| Visit Our Catalog at SteelGuitarShopper.com |

Post new topic when to replace yor strings?
Reply to topic
Author Topic:  when to replace yor strings?
Marco Deijmann

 

From:
Netherlands
Post  Posted 26 Dec 2009 3:21 am    
Reply with quote

Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

Hi,

I am very new to steelgitar playing and even gitars; first time. I have my gitar for about 5 months and practise two hours a day.
My question is; when do you know you need new strings on your gitaar? Can you hear it?

thanks,
Marco
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Johan Jansen


From:
Europe
Post  Posted 26 Dec 2009 3:33 am    
Reply with quote

When you care for a good sound, replace them every month at least. I change my plains every week, to avoid breakage on stage. But thats for pedal-steel'Smile
You can hear it, especialy the lower strings loose their brightness.
regards, Johan
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Ray Montee


From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
Post  Posted 26 Dec 2009 4:19 pm     'bout those strings.........................
Reply with quote

Unless you're playing in recording sessions, live before an audience or on radio/television........and unless your strings are rusty and/or caroded or just plain DEAD........

WHY worry about it? For wood sheddin' in the garage or where ever, one string is as good as another.....

If your playing is exclusively for your own amazement, jes' keep playin' 'em until they break.

One of my Bigsby necks from when it was built in 1956, still has a set of the original strings on it.
Plays well, sounds good IMHO.

Don't fret over the small stuff.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Alan Brookes


From:
Brummy living in Southern California
Post  Posted 26 Dec 2009 6:31 pm    
Reply with quote

Ray, a man who always talks good sense. Very Happy I have dozens and dozens of instruments. If I kept changing the strings on them I would be bankrupt and it would consume every spare minute I have. Whoa!

Marco, er is geen noedig te doen ervan. Very Happy

Change them when they break. Winking
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Ray Montee


From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
Post  Posted 26 Dec 2009 6:56 pm     About them thar strings...............
Reply with quote

THANKS ALAN for the kind words.........

I've got $127.00 worth of brand new Gibson Spanish Electric Guitar strings that have been sitting on my desk for nearly two years now.

I was anxious as all get out while waiting for them to get to me (took 7 months!) but now that I've got them, I can't even imagine unwrapping and reinstalling strings on all 24 guitars that I've got here in my Music room. GADD!

Where did I go wrong?
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
KENNY KRUPNICK

 

From:
Columbus, Ohio
Post  Posted 26 Dec 2009 6:59 pm    
Reply with quote

When they start sounding dead, and dull.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Marco Deijmann

 

From:
Netherlands
Post  Posted 27 Dec 2009 1:42 am     thanks for your advice
Reply with quote

Thanks for your advice! Very Happy
really helpfull.

I'll guess my strings can stay on my gitar for a while.

Marco
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Doug Beaumier


From:
Northampton, MA
Post  Posted 27 Dec 2009 10:26 am    
Reply with quote

If you're playing about two hours a day at home there's no need to change your strings more than once a year, in my opinion. I seldom change the strings on my "home" guitars, maybe once every two years. Unlike regular guitars, our fingers never touch the strings, so the strings don't go dead as quickly. I change the strings on my main steel guitar about every three or four months, but I play that guitar on gigs... in clubs, sometimes outdoor gigs, etc. I also play a lot of gigs on regular guitar, and I change the strings on my guitar after every four or five gigs. With steel guitar that's not necessary, in my experience.
_________________
My Site / My YouTube Channel
25 Songs C6 Lap Steel / 25 MORE Songs C6 Lap Steel / 16 Songs, C6, A6, B11 / 60 Popular Melodies E9 Pedal Steel
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Lynn Oliver


From:
Redmond, Washington USA * R.I.P.
Post  Posted 27 Dec 2009 10:49 am    
Reply with quote

Strings go dead gradually, so you probably won't be aware of the difference until you change strings at least once.

Another problem you may have eventually is that the strings won't play in tune. Over time due to changes in the strings from vibrating they will no longer vibrate uniformly, but again this is a gradual change that you may not notice until you try a new set of strings.

Finally, some strings last longer than others. For example, I have found that D'Addario Chromes seem to last.
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
Bill Creller

 

From:
Saginaw, Michigan, USA (deceased)
Post  Posted 27 Dec 2009 4:51 pm    
Reply with quote

Barney Issacs never changed his I heard. JB cut them off one time I also heard. So they must have been workin' for a long time! Very Happy
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail

All times are GMT - 8 Hours
Jump to:  
Please review our Forum Rules and Policies
Our Online Catalog
Strings, CDs, instruction, and steel guitar accessories
www.SteelGuitarShopper.com

The Steel Guitar Forum
148 S. Cloverdale Blvd.
Cloverdale, CA 95425 USA

Click Here to Send a Donation

Email SteelGuitarForum@gmail.com for technical support.


BIAB Styles
Ray Price Shuffles for Band-in-a-Box
by Jim Baron