New strings

[craigb]

Put some new strings on my guitar tonight.

It's amazing the difference they make. Even though the old ones still stayed in tune, you don't realise how much the tone degrades over time.

From now on I'm never going to keep them on longer that three months.

I guess if you were a pro musician you'd be changing them every week.

[HiString]

We had always used D'Addarios on our Matons and accepted that within a week they would be showing a loss of brightness, etc., then I was shown Elixirs, the additional cost is far outweighed by their longevity.

:cool:

[gratay]

I pretty much change strings weekly.....basically get 2 gigs from a set of strings if there something like d'addario which i try not to use as i don't really like the sound of them and quite often find dead strings in their packs...
Elixers i sometimes use ...depends on the guitar ..some acoustics love them and others sound ordinary
lately i have been using DR's on my acoustic which work well or thomastics..
But on electrics i have been using handwound strings like Dave Wire's strings which are great but i haven't been able to get them so tried a handwound Galli sh200 set which is good as well ..nothing like the normal galli sets..they seem to last a while.

[MoonShine]

Yeah know what you mean regarding strings making a huge difference.
I try to play old slide blues acoustic and having put on a new set of heavy gauge strings and hooking it up to the amp made a huge difference.
But I still clear the house when I hookup though...sheesh! (oh, and I don't sing)

[craigb]

The strings were RotoSound. I'd never heard of them before. They are hand wound in England. At least that's what it says on the packet. :D

They were on special for 30% off so I thought I'd give them a burl.

[gratay]

rotosounds have been around for years ...they were a popular bass string years ago ...don't know if bass players still rate them or not

[mkat]

It's been years since I gigged. For live shows, I used to boil my bass strings till I could afford a new set. For sessions, I'd make sure that I had a new set. If I could afford it, I'd still stretch them out as much as possible if I played every night.

[silentC]

I bought a couple of new pairs of sticks about 3 months ago :D

Oh, and a new snare and kick skin. The snare skin was about 3 years old but the kick skin had been on since I bought the kit in 1998. It had a hole in it for the last 2 years but I patched it up with gaff tape and a coaster. :p

[mkat]

I bought a couple of new pairs of sticks about 3 months ago :D

Oh, and a new snare and kick skin. The snare skin was about 3 years old but the kick skin had been on since I bought the kit in 1998. It had a hole in it for the last 2 years but I patched it up with gaff tape and a coaster. :p

lol. How do you compensate for dull skins? I'm sure you don't boil them...

[mkat]

rotosounds have been around for years ...they were a popular bass string years ago ...don't know if bass players still rate them or not

Yep, I used to use them on my basses and wouldn't use any other string. Now I use D'Addario (preferred) or Players depending on the bass and style.

[silentC]

How do you compensate for dull skins
Hit 'em harder! ;)

[Iain]

My choice is LaBella Gold 900, gold plated with a wound 4th, I find the 4th is the most difficult string and often doesn't sound quite right, the would overcomes this.
I like the gold plate as I appear to sweat acid and destroy nickels within a couple of days.
Pretty sure they have a website, and they do a massive range of strings for most instruments, including full lute sets.

[HiString]

Iain,

I'm not sure whether Elixir make a set for classical, however, the "acid" problem is one of the number of positives for Elixir as they are a "coated" string and it takes some time before they wear sufficiently for the acid to "attack" the metal. I have a couple of friends that are full time (pro) players, one guitar, the other bass and they both swear by the Elixirs.

:cool:

[gratay]

elixers or any coated string...everybody is making them now...sound a bit unnatural to me depending on the instrument....but the up side is they do last longer and hold their tone and brightness longer....
but for acoustic guitar i think its hard to beat just a good quality phospher bronze set for sound
you just have to weigh up the cost of the coated strings to the amount of time you get from them i guess and see if its worth it......having said that i had a set of elixers last 6 months on a guitar until they started to lose their sound but i wasn't gigging with it so it wasn't getting used as much or copping a lot of sweaty gigs.

[psycopathx]

I used to use generic bulk pack strings. but now I got a guitar with a floyd rose speedloader bridge. so I have to get those kind of strings and so far I've only found D'Addarios like that....

[Shedhand]

I'll be putting Newtone Bronze Master Class Heavy gauge on next time (056 - 013).
These are hand made by Michael Newton from round core wire as opposed to the hexagonal wire favoured by mass producers.
Check them out here (http://www.12fret.com/retail/newtone.htm).

DISCLAIMER: I have no affiliation with the manufacturer or reseller.

Cheers

[Rossluck]

I use D'Addario . But don't you find it takes a week or so until they (any strings) settle in? Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I find myself tuning and tuning for the first week until the strings stretch. Maybe it's the guitar (Epiphone Les Paul).

[mkat]

I use D'Addario . But don't you find it takes a week or so until they (any strings) settle in? Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I find myself tuning and tuning for the first week until the strings stretch. Maybe it's the guitar (Epiphone Les Paul).

That's normal. What you need to do is to stretch each string, thrash them a bit and retune. It takes a while before they become stable. Just be careful not to break the string, you just need to get a feel for where to stretch (eg. 12th, 5th, close to bridge, work up and down the string). I used to string up at least a day before a gig or session if I needed to change strings. I've played with guitarists who changed strings on the night of a gig with no real tuning issues. So, spare some time before a show or session.

[gratay]

I use D'Addario . But don't you find it takes a week or so until they (any strings) settle in? Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I find myself tuning and tuning for the first week until the strings stretch. Maybe it's the guitar (Epiphone Les Paul).

That sounds pretty strange......I would look at the way your stringing the guitar....you should have maybe 1 turn of wire on the machine head...maybe your guitar needs setting up as well...but because you said "tuning and tuning " i suspect there are to many winds on the peg....
strings don't take a week to settle in...in fact D'addario's would generally only last a week under gigging conditions

[Iain]

I generally tune to about A460 then drop back to A440 or preffered setting and find they settle in nicely with a minimum of retuning problems.
Of course a temp change of about 2 degrees will upset everything, and this also applies when someone opens a door while playing.
Depending upon upon what you are playing will also affect what the correct tuning is, today A440 is considered the norm but many moons back it was considerably lower, A420 from memory.

[Shedhand]

When stringing it's important that you don't 'twist' the string. It's better to wind the strings from 1 (bass E) to 3 (Treble E) time/s around the peg before inserting into the peg hole. The reason being that the core wire in bound strings is commonly hexagonal and if you twist the string you in effect reduce the effective tonal length (much like twisting rope will shorten the rope). What then happens as the twist 'settles' the string will stretch until is finds its optimal tonal length.
If you ensure the string ends up through the peg hole and is wound in the same plane as it is seated in the bridge the string will keep its' tone much longer and will be more durable. The best way to settle the strings is to make a bridge of your index and little fingers and use the second finger to lift the string away from the fret board until you get a firm resistance. Tune the string back up to pitch and repeat for each string until the pitch is right. You should have no slippage or stretching problems in play.
After 47 years of playing these are the tips I've picked up. And they work for me. Others may think different.

Sorry to waffle. Not about woodwork at all.
Cheers <shrugs> :o

[Iain]

Is that assuming that you are 'tying' the ends to the bridge and not using those bloody awful ball ends (which I might add I never do).

[Shedhand]

I have 2 Ovations. Original Made in USA models from the mid 70's. one is a steel string which I string as described in the earlier post and the other is a cutaway nylon string (gold plated machinery -love it). Both are Acoustic/Electric. I never use ball end strings on the cutaway. Its still important not to twist the strings - though its difficult not to with the nylon.
Cheers

[Iain]

I have 2 Ovations.

How do you find them, I have played a couple but found myselfstruggling as they wanted to slide off your leg all the time causing excess stress on the left hand trying to hold it in place.
I am referring to the round backed/plastic(?) classical.

[Shedhand]

How do you find them, I have played a couple but found myselfstruggling as they wanted to slide off your leg all the time causing excess stress on the left hand trying to hold it in place.
I am referring to the round backed/plastic(?) classical.Never had that problem Iain. Mind you I always use a strap and usually stand when playing even when practicing - singing is easier standing than sitting.
Cheers

[kiwigeo]

Washing your hands before playing your guitar and not letting your friends play your beloved axe after theyve just finished an icecream helps too.

[kiwigeo]

How do you find them, I have played a couple but found myselfstruggling as they wanted to slide off your leg all the time causing excess stress on the left hand trying to hold it in place.
I am referring to the round backed/plastic(?) classical.

Nothing like the feel of finely worked rosewood against your thigh I say.

[Iain]

Nothing like the feel of finely worked rosewood against your thigh I say.

Never met Rose Wood, good is she:rolleyes:
And ice cream assists with grip, I find Peters is the best:D

[Rossluck]

This forum never ceases to amaze me. The knowledge base, wow. The truth is I've been playing, no, mucking around, on guitars for years, and now I'm determined to do it properly by learning the scales and so on. I like the Epiphone, but I'd rather a Gibson ($).

Thanks for the advice.

[kiwigeo]

Never met Rose Wood, good is she:rolleyes:
And ice cream assists with grip, I find Peters is the best:D

Ypes would be turning in his grave.

[TassieKiwi]

This forum never ceases to amaze me. The knowledge base, wow. The truth is I've been playing, no, mucking around, on guitars for years, and now I'm determined to do it properly by learning the scales and so on. I like the Epiphone, but I'd rather a Gibson ($).

Thanks for the advice.

Mate - if you need a Gibson, then you need one. Save a bit, check out the trader and ebay. Those scales will go so much better! Life is short.

PS I stumbled on to the exlirs last year. I'll pick up the acoustic maybe once a month, and they still sound fine after about 12 months. Even survived a dive off the top of the campertrailer at 110 km/h:eek: on the Midlands highway. another story.

[meansy_wood]

My choice is LaBella Gold 900, gold plated with a wound 4th, I find the 4th is the most difficult string and often doesn't sound quite right, the would overcomes this.
I like the gold plate as I appear to sweat acid and destroy nickels within a couple of days.
Pretty sure they have a website, and they do a massive range of strings for most instruments, including full lute sets.

yeh i definitely love the gold strings more. they last longer