[Ultimate Garage Band]

For my gigging acoustics I'll change them out about every 3 gigs and that equals about 12 hours of playing. I've let some sets stay on guitars for years, especially electrics. You can do so much to process the tone of an electric guitar that string life can have very little to do with the final tone in the long run. There's also a part of me that enjoys playing 'dead' strings on electrics too.

My fingers are also very acidic. I'll post a pic later today of how black my fingers can get while playing guitar.

[Ultimate Garage Band]

Forgot to put up the pic, here it is if I can add it.

[si16]

Pure clatty, as we would say in this part of the world.

[mcknett]

I asked the good folks at Martin about replacing strings one at a time or all at once...they said remove them all and then replace. I'm comfortable with that.

[coldethyl]

Originally Posted by Kirk

I remember Tommy Emmanuel changing strings every day! Once in a studio, I watched him changing his strings and he took them all off in one go, something I have always avoided because I had heard that to take them all off at once is bad for the guitar ... too much relief from the tension ... and that it's best to change them one at a time. I told Tommy this ... you should have seen the look he gave me!

He must of taken your advice Kirk, because on Tommy Emmanuel's Guitar Talk DVD he shows and explains how he replaces the strings on a guitar and he recommends doing it one string at a time.

[WernHalen]

I've found a wonderfull product by Dunlop I think it is Dunlop 65. It is a light oil that you rub over your strings after every practice session. It cleans the strings, prevents rust feeds and cleans the fret board and makes the strings smoother. I've found that playing faster gets easier on smoother strings. I actually put the stuff on before I play as well. It does however tend to make the bass strings sqeek more... My strings last Longer this way... Another product is FastFret, but I dont like it that much it tends to clogg the grooves in the strings with cotton and that can kill the tone...

[paSia]

so how often shud you re-string guitar? i have a classical guitar for 2 months now.. i play everyday & have not re-string,shud i re-string??

[allthumbs]

Originally Posted by paSia

so how often shud you re-string guitar? i have a classical guitar for 2 months now.. i play everyday & have not re-string,shud i re-string??

Have you read this thread? It gives you different opinions on when to change strings. Ball park, every 6 to 8 weeks.

[Lcjones]

or as often as you can afford it ...

When learning I wouldn't worry too much about string changes. Once you get to a point where you can "hear" the difference between new and two week old strings, then you need to be on top and change strings at your whim or as required.

And in the "do as I say, not as I do" department, always record with fresh strings.

lc

[bluesguy]

Just changed them on my Takamine on Monday night. It sounds so sweet now. Just what the doctor ordered

[aarona36]

Originally Posted by lcjones

or as often as you can afford it ...
lc

Yah, its been a while.

[paSia]

thanx aLL i will change & polish...

[paSia]

ok so now i have re-stringed & polish... my tune sounds really out of tune.. i have a tuner that plays with my mind... for xample i tune E, i tune it then go tune A D G B E then i double check & then E is not the right tune... & also ADGBE... i don't want to tightened my strings more cos it feels so tight alredy that i think it just mite snap... oH what should i do??? is this bcos the strings are new..?

[Lcjones]

paSia,

Each time you turn a tuner to bring up a string, the tension on the neck changes and will ultimately de-tune adjacent strings. As each string comes closer to being "in tune" the neck stabilizes. As well, new strings will always require several tunings to get properly stretched. When you install new strings be sure to start your winding on the tuner as tight as possible. I always loop three to five tight loops on the tuners before actually winding up. This helps eliminate "string slipage" as you start the tuning process.

Once you have the guitar strung up, give it few rounds of chords and "re-tune" again. New strings will almost always go out of tune on the first several strums of the guitar or until they get seated properly.

Hope this helps.

Les

[paSia]

thanx Les i'll give that a go..