How Often Do You Bros Change Strings ?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ben Waylin
  • Start date Start date
I just changed a bunch of strings last weekend. Probably 12 guitars. Last time I changed any was probably a year and a half ago.
 
Every couple months if it’s a guitar I play fairly regularly
 
headlessdeadguy said:
My nephew can play his ass off but has some acidic sweat that ruins strings. He changes them at least twice a week. He came home for Xmas last year and spent a ton of time in my mancave. I had to restring every guitar he touched.
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The other guitarist in my old band had this same fucking thing. His guitar strings were always corroded and his frets actually had a patina on them.

For me I change strings mostly if I notice they don’t hold tuning as well, aside from the obvious situations where I break a string. I like a few different kinds of strings for different guitars, but I put DR Pure Blues 9-46 sets on most of the ones that stay in standard tuning. They feel good, they sound good, I like them. In general I prefer sets with heavier wound strings.

Ernie Ball strings seem to wear out fastest to me but at least they’re cheap. I like D’addario strings but I hate how they package them.
 
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I'm pretty lucky in that I don't break many strings, so the usual indicator for me is tuning stability. As they age I notice tuning stability issues, that's my primary indicator that it's time to change. I'll endure it much longer for the stuff that doesn't get played much at home, but the ones that get more attention live, i'd ballpark estimate once a month. no hard rules, it's a feel thing.
 
Ya, i play them till they start sounding really dull, so I maybe change them every 2 or 3 months.
 
Bardagh said:
The other guitarist in my old band had this same fucking thing. His guitar strings were always corroded and his frets actually had a patina on them.

For me I change strings mostly if I notice they don’t hold tuning as well, aside from the obvious situations where I break a string. I like a few different kinds of strings for different guitars, but I put DR Pure Blues 9-46 sets on most of the ones that stay in standard tuning. They feel good, they sound good, I like them. In general I prefer sets with heavier wound strings.

Ernie Ball strings seem to wear out fastest to me but at least they’re cheap. I like D’addario strings but I hate how they package them.
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I used to be like that in my teens, i'd go thru strings like crazy because of my acidic sweat, and it would wear the frets out really fast too. I'm glad i grew out of that, now I can leave strings on for months at a time without them corroding.
 
Tone Junkie said:
Depends. When they start to sound flat or break. But I usually try and wash my hands if they’re dirty before playing.
When I do change them I clean fretboard and lightly condition fretboard. Silky smooth easy bends. The difference is like playing on a bare wood neck vs a finished neck.

Or you can just use a spritz of WD40 on your fretting hand 😂 you’ve all played that floor model at guitar center. 😉
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This is me minus the WD40 part :lol:
 
I usually do a string change when one breaks so I replace them all. I use Elixer so they ten to last and sound good longer.
 
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The fact that you need to stretch and retune and you will have to wait a while before they sound and play their best deters me from changing them . I have had the high E breaking more than a few times during the process which also aggravates me .
 
I’m not deterred by the act of changing strings because I’m not a total fucking idiot.
 
I change strings about every three months on my two main players.
the closet queens maybe once a year if needed
 
ewill52 said:
I'm pretty lucky in that I don't break many strings, so the usual indicator for me is tuning stability.
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That's where I'm at.

My main player has a Floyd, and when the strings stop coming back into tune.. that's when I'll change them.

(y)
 
I change my strings once a day in the winter but at least twice per day in the summer. Those stubborn male G strings can really work their way up one’s crack during heavy lifting.
 
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Used D'Addario .010s for forty-odd years. Recently went to .0095s for most guitars and .009s on Fender scale ones.

I sweat when I play and my body chemistry is unusually corrosive. This necessitates several standards for string changes, on electrics at least.
When I was working five and six nights a week, I learned to keep close track of the flight hours on each guitar.
It got a little complicated 'cause I was using three or four guitars in a set back then. Nowadays, shows are simpler: one plus a spare.

Anyway, I can only get three hours stage time without danger of breakage, thanks to sweating a lot and playing enthusiastically.
(That's despite the strings being wiped down and treated with FastFret immediately when a guitar is set down.0

At rehearsals & jams I can get twice that, sometimes even eight hours play time.
I move less - and sweat less - and seldom go as crazy on my guitars as when onstage.

The acoustics go much longer without restringing. I use coated strings on a few that don't get played much.
But both electrics and acoustics get a new set for recordings. Gotta have that chime & sparkle.
Bass strings are an exception, of course. Even when I worked as a hired gun, they'd last for a year or more.

The play time any guitar will get at home is variable. I don't keep track, just change strings when they seem to need it.
 
I think it comes down to how much a person sweats. When my stepson borrows my guitars, they instantly turn into a classic car sitting in a field, rusting away. I can play strings for years and still feel fine.

I'm not kidding, my first guitar I got for Christmas in 85' (a classical) still has four of the original strings on it.
 
I don't really sweat & I live in the desert. That said, when I was using regular D'Addarios I'd get 3-6 weeks out of them. Since I switched to NYXLs I easily get 6-12 months out of them, have never broken one, and generally get to changing them more because it's time to oil the ebony.
 
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