[nagukush]

Hi All

Hope everythings great with everyone !

I wanted to know whether there's any harm to a Guitar, If the strings are'nt changed regularly. My hands don't sweat much and hence i think, can i use the strings for longer?

Actually in the past (a few months back), everytimeI had to take my Guitars to the store as I did'nt know how to re-string, but 2 months back, i tried to do it myself (referring the Internet) and was successful after a struggling for about 2 Hours. My hands were even bleeding at some spots.

Now i feel that, I can use the sameones for a few more days, but I'm worried because I read somewhere that this would harm the Guitar. Is it true ? Kindly help guys

Regds and Take care

Kush

[aarona36]

I cant imagine how not changing your stings could hurt your guitar, maybe your tone, but i dont think it could harm the guitar. I usally changes my strings fairly often, but ive had the same ones on for maybe 3 monthes now, my guitar is fine, but the sound is getting pretty dead. Have a good one kush

[bluesguy]

Kush,

First of all changing strings can be a real pain in the b*tt. I end up taking my Fender Stratocaster in to have the strings changed because it is such a pain to do them. Now on my acoustic guitar it is pretty easy to change them. Oh and I have also 'poked' myself with the ends of the strings and drawn blood. So you aren't alone there.

I think leaving your strings on until they sound dull is what you are suppose to do. I can't imagine that leaving your strings on for a long time is going to harm the guitar, especially if you are playing the guitar regularly (which we all know you are doing ).

[allthumbs]

Two to 3 months is the average Kush.

[nagukush]

Thanks for your ideas Friends Thank you so much for caring
Lots of Regards and Care
Kush

[Ultimate Garage Band]

Time can kill strings, not just use and dirt. Whenever possible, only purchase new strings that come in a sealed bag/pouch, not just paper envelopes inside a plastic case. I tend to change strings on my performing guitars about every 9-12 hours of use if they're non-coated. I've gotten in some new coated strings and have yet to put them on and try them out.

[seagull]

Kush, I would say keep trying to change your own strings. It gets easier each time. Before long, you will be wondering why you had trouble at all. Just like playing , the more you do it the easier it gets.

[munky]

The locking tuners I have on my Les Paul make string changes super easy. Just feed the string through, turn the top bit of the tuning peg to lock the string in and tune to pitch. Gotta love it.

Here's a few re-stringing help pages I found after a quick google search. There should be a few tips among them to help you out.

http://home.nycap.rr.com/nils/GuitarStringing.htm

http://www.campbellsmusic.com/howto.htm

http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/stringing.htm

http://www.cyberfret.com/gear-tech/c...ings/index.php

[nagukush]

Thank you so much for the Inputs Friends. I think I have a fair Idea about things now
Thank you so much for caring
Lots of Regards and Care
Kush

[737blues]

I got myself one of those microfibre cloths and got into the habit of wiping the strings down after each playing session. Seems to give me better mileage between changes.

[Donna Matrix]

I worked for a band who are really popular in Germany. The guitarist had a Parker Fly and we were playing two hour sets every night. I changed the strings every night until they got offered a deal with a company who make these coated strings, Elixir. With the guitarists say-so I didn't change the strings until one broke ( we had plenty of spare guitars!) and the first one broke towards the end of the 6th gig. Pretty good going, and they still sounded fresh. I put a set on my Acoustic and they sounded great, but my Strat sounded muffled with them! Go figure!

[mcknett]

737...I've heard the same thing about wiping down the strings and the guitar in general and have tried to do the same. Still on the original set (since December, but I'm not spending as much time as I'd like playing)

Meanwhile...I was at my brothers the other day...he has an acoustic he bought about 20 years ago...still the same set of strings. He's happy with it. (I think it sounds like crap...makes my newbie bad playing sound even worse!)

[8LU3]

yeah, i never change strings, until they break...

[Ultimate Garage Band]

Electrics and acoustics are two totally different animals when it comes to strings and string life. An electric guitar uses magnetic pickups to amplify the signal where acoustics use the strings themselves to drive the tone and volume of the instrument. How many ways can you change/affect the volume and tone on an electric guitar between the guitar itself and the amp? Not to mention pedals, etc. With an unplugged acoustic guitar it's the strings that are responsible for better than 90% of the volume and tone. I can electric strings for YEARS, until I break them. My tones are such that new or old strings really don't matter. I can't say the same for acoustics by a long shot. For most acoustics that I own, non-coated strings only last me about 3-4 weeks at best. That's it. Coated strings, like Elixers, can last me months. I don't mind Elixers on my acoustics but really hate the feel of them on my electrics. As one friend said, 'They (Elixer electric strings) feel like they're covered with snot."

[nagukush]

Thanks for the advice, I'm planning to do the same !
Regds

Kush