I think I restring too often!

Lestratcaster

I have a lovely Takamine EG321c electro-acoustic, mainly used for teaching purposes. It rarely gets plugged into a PA for any live use, I've recorded with it before though and used to play some open mic stuff but I don't anymore.

I use the D'addario phosphor bronze custom light 11-52 strings, and I think they sound the best when they've just been slapped on and played in a little bit. Trouble is I do about 6 hours of lessons per week and within 10 days they sorta go dull and don't have that bright twang I like with freshly strung strings.

I get my strings in 10 string packs which is cheaper than single sets but I am finding myself wanting to change every 10-14 days! Is this excessive for someone who doesn't gig on the guitar? I guess 2 string changes a month would mean a 10 set pack would last 5 months, almost half a year.

Or should I change the brand to a coated one perhaps? That way I don't have to restring as often?

Snags

I've always used Martin Phosphor Bronze (not the 80/20, other than once by accident, and they went dull very quickly) on my Takamine EG332c.  For years it was my only acoustic and would probably get maybe 8-14 hours a month actual playing time - mix of finger picking and some serious pick abuse.

If I was being good I changed strings every couple of months. Lazy every six months or when they got particularly dirty and dull looking.

I once put Elixirs on it, and they sounded bloody awful.


In contrast, on my Furch I always use Elixir, having once put the Martin's on (because I'm a cheapskate) and they sounded bloody awful ...

jellyroll

You should change ‘em every day. Tax deductible innit. 

Musicwolf

I don’t change the strings on my acoustic very often (I don’t play it anywhere like as much as I should) but I’ll change the strings on whichever electric I’m playing in the band every couple of weeks - if we’re not gigging.  When I gig I need to change the strings the next day and the outgoing set will look like rusty barbed wire (so that’s a new set every week in the run up to Christmas).  I’ve tried coated and they won’t do me 2 gigs - so no point.  Cleaning the strings / Fastfret doesn’t work either.

I guess that I must have particularly acidic sweat (try to picture the film ‘Alien’).  Most of my electrics are fitted with locking tuners, either original or retro-fit, to speed up restringing.

Lestratcaster

I'll change strings my main band electric guitar at least twice a month if we have like 3-4 shows. Max I get out of a set is 2 shows. The other electrics get restrung once a month or once every 2 months sometimes, depending which guitar it is. 

richardhomer

I’m in the Ry Cooder camp - I tend to get round to replacing them about every two years....

sweepy

I think the strings on my Cats Eye have been on at least a year, Elixir’s are handy for some things

octatonic

It is a personal thing- I know some people rust strings after one playing sessions and some people never seem to.

I change strings on my mains guitars every two weeks, and the ones that get played less every two months.
I don't like coated strings- they feel and sound wrong to me.

stickyfiddle

I don’t think it’s excessive if you’re playing that much. 

Ive tried a bunch of different strings on my acoustic in the last 18 months and settled on Martin SP Lifespans as my pick. Not coated (I think), just a different metal that stays bright for longer. Could be worth trying? 

Otherwise dont ovethink it

crunchman

Like @octatonic said it depends on body chemistry.  I can leave strings on for ages, but I lent a guitar to a friend once for a weekend, and it came back with the strings black.  I could have played them for years and they wouldn't have ended up like that.

If you have that kind of body chemistry then coated strings are probably a sensible option.  They feel nasty and sound too zingy, but they are less bad than strings coated in black crud after a few hours of playing.

sweepy

Coated strings work for me as my acoustic gets picked up rarely, 

AliGorie

all down to YOUR body chemistry (and if ya play after eating a pizza or changing u'r engine oil without washing u'r hands_

To reduce u'r string consumption u need to go coated.

Non coated strings can last me a year or more - till the wingdings fray.

p90fool

I just put Elixir PBs on my J-35 and they sound great. Their 80/20s I usually use on my Faith sounded like somebody clanging a broken church bell with a dustbin, so it's very much guitar dependent.  

I have an unused set of 11 guage 80/20 Elixirs somewhere you can have for the cost of postage, PM me if you want them 

ICBM

It does sound a bit excessive if you're only getting about 10 hours of use out of a set.

Try a set of coated strings if p90fool is making you a nice offer like that - you may love them or you may hate them, but at least you'll know! I personally hate them, but they may do exactly what you want since to me they sound tinny and 'new' all the time. But some people think the opposite...

Lestratcaster

p90fool said:

I just put Elixir PBs on my J-35 and they sound great. Their 80/20s I usually use on my Faith sounded like somebody clanging a broken church bell with a dustbin, so it's very much guitar dependent.  

I have an unused set of 11 guage 80/20 Elixirs somewhere you can have for the cost of postage, PM me if you want them 

Ah that's very kind of you, will PM you to discuss!

Lestratcaster

ICBM said:

It does sound a bit excessive if you're only getting about 10 hours of use out of a set.

Try a set of coated strings if p90fool is making you a nice offer like that - you may love them or you may hate them, but at least you'll know! I personally hate them, but they may do exactly what you want since to me they sound tinny and 'new' all the time. But some people think the opposite...

I may have to go down the coated route just to get a couple of months out of a set it seems, never tried a coated set for acoustic. Also D'addario seem to be the only brand I can get 10 set packs from, unless I've not been looking in the right places.

Blueingreen

Personal preference and personal chemistry.  I read an interview with BB King where he said he changed strings before every gig (which meant nearly every day) and he won't always have been rich. 

Strings last for ages with me, and I like coated strings so I could probably get off with changing strings every 6 months or longer.  I tend to leave them on as long as I'm confident the intonation is ok.

Funkfingers

Snags said:

on my Furch, I always use Elixir, having once put the Martin's on (because I'm a cheapskate) and they sounded bloody awful ...

Furch/Stonebridge supply their instruments from the factory with Elixir strings. It is almost as if they build with that brand in mind. 

ICBM

Funkfingers said:

Furch/Stonebridge supply their instruments from the factory with Elixir strings. It is almost as if they build with that brand in mind. 

So do Taylor, but they still sound better with almost anything else, in my opinion.

ToneControl

I prefer Elixirs on everything, less zingy when new, and always less squeaks, try them and make your own choice

43rdAnd9th

I tend not to like the sound of completely new strings very much, but having said that, I could probably do with changing mine a bit more often. The EJ-16s on my Atkin have been on there for about a year and still sound OK to me with fairly regular playing. In fact, my usual reasons for changing are either breaking a string or finding that tuning is getting too hard.

(The strings on my acoustic bass have been there since the early 90s, but that's another thing altogether)