Prior to studio recording when to put on fresh strings?

marxski

Going to be using my Eastman small body in the studio soon. Would you say changing the strings around a week before is about right so they are a) settled in b) not too zingy but still fresh.

Stuckfast

Depends what sound you're after, and how much you'll play it in that week, but sounds like a good ballpark to aim for.

BenSirAmos

I love zingy. I'd put them on as soon as I got to the studio. They settle in straight away for me. 

PhilKing

Depends how old your current strings are and also what sound you are after.  I've done that in the past, but have also gone in with the existing strings, as I liked the sound I was getting and didn't want to risk it changing.  Whatever you do, make sure you take a spare set of strings with you.

bbill335

old strings are best on acoustic and bass

Musical_Mystery_Tour

A week, maybe a little less sounds like a good shot to me. Give em a good workout of course to let them bed in and be sure to wipe the back of them down after playing.

ToneControl

with Elixirs, any time in the previous 6-12 months unless you play the guitar for hours every day

;-)

marxski

ToneControl said:

with Elixirs, any time in the previous 6-12 months unless you play the guitar for hours every day

;-)

I’ve never tried Elixirs on any guitar. I’ve just done a quick google on them and it seems opinions are quite Marmite. I still have enough time to give them a try.

drofluf

marxski said:

ToneControl said:

with Elixirs, any time in the previous 6-12 months unless you play the guitar for hours every day

;-)

I’ve never tried Elixirs on any guitar. I’ve just done a quick google on them and it seems opinions are quite Marmite. I still have enough time to give them a try.

My experience of Elixirs is that they’ll probably outlast me; but that’s because I hate the feel of them so wouldn’t play the guitar they’re fitted to. 

Bod

BenSirAmos said:

I love zingy. I'd put them on as soon as I got to the studio. They settle in straight away for me. 

I love zingy too, but there's a difference between what sounds great to your ears and what works on a recording.  I'm faced with a similar decision as I'm heading into the studio in a couple of weeks to track bass.  I think I'll stick new strings on this week which should give them time to lose some of that potentially irksome edge.

Winny_Pooh

A week yeah

bertie

BenSirAmos said:

I love zingy. I'd put them on as soon as I got to the studio. They settle in straight away for me. 

wiz

Alterlifeson

ToneControl said:

with Elixirs, any time in the previous 6-12 months unless you play the guitar for hours every day

;-)

I've had the same set of coated Elixirs on my Yamaha since the day I bought it. It sounds great, the coating still seems to be mostly intact, I don't see a change in the foreseeable. 

ToneControl

marxski said:

ToneControl said:

with Elixirs, any time in the previous 6-12 months unless you play the guitar for hours every day

;-)

I’ve never tried Elixirs on any guitar. I’ve just done a quick google on them and it seems opinions are quite Marmite. I still have enough time to give them a try.

they don't sound annoyingly zingy when the first go on, they carry on sounding the same.
They squeak much much less (the most important thing for me), so much better for recording

Some people like zingy strings An expensive habit I think.
Some top guitar makers fit them as standard, some don't.

BigPaulie

BenSirAmos said:

I love zingy. I'd put them on as soon as I got to the studio. They settle in straight away for me. 

This is the correct answer.

bbill335 said:

old strings are best on acoustic and bass

This is the wrong answer.

Tannin

Three or four days is about right.

ABOUT ELIXIRS

PRO:  
* they have very, very low left-hand noise (great for recording)
* their tone doesn't change much over the life of the string
* they last for ages and ages

CON:
* they have a weird soapy feel many people dislike
* they are very high tension; much harder on the left hand than any other top-selling string of equivalent gauge (Ball, Martin, D'Addario, GHS, etc.), almost as hard as the notorious Dunlops.
* they are very expensive
* they are amongst the most-often faked strings. Do NOT buy them on Amazon, E-bay, Alibaba.
* their sound is competent but lacks character and bite. (Think airline chicken.)
* they last for ages and ages, 

marxski

Tannin said:

Three or four days is about right.

ABOUT ELIXIRS

PRO:  
* they have very, very low left-hand noise (great for recording)
* their tone doesn't change much over the life of the string
* they last for ages and ages

CON:
* they have a weird soapy feel many people dislike
* they are very high tension; much harder on the left hand than any other top-selling string of equivalent gauge (Ball, Martin, D'Addario, GHS, etc.), almost as hard as the notorious Dunlops.
* they are very expensive
* they are amongst the most-often faked strings. Do NOT buy them on Amazon, E-bay, Alibaba.
* their sound is competent but lacks character and bite. (Think airline chicken.)
* they last for ages and ages, 

That’s really useful. Thank you (and everyone else on here) The high tension is a deal breaker for me as I injured my index finger joints last year from overdoing it and no doubt shite technique and it’s only just back to normal. Don’t want to trigger that.

Tannin

Cheers @marxski One thing you can do is drop a gauge. Assuming you normally use 12s, you could try Elixir 11s as "quasi-12s". In fact I have a set of Elixir 11s at home to try out for just that reason. I have used them once before but it was ages ago. I *think* I thought they didn't feel quite right, but I'll try again and write it up more carefully in my string dairy (which I post here from time to time).

marxski

Tannin said:

Cheers @marxski One thing you can do is drop a gauge. Assuming you normally use 12s, you could try Elixir 11s as "quasi-12s". In fact I have a set of Elixir 11s at home to try out for just that reason. I have used them once before but it was ages ago. I *think* I thought they didn't feel quite right, but I'll try again and write it up more carefully in my string dairy (which I post here from time to time).

I’m already on 11s on the Eastman. I play 10-46 and 10.5-48 on electric. 

Tannin

Same logic applies: Elixir 10s will probably feel something like a standard set of 11s, or maybe 10.5s. But best to stick with a brand you know well and like. You can experiment (if you want to) some other time when you are not recording. 

bbill335

BigPaulie said:

bbill335 said:
old strings are best on acoustic and bass

This is the wrong answer.

i know everyone disagrees with me - i hate the sound of most acoustics!