Guitar Strings
Posted by Mika on January 30th, 2009
Guitar Strings should be changed whenever they start to look or feel rusty, start breaking, lose their tone and sound, or look dull. It is difficult to know how long strings will last as factors such as climate, how often (or not) you play your guitar, whether you are working in a band or just playing at home, all effect the longevity of your strings. Generally, when playing a full night with a band, strings will usually only last 3 – 6 gigs. After that, you risk the embarrassment of snapping a string during one of your glorious solos.
When changing strings, make sure to leave enough lack to ensure there is going to be 3- 5 turns of string around the tuning head. Do no not use too many turns or wraps as this leads to tuning instability and constant string stretching. Make sure you stretch the strings with care. Keep pulling and streching the guitar string and re-tune as necessary while you are connected to your guitar tuner. Remember that nylon strings will always take a great deal of stretching to remain in tune.
There are many great products that can help you. Two good ones are the Spertzel or Grover locking machine heads. They don't need turns or wraps at all since they lock the string in place.
A good idea on electric guitars with tremelo bridges such Floyd Rose types and also on Gibson style ‘tune o matic’ bridges is to change the strings one at a time. This stops the tremolo from going out of adjustment and ruing the whole set up.
Always keep your new strings as clean as possible by wiping them down after each playing and using string life products such as Fast Fret or Finger Ease before and after each playing session. It makes a HUGE difference on the life of your strings and length of a good string tone. You can greatly extend string life by also using strings brands such as Elixir strings, which add about 8 times to the life of strings. The downside is that these strings are also 3 times more expensive than normal strings.
A essential tool to have is an all in one string crank or winder or string cutter and bridge pin remover such as those made by Planet Waves or similar.
