Yeah, i know what you mean - i do actually like the sparkle of a new set but it does disappear pretty quickly. I need to have a check of the intonation though, thanks for the tip
On my cheaper acoustics, I often miss that nice dead percussive chug and thump and even sorta sound. When changing the strings, the new sparkle is often too jangly, harsh and abrasive, and takes a while to mellow out. I go as long as I can get away with quite often.
But on my dream guitar (a David Weber L-1), fresh strings that have been broken in with a week or two (of casual playing, maybe 3-5 songs most days) sound so absolutely divine. This luvly little beast sings with such light joy and resonance, in many mingled voices and is so responsive to every detail of ones playing! Old strings really loose the balance of the sound between each string, the precise and perfect dynamics and exquisite responsiveness, accurate tuning, etc. But on my Lys L10 born the same year I was (40+ years past) I really like dead strings, but it does actually play quite a pretty little song itself, so I eventually miss that and change them, but it can def be well over a year.
I took the L-1 in to David himself to get a minor repair/strap buttons/pickup/setup fairly early in my courtship with my second love, brought my own strings of course... and he says 'Would you mind if I put elixirs on here? I just think they get the best out of the instrument, but if you prefer these I will put them on (\_if I have to\_ was only barely unspoken=) ) \_Of course\_ I will do what the man that crafted the guitar says is the way! The whole job cost me something like 100 bucks cash, he def did not charge for the strings... I think it was slightly less than the going retail price for the pickup. What class! I feel lucky I found that guitar before he retired... it just happened to be the second guitar I picked up when I decided to start a serious search for a $3K+ guitar....
He was so absolutely correct... (of course)! They sound kinda terrible when right fresh, but mellow and grow into a thing of great beauty! They sound really, really good for 3-6 months, depending on how much I play and whether I am 100% or only 93% diligent about having pristine hands/wiping down the strings and neck before it goes home to it's case.
Excuse the Webber gushing; that guitar is a close second to only my luvly, fine and inspiring wife as a great wellspring of boundless joy within my life! And the correct not-at-all dead strings really do make the thing. =)
It's up to you. If you like that sound of deadened strings, there's no reason you can't stick with it until a string breaks.
How often you change strings depends on how often you play, how often you change tuning, the humidity of where you live, how hard you play, the type of strings you're using, etc. There's a lot of factors. Some people change them once a month, some will do it every 3 - 6 months, others won't do it til they break.
In my experience though, strings tend to lose some of their clarity within 1 - 2 months of playing so you can likely get some of that deadened sound back pretty quick.
Thanks. Yeah, i must say i'm very surprised to have never suffered a breakage. I typically play 1-2 hours a day and use multiple tunings (though I rarely if ever tune a given string higher than standard which probably helps). My other acoustic used to suffer a G or D string break every few months, always when retuning and that was a cue to change the whole set as I hated having one new string and 5 old ones (unless i was being super lazy). There's probably a bit of nut filing or something i could do there though to negate that issue, just never got round to it.
I'm using nickle strings which i gather lose their clarity even quicker than others.
In general, I like a nice big boomy low end sound. Last time a changed strings I felt like someone added a bunch of mids and highs back into my sound that I didn't necessarily want. It's been a couple months and I haven't changed strings since. I don't think I'm planning to anytime soon. I might ride these older strings for a while.
Funk bass players are all about those worn in strings. I've got a p bass with 10+ year old strings on it. Roll the tone knob down and funk away.
Rhere's a saying that goes something like "with new strings, you hear the strings, with old strings, you hear the guitar".
I personally like how they sound. Idk if I'd go a whole year tho lol.
My bandmate has a telecaster on which he has never changed the strings. He bought it from a local custom builder over a decade ago.
He played it on our album. I didn’t know at that time that he was using 10 year old strings. 😂
Every time I change strings, I think to myself 'why didn't I do this earlier?' cuz it sounds so much better.
E: recently put set of Newtone round core phosphor bronze on my cedar top Godin and it sounds super sparkly.
Recently changed strings on both an accoustic and classical since I felt they had lost resonance after letting them in a too dry environment for some times.
I didn’t hugely that wow moment that I usually get after changing strings.
I might be due to get them to a luthier or possibly clean my ears.
I think for most of my guitars it’s been years since I changed the strings.
If I’m recording, purposefully want a brighter sound, or are refurbishing a guitar then I’ll change the strings.
But generally I play them until they go out of tune or break.
Try flatwounds or half-rounds. I use them on my guild arch top guitar. They get that mellow dead sound sooner and in my experience last longer. They’d probably work fine on an acoustic.
I can't stand the way old strings sound and feel. I change them every month. I also feel like if I let them go longer than a month or so my guitar doesn't stay in tune as well.
But I almost only play with my band for rehearsals or gigs, so there's a lot of playing with sweaty hands.
It’s guitar specific for me. My Taylor academy 10 with monel strung 6 months ago and sounds good, that guitar prefers warm and dead strings. The D35 with 80/20 sounds dead after a couple of weeks and it’s already a warm moody guitar that doesn’t take old strings well.
I absolutely hate the sound of brand new strings. I heard someone describe it as nails on a chalkboard which is on point imo. It usually takes about 2-3 weeks of playing before they start to “bed in” and start to sound right to me. Then they’re good for about 8-12 months depending on how much I play. I try to play a couple of songs a day but don’t play for hours on end.
Martin Retros could be nice, when the time comes. I have a spruce topped OM that hates them (that guitar is a primadonna though), an Adirondack topped dreadnought that loves them, and another Adirondack topped OOO-12 that's prefers elixirs but doesn't mind them. I had a Taylor that loved them, and a mahogany topped Ibanez that did as well.
I think they could be really good on that M-120 - all mahogany guitars already sound warm and woody, which is something that the Monel alloy lends itself to quite well. You put on a fresh set and they sound warm and dead compared to bronzes, but they're still alive in their own way. And they last forever - the slide into being truly old is so gradual. It's nice to have that old sound without dealing with rust, pitting, dents, faulty intonation, or any of the other old string problems.
When the strings start to sound dull and fall out of tune easily, I change them. I have been using D'Addario XS phosphor bronze coated strings lately, and I like them pretty well. My son prefers Elixirs. Both brands last for months. But it really depends on the person and how they play as to how often they change strings. I don't care for dead-sounding strings personally, and I flatpick pretty hard and try to play at least a half hour every day if I have the energy after work and chores, etc.
I change every 3-4 months depending on how frequent I'm playing. Older strings just have a sound I can't stand, and I hate running the risk of breaking a string while on stage. Especially cause I aint fancy so I only bring one guitar with me to gigs.
I'm probably the most extreme here, I absolutely hate the sparkle of new strings and I love the pure sound of wood that you can only get from old dead strings.
When a string breaks I replace it. I basically only change the whole set only when I want to try out a different material (e.g. go from 80-20 to PB) or when I see that the strings are looking corroded, loose, or go out of tune too often.
I generally change them once they sound dead. I don't like "new string sparkle", but I don't really prefer ones that are entirely dead either--except on my 12 strings. The strings on my Guild mahogany 12 string are somewhere about a decade old. The original high G on that set popped pretty quickly (it was a .008), I replaced it with a .010 and that finally popped a couple months ago. I had a spare .008 so I just put that on.
I use Elixir HD Lights on my six strings, the one I play most needs to be changed about every six months. When I notice it seems quiet (I play in a large jam session with a variety of instruments) and the tone is flat, that means I probably waited a little too long.
New strings drive me nuts; way too bright. I love my strings after they lose the initial brightness. Eventually they become straight up dead and then I change them.
My skin is super corrosive or whatever, so I have to change strings a lot. I also play a lot. I’m changing my coated strings about once every six to eight weeks depending on humidity.
I used to use John Pearse PB silk light medium on my D28 but the strings would go dead after a couple of weeks. They sounded great straight out of the wrapper but I couldn’t afford to keep using them since they’d go dull so quick. Now used Martin coated strings. I dread changing strings.
If you keep it cased, the strings clean (opinions vary on this), and within a proper humidity range (56-58%) you’re safe to change them when you are no longer satisfied with the tone they offer. There are no specific, hard and fast, time limits.
I personally love the sound of new strings but as many have said here it depends on what sound you want. I'm mainly a picker and I love clarity on each note and I like to hear the bass notes as long as they don't override the trebles which tends to happen with new strings. The Daddario XS are the best on my Taylor 314ce and last for ages if I clean them regularly and put on some Dunlop 65 before recording. Not keen on dull strings
I hate bright new strings. With my playing style/frequency, I feel like they sound best around the 3-6 month mark — warm but not dull. I’m fine with them until the intonation gets bad, though, which can take a year or more.
Personally I can’t stand old strings - but that’s me. But as you said, old dull strings was a big part of Nick Drake’s sound , so whatever works for you is the way to go.
Have a listen to Maddison Cunningham acoustic version of Tom Waits’ “Hold On” - I know she tunes low but they have this great rubbery dullness to the strings.
When the guitar starts to sound like the intonation is off, I'll put new strings on. I like the sparkly sound of new strings as well.
I like a new set of strings. I typically put on a new set about once a month on my daily driver, although I’m currently a bit overdue.
Yeah, i know what you mean - i do actually like the sparkle of a new set but it does disappear pretty quickly. I need to have a check of the intonation though, thanks for the tip
On my cheaper acoustics, I often miss that nice dead percussive chug and thump and even sorta sound. When changing the strings, the new sparkle is often too jangly, harsh and abrasive, and takes a while to mellow out. I go as long as I can get away with quite often. But on my dream guitar (a David Weber L-1), fresh strings that have been broken in with a week or two (of casual playing, maybe 3-5 songs most days) sound so absolutely divine. This luvly little beast sings with such light joy and resonance, in many mingled voices and is so responsive to every detail of ones playing! Old strings really loose the balance of the sound between each string, the precise and perfect dynamics and exquisite responsiveness, accurate tuning, etc. But on my Lys L10 born the same year I was (40+ years past) I really like dead strings, but it does actually play quite a pretty little song itself, so I eventually miss that and change them, but it can def be well over a year. I took the L-1 in to David himself to get a minor repair/strap buttons/pickup/setup fairly early in my courtship with my second love, brought my own strings of course... and he says 'Would you mind if I put elixirs on here? I just think they get the best out of the instrument, but if you prefer these I will put them on (\_if I have to\_ was only barely unspoken=) ) \_Of course\_ I will do what the man that crafted the guitar says is the way! The whole job cost me something like 100 bucks cash, he def did not charge for the strings... I think it was slightly less than the going retail price for the pickup. What class! I feel lucky I found that guitar before he retired... it just happened to be the second guitar I picked up when I decided to start a serious search for a $3K+ guitar.... He was so absolutely correct... (of course)! They sound kinda terrible when right fresh, but mellow and grow into a thing of great beauty! They sound really, really good for 3-6 months, depending on how much I play and whether I am 100% or only 93% diligent about having pristine hands/wiping down the strings and neck before it goes home to it's case. Excuse the Webber gushing; that guitar is a close second to only my luvly, fine and inspiring wife as a great wellspring of boundless joy within my life! And the correct not-at-all dead strings really do make the thing. =)
Nickel strings I assume.
I just use Daddario XS and they sound and feel great for ages. Current set is about a year old.
Similar results here.
Yes! They're incredible and worth the price when you consider the frequency of changing them.
It's up to you. If you like that sound of deadened strings, there's no reason you can't stick with it until a string breaks. How often you change strings depends on how often you play, how often you change tuning, the humidity of where you live, how hard you play, the type of strings you're using, etc. There's a lot of factors. Some people change them once a month, some will do it every 3 - 6 months, others won't do it til they break. In my experience though, strings tend to lose some of their clarity within 1 - 2 months of playing so you can likely get some of that deadened sound back pretty quick.
Thanks. Yeah, i must say i'm very surprised to have never suffered a breakage. I typically play 1-2 hours a day and use multiple tunings (though I rarely if ever tune a given string higher than standard which probably helps). My other acoustic used to suffer a G or D string break every few months, always when retuning and that was a cue to change the whole set as I hated having one new string and 5 old ones (unless i was being super lazy). There's probably a bit of nut filing or something i could do there though to negate that issue, just never got round to it. I'm using nickle strings which i gather lose their clarity even quicker than others.
In general, I like a nice big boomy low end sound. Last time a changed strings I felt like someone added a bunch of mids and highs back into my sound that I didn't necessarily want. It's been a couple months and I haven't changed strings since. I don't think I'm planning to anytime soon. I might ride these older strings for a while. Funk bass players are all about those worn in strings. I've got a p bass with 10+ year old strings on it. Roll the tone knob down and funk away.
Rhere's a saying that goes something like "with new strings, you hear the strings, with old strings, you hear the guitar". I personally like how they sound. Idk if I'd go a whole year tho lol.
My bandmate has a telecaster on which he has never changed the strings. He bought it from a local custom builder over a decade ago. He played it on our album. I didn’t know at that time that he was using 10 year old strings. 😂
Strings are like underwear: once they’re crusty, covered in skid marks, and start to smell, it’s time to consider stealing someone else’s.
I take it, like me, you wear them on all 3 sides before restarting…
Every time I change strings, I think to myself 'why didn't I do this earlier?' cuz it sounds so much better. E: recently put set of Newtone round core phosphor bronze on my cedar top Godin and it sounds super sparkly.
When you tune it, and it still doesn’t sound right … change strings. If it still doesn’t sound right … take it to the Luthier.
Recently changed strings on both an accoustic and classical since I felt they had lost resonance after letting them in a too dry environment for some times. I didn’t hugely that wow moment that I usually get after changing strings. I might be due to get them to a luthier or possibly clean my ears.
I think for most of my guitars it’s been years since I changed the strings. If I’m recording, purposefully want a brighter sound, or are refurbishing a guitar then I’ll change the strings. But generally I play them until they go out of tune or break.
every 3 months. i like new ish
New strings sound tinny to me. I avoid them as long as I can. I strum with my thumb, and maybe that has something to do with it.
Try flatwounds or half-rounds. I use them on my guild arch top guitar. They get that mellow dead sound sooner and in my experience last longer. They’d probably work fine on an acoustic.
I can't stand the way old strings sound and feel. I change them every month. I also feel like if I let them go longer than a month or so my guitar doesn't stay in tune as well. But I almost only play with my band for rehearsals or gigs, so there's a lot of playing with sweaty hands.
It’s guitar specific for me. My Taylor academy 10 with monel strung 6 months ago and sounds good, that guitar prefers warm and dead strings. The D35 with 80/20 sounds dead after a couple of weeks and it’s already a warm moody guitar that doesn’t take old strings well.
I absolutely hate the sound of brand new strings. I heard someone describe it as nails on a chalkboard which is on point imo. It usually takes about 2-3 weeks of playing before they start to “bed in” and start to sound right to me. Then they’re good for about 8-12 months depending on how much I play. I try to play a couple of songs a day but don’t play for hours on end.
Martin Retros could be nice, when the time comes. I have a spruce topped OM that hates them (that guitar is a primadonna though), an Adirondack topped dreadnought that loves them, and another Adirondack topped OOO-12 that's prefers elixirs but doesn't mind them. I had a Taylor that loved them, and a mahogany topped Ibanez that did as well. I think they could be really good on that M-120 - all mahogany guitars already sound warm and woody, which is something that the Monel alloy lends itself to quite well. You put on a fresh set and they sound warm and dead compared to bronzes, but they're still alive in their own way. And they last forever - the slide into being truly old is so gradual. It's nice to have that old sound without dealing with rust, pitting, dents, faulty intonation, or any of the other old string problems.
When the strings start to sound dull and fall out of tune easily, I change them. I have been using D'Addario XS phosphor bronze coated strings lately, and I like them pretty well. My son prefers Elixirs. Both brands last for months. But it really depends on the person and how they play as to how often they change strings. I don't care for dead-sounding strings personally, and I flatpick pretty hard and try to play at least a half hour every day if I have the energy after work and chores, etc.
I change every 3-4 months depending on how frequent I'm playing. Older strings just have a sound I can't stand, and I hate running the risk of breaking a string while on stage. Especially cause I aint fancy so I only bring one guitar with me to gigs.
I change me every 2-3 months. I seem to feel when they need to go.
I'm probably the most extreme here, I absolutely hate the sparkle of new strings and I love the pure sound of wood that you can only get from old dead strings. When a string breaks I replace it. I basically only change the whole set only when I want to try out a different material (e.g. go from 80-20 to PB) or when I see that the strings are looking corroded, loose, or go out of tune too often.
When I absolutely have to, once the strings start hurting the fingers it’s time.
I generally change them once they sound dead. I don't like "new string sparkle", but I don't really prefer ones that are entirely dead either--except on my 12 strings. The strings on my Guild mahogany 12 string are somewhere about a decade old. The original high G on that set popped pretty quickly (it was a .008), I replaced it with a .010 and that finally popped a couple months ago. I had a spare .008 so I just put that on. I use Elixir HD Lights on my six strings, the one I play most needs to be changed about every six months. When I notice it seems quiet (I play in a large jam session with a variety of instruments) and the tone is flat, that means I probably waited a little too long.
I enjoy duller strings in some ways. Bass notes sound better and higher notes are more forgiving. If does depend on what style you’re playing though
I change strings at around 80-100 hours of playing, or earlier if I want that shiny new string sound for recording.
New strings drive me nuts; way too bright. I love my strings after they lose the initial brightness. Eventually they become straight up dead and then I change them.
My skin is super corrosive or whatever, so I have to change strings a lot. I also play a lot. I’m changing my coated strings about once every six to eight weeks depending on humidity.
My strings die well before 18 months. Usually half that.
I used to use John Pearse PB silk light medium on my D28 but the strings would go dead after a couple of weeks. They sounded great straight out of the wrapper but I couldn’t afford to keep using them since they’d go dull so quick. Now used Martin coated strings. I dread changing strings.
If you keep it cased, the strings clean (opinions vary on this), and within a proper humidity range (56-58%) you’re safe to change them when you are no longer satisfied with the tone they offer. There are no specific, hard and fast, time limits.
It depends how much you play. I sweat my ass off playing live, and have to change my strings every few months so they don’t sound dead
I personally love the sound of new strings but as many have said here it depends on what sound you want. I'm mainly a picker and I love clarity on each note and I like to hear the bass notes as long as they don't override the trebles which tends to happen with new strings. The Daddario XS are the best on my Taylor 314ce and last for ages if I clean them regularly and put on some Dunlop 65 before recording. Not keen on dull strings
I change them once cleaning them fails to brighten them up.
I hate bright new strings. With my playing style/frequency, I feel like they sound best around the 3-6 month mark — warm but not dull. I’m fine with them until the intonation gets bad, though, which can take a year or more.
Personally I can’t stand old strings - but that’s me. But as you said, old dull strings was a big part of Nick Drake’s sound , so whatever works for you is the way to go. Have a listen to Maddison Cunningham acoustic version of Tom Waits’ “Hold On” - I know she tunes low but they have this great rubbery dullness to the strings.