will last a long time if you grease the spot where they go 'round the post...guitar players have this picky idea about 'sound'....*grin*

Subject: RE: String Life
From: Cappuccino
Date: 04 Apr 02 - 02:53 AM

There used to be an old idea among Spanish/classic guitar players that you could rejuvenate nylon strings by washing them.

I wasted several hours trying it before I decided I was being had!

- Ian B

Subject: RE: String Life
From: mooman
Date: 04 Apr 02 - 03:09 AM

Perhaps I'm just lucky! I get a good year out of Elixirs (on my fingerpicking guitar) and a good 3 months of serious rhythm work on my other guitar. I'll normally change the top two unwound strings in that time.

P.S. I play both every day

The scientifically-proven norm for ordinary strings is, as 'Spaw correctly point out and all professional luthiers know, 10.293 hours, unless, of course, they break first or last longer.

53, you must earn good wages!

Best regards,

mooman

Subject: RE: String Life
From: Bert
Date: 04 Apr 02 - 03:40 AM

Ah, Bill! So THAT explains Autoharp players ;-)

Subject: RE: String Life
From: 53
Date: 04 Apr 02 - 10:51 AM

I am disabled and do not have a income yet. I have a few boxes of strings saved up when I used to play in my band. I just like the sound of fresh crisp new acoustic strings. The old ones sound like rubber bands and they don't hold their tune very well. Sorry to offend any one. Bob

Subject: RE: String Life
From: Sorcha
Date: 04 Apr 02 - 11:03 AM

Might be the string brand, BOB, and they do continue to age even when unused. Concert violinists are lucky if they can get a week out of strings--I tend to either use them til the break, or try to change them once a year. If they funny sounding I will change just that one.

I have noticed that steels last longer than gut or cored strings. The core stretches much faster and won't stay in tune.

We had an old fiddler (70's?) whose parents bought him a Sears/Roebuck fiddle when he was a child in the 1930's. They also bought him a lifetime supply of strings! He was still using the same fiddle (shudder)and old "new" strings when he died. His string life was about 3 songs because the strings were so corroded. We always said a silent "Thank You" when he broke a string because it would take the rest of the gig for him to change it!

Subject: RE: String Life
From: 53
Date: 04 Apr 02 - 07:35 PM

I still play the strings, but they seem to lose the nice ring .

Subject: RE: String Life
From: Bobert
Date: 04 Apr 02 - 07:58 PM

I'm with Mooman on the Elixers there 53. They're not cheap but they play better and longer than anything I've found. Two months isn't too much to ask out of 'em.

Subject: RE: String Life
From: Mark Ross
Date: 04 Apr 02 - 08:54 PM

One trick for extending string life expectancy is to put the strings on 24 hours before you play them(at the end of the night, just before you go to bed). That let's them stretch before you start pounding on them. I've found that it makes them last 3 th 4 times as long. In fact, one of my students has been giving me Elixirs'(he gets them for free with a coupon from a store in KC, and brings 'em to me in here in Eugene, Oregon)and I've had the same set on since the beginning of February. For years I've been know for my string-killer fingers. Back when strings were a buck and a half a set, it wasn't a problem. The 24 hours let's me change strings less often.

Mark Ross

Subject: RE: String Life
From: Gypsy
Date: 04 Apr 02 - 11:32 PM

Good idea, will inform the handsome mando player in my life about that. He had been using La Bellas, but could literally wear thru them in a matter of hours. If a twenty four hour stretch is all they need for longevity....

Subject: RE: String Life
From: Ned Ludd
Date: 05 Apr 02 - 04:26 AM

I can practice on a set of strings for weeks, and kill a set in one gig (2x45 minutes usually) I put it down to nervous perspiration. (that tells you how long it is between gigs!)I use Newtone strings made in Derbyshire- the only english string maker now as far as I know.

Subject: RE: String Life
From: 53
Date: 05 Apr 02 - 11:44 PM

I'll probly never change the strings on my classical guitar cause I don't know how, and anyway I'll probly never wear them out.

Subject: RE: String Life
From: X
Date: 06 Apr 02 - 12:42 AM

I get about a week on a set. I burn them up where my metal finger picks hit the strings.

Subject: RE: String Life
From: Don Firth
Date: 06 Apr 02 - 03:12 AM

I use a classic (nylon strings) and back when I was doing three or four gigs a week plus teaching, a set of strings would last me about a month, maybe six weeks. These days I don't beat on 'em quite as hard and a set usually lasts me about six months. I use D'Addario Pro-Arte EJ44s.

Don Firth

Subject: RE: String Life
From: Cappuccino
Date: 06 Apr 02 - 01:38 PM

OK, here's the story to kill you.

I won't name her, but the other week I changed a Mudcatter's guitar strings. She had had them on her guitar for TWENTY-ONE years.

I promise, it's true.

I wonder if she'll read this....

- ian B

Subject: RE: String Life
From: Jeanie
Date: 06 Apr 02 - 02:32 PM

Yes, you rotter ! And in fact I think they'd been on there longer than that. All thanks to the careful use of "Oil of Olay which removes the 7 signs of ageing".

Please be assured that the contribution to the Mudcat CD from Ian and me does *not* involve my playing guitar !

Can anyone beat my guitar string life record ?

Yours, proudly, - Jeanie

Subject: RE: String Life
From: 53
Date: 06 Apr 02 - 11:06 PM

Jeanie, I think that sets the record. Bob

Subject: RE: String Life
From: Lynn
Date: 07 Apr 02 - 04:09 PM

When I was playing weekends at the Sterling (NY) Renaissance Faire I'd change the strings every Friday night. We worked 10 AM - 7 PM during the faire days, not always playing of course, but put in many many hours thereof. One time I failed to change them. That Saturday I broke TWO strings in one song! Had to stop the song and borrow my bandmate's Taylor to finish the set. He was pissed! That was when I used Dean Markley med lights. By the end of the second day they'd be pretty dead. Lately I swiched to Elixirs. Great sound, and the resin they're coated with makes them last and last and last. Well worth the extra bucks in initial cost.

Lynn KinderFolk

Subject: RE: String Life
From: lardingo
Date: 07 Apr 02 - 09:46 PM

When I was penniless and in college, I used to boil my guitar strings after they went dead, in order to get more mileage out of them. Now that I'm prosperous, I no longer have to resort to that.

Subject: RE: String Life
From: Sorcha
Date: 07 Apr 02 - 09:55 PM

I can't say for sure, but I'll bet Marvin the Fiddler was right up there with Jeanie.......

Subject: RE: String Life
From: Ebbie
Date: 08 Apr 02 - 02:42 AM

Slight segue here: I've been using Martin Marquis medium for several years. A friend, not a guitar player, advises me to get some Martin SPs; he thinks they sound better. I like the sound of the Marquis quite well but can someone comment on the SPs?

Ebbie

Subject: RE: String Life
From: GUEST,Canuck
Date: 08 Apr 02 - 03:46 AM

Re: Martin SPs. I really can't be sure that they are worth the premium over generic Martin bronze, but I _LOVE_ the look of them ~ the brass plating of the usually silvered trebles looks awful purty (matching the brasswound strings), especially under stage lights.
53: You may never wear out the nylon strings, but they HAVE gone out of tone. That "new string" sound that you love so much on the steel string is nearly as dramatic on the nylon-strung guitar.
Cheers
Canuck

Subject: RE: String Life
From: 53
Date: 08 Apr 02 - 02:10 PM

You mean you can tell a difference in the sound of nylon strings. I knew that the 4 5 and 6th strings would change but I had no idea that the 3 4 and 1st strings would change. Thanks for the info. I bet I don't play my classical enough to warrant a string change.

Subject: RE: String Life
From: GUEST,jonesey
Date: 08 Apr 02 - 02:31 PM

Had to repsond to this one...I can kill a set of string in 20 minutes. I'm one of the unluckies with a high acid level. A good friend used to have a plastic container in which he kept the 'brass ends' of strings he obtained over the years. Every 2 weeks or so he would loosen his strings and slide another ball onto each of them then restring the guitar. His thought was that strings break because the frets rub a slight groove in the underside of the string causing them to break more easily. He had low acid content and wouldn't let other players touch his guitar. He gigged consitantly and hadn't changed strings in 2 years when I met him. Takes all kind I guess...lol

Subject: RE: String Life
From: Don Firth
Date: 08 Apr 02 - 02:34 PM

Yeah, the nylon trebles do last longer than the basses. Some people replace the basses a couple of times before changing them all. However, the trebles can fret-cut and develop flat spots that throw the intonation off. I prefer to change them all in one shot.

Don Firth

Subject: RE: String Life
From: C-flat
Date: 08 Apr 02 - 03:43 PM

I know bass guitarists used to boil strings to rejuvinate them but until now I hadn't heard of it with smaller guage strings.I frequently change strings on my classical,it's suprising how quickly they become lifeless. With steel strings I've found WD40 to be a great aid in lengthening string life. My palms get quite sweaty when I'm playing, particularly gigging, and I can ruin a set in a couple of nights unless I give them a rub over with WD40 before putting the guitar away. I can usually get 4-6 weeks out of a set this way. Bob, if you're not sure how to change your nylon strings take a look at how they're wrapped around themselves at the bridge. When you're replacing one pull a couple of inches of string through the bridge, bend it back over and round the back of the longer length and wrap it round itself a few times. The trick is to maintain some tension on the string until you get the other end round the machine head. New nylon strings take a lot longer than steel ones to settle in and stop stretching, so you'll find yourself re-tuning for a couple of days. Hope that's of some help, it's more difficult to describe than to do!

Subject: RE: String Life
From: GUEST,jonesey
Date: 08 Apr 02 - 04:00 PM

When I'm gigging alot I use Isopropyl alcohol and a soft cloth to clean the strings after every set. During the night I wipe my strings frequently. The mandolin is a bit trickier than the guitar. Doesn't help a ton, but it allows me to get a couple of nights out of my strings before I have to change them. Never tried WD-40.

Subject: RE: String Life
From: 53
Date: 08 Apr 02 - 04:42 PM

C-flat, I'm not that good at changing nylon strings, in fact, I've never changed a set. I think that I'll just take it to my friendly music store when they need changing. My classical is a Yamaha CG-70 and it's a 2000 model and it's a great guitar for practicing on, so I think that my strings will do for awhile. Thanks anyway for the tip. Bob

Subject: RE: String Life
From: Ned Ludd
Date: 08 Apr 02 - 05:33 PM

In the words of Bernard Wrigley- I was going to try boiling my guitar strings but couldn't find a pan long enough!

Subject: RE: String Life
From: Ian Darby
Date: 08 Apr 02 - 09:46 PM

I've got some Elixirs on my Strat and they've lasted for months.

After the gig I wipe them down with deodorant, after-shave, or even string cleaner.

Thanks for reminding me about 'La Bella's', together with Rotosound's 'Student Set', I haven't used them in years.

We made a record some years ago, and the guy in the studio said the lead player with the band in the previous session changed his strings for every song.

Bet he was popular with the rest of the band on live gigs.

Subject: RE: String Life
From: 53
Date: 27 Apr 02 - 10:36 PM

I've never tried Elixirs on my Strat, thanks for the tip. Bob

Subject: RE: String Life
From: GUEST,jonesey
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 08:55 PM

Hey Bob, There's string makers called the Euphonon Company. You can get all kinds of strings from them in any guages. They come loose in a jet pack with no packaging. They're cheap, cheap, cheap(costwise). If I'm not mistaken they make strings for Martin, Guild, Ernie Ball, etc. I've used them for years and as a gigging musician I'm always looking to cut corners. Might want to give them a try. Here's the web address: http://www.theguitarport.com Click on the 'strings' option and the Euphonon Co. has it's price list right there. Along with all the other advice you received(all good, BTW)the alcohol and soft cloth trick will extend the string life a ton.