string life

[MrDoty]

I just got off a 1 month tour of the country. I had a blast and my gear held up really well accept my strings. Ueasually I play every day for over 3 hours, weather it be teaching or practicing. for some reason that keeps my strings really clean and new feeling. Under that circumstance I rarely break a string and change them maybe once every 1.5 months. but on this tour I was breaking strings every week and my strings were getting really nasty and stiff. I was only playing 1-1.5 hour sets 4-5 days a week on average during this time so it really doesnt make much sense to me. any body got some tips to make my strings last a little longer out there on the road.
P.S. great to be back on the gear page again.

[voojo]

I have heard it said that even your diet has an effect on strings, i.e. you eat more junk food your skin produces more oil. Therefore it can tarnish and gunk up your strings far faster than a healthier diet. When you were out on the road did you eat differently than before? Also I would think just different areas of the country, more industrial cities would have different air qualities, probably even the places you were playing, bars/clubs or whatever. I am anal so I always try to wash my hands before I play my guitars, especially after eating. That's all I can think of.

Seth

[JubileeMan 2555]

I'm not a touring musician, but I put a new set of strings on my strat before every gig. Its a great assurance that:

1. you won't break a string very soon

2. your instrument sounds its best.

I'm surprised you used the same strings for multiple gigs. The weather in different locations combined with in and out of cases is probably putting a lot of stress on the strings. I'd really recommend replacing the strings before every gig... they're only $3-4:)

[dave s]

A few years back, I was doing all outdoor festival type gigs from May - October each year. String life was measured in terms of number of hours they'd go before dulling out, loss of tuning and playability.

Longest string life before requiring changes included DR Tite Fit and SIT Nickel Rockers. I've settled on the SITs because they have a pretty soft feel.

DRs lasted 15-20 hours and went 'south' all of a sudden. The SIT strings are not far behind the DRs in terms of string life but just feel better on my fingers.

dave

[John Phillips]

I'm not a touring musician, but I put a new set of strings on my strat before every gig. Its a great assurance that:

1. you won't break a string very soon

2. your instrument sounds its best.

I'm surprised you used the same strings for multiple gigs. The weather in different locations combined with in and out of cases is probably putting a lot of stress on the strings. I'd really recommend replacing the strings before every gig... they're only $3-4:)
Each to their own :). I hate the sound of brand-new strings and find they go out of tune - even if properly stretched-in. Once they've settled down, they're much more stable.

I get at least a couple of years out of a set of strings, discounting breakages (rare - with the strings I'm using now I haven't had a single one break in two years). This is on a guitar I play often at home and every week at band practice, as well as gigging with BTW. I keep the strings clean. They do eventually get indented over the frets, and that's the time they have to go.

If they're rusting and breaking much quicker than normal, I'd suspect maybe climate, perhaps moisture in the case lid (make really sure the guitar is clean before you put it away), or possibly diet as voojo said.

You could try cleaning them with a rag lightly sprayed with WD-40, but be careful not to let it soak into the fingerboard.

[planetal]

I'm not a touring musician either, just a weekend bar warrior. I also tend to change strings before every gig (or every other gig if we're only playing an hour or two). I will indent the strings within 3 hours of play time normally so if I don't change them, I'll break them. I solo just about every song and bend the crap ouf of the strings, just the style for what I'm playing, so I'm hard on strings during a gig. I don't change the strings on my non-gigging guitars all that often, even though often the non-gigging guitar strings have much more play time on them. There is no doubt in my mind that for me, when I gig, the energy and intensity is dailed up a few notches, and so I'm much harder on strings. I also sweat much more during a gig (vs not at all when I practice) and just play much more passionately.
Perhaps it's the same for you?
Al

[axepilot]

Each to their own :). I hate the sound of brand-new strings and find they go out of tune - even if properly stretched-in. Once they've settled down, they're much more stable.

I get at least a couple of years out of a set of strings, discounting breakages (rare - with the strings I'm using now I haven't had a single one break in two years). This is on a guitar I play often at home and every week at band practice, as well as gigging with BTW. I keep the strings clean. They do eventually get indented over the frets, and that's the time they have to go.

If they're rusting and breaking much quicker than normal, I'd suspect maybe climate, perhaps moisture in the case lid (make really sure the guitar is clean before you put it away), or possibly diet as voojo said.

You could try cleaning them with a rag lightly sprayed with WD-40, but be careful not to let it soak into the fingerboard.

A couple of YEARS from a set of strings! :eek:

John, you have my utmost respect here, but you can't be much of a "sweat monster" on gigs. I play 2 to 3 gigs a month, and I sweat like a frikkin' horse when I do. Try as I might to keep the strings clean, I usually kill a set in a gig or two. Even without playing gigs, I torch a set in about two weeks - dead, dull, hard to tune, and lifeless.

[walterw]

Each to their own :). I hate the sound of brand-new strings and find they go out of tune - even if properly stretched-in. Once they've settled down, they're much more stable.

I get at least a couple of years out of a set of strings, discounting breakages (rare - with the strings I'm using now I haven't had a single one break in two years). This is on a guitar I play often at home and every week at band practice, as well as gigging with BTW. I keep the strings clean. They do eventually get indented over the frets, and that's the time they have to go.

If they're rusting and breaking much quicker than normal, I'd suspect maybe climate, perhaps moisture in the case lid (make really sure the guitar is clean before you put it away), or possibly diet as voojo said.

You could try cleaning them with a rag lightly sprayed with WD-40, but be careful not to let it soak into the fingerboard.

you and i are both lucky in that we don't have the "evil acid sweat". my strings will stay shiny right up to the point they break.

i know plenty of people who have to use elixers or other coated strings, or they will rust within a couple hours of playing time. hygiene and guitar cleaning don't seem to have anything to do with it.

[tonio19]

Holy Cow!!! John, you are held in very high regard here for all your tech knowledge...but you have to be kidding...? I hope. I am with Dave S on this one. I change strings every Fri. afternoon, because after about 15-20 hours of play time, and the best tone is already a distant memory. And I don't sweat very much, only play with clean hands, and I use Dunlop 65 string cleaner/conditioner & wipe my strings often. Now here is a funny thing that I discovered about 6 months ago while doing my own version of string testing. I bought almost a dozen different sets (brands) of strings, including ordering several sets of Snake Oil strings, and took careful notes on them all, and then bought second sets of the top 3 performers and narrowed it down to 2 sets. The best, and for my criterion this meant #1) which set kept good tone the longest, and a close #2) what they felt like to play, and #3) if price was significantly different, that would factor in. So, after several months of the big "Test" I came up with a winner. Snake Oils, the modern wind, (not the vintage) in 10-46. Alas, at $10/set shipped they were beaten out by the $3-4/set Ernie Ball regular slinkys, which were my #2 pick overall, but won the bid by virtue of their price. Compare $15/month to $40/month and it starts adding up. Of course if/when I start making more money, I would consider switching to the Snake Oils, as I did like them the best (except for the price).
Now back to the funny thing that I discovered. I have a Hughes and Kettner Zentera, which is a very high quality digital modeling amp. And I also have a Marshall 6100 30th Anniversary, and a custom made Anderson 20/45. Now, when playing only through the Zentera, I could leave a set of Snake Oils on for nearly 6 weeks before I heard enough of a tonal drop off to warrent a string change. But play the same guitar through either of my tube amps (and in my case this is a 79 Strat with WCR SR's installed and the trem screwed down) and after about 15-20 hours of play time.... game over, tone took the last train out of the station... Now the Zentera "was" the late night, practice in the house amp, because it could be played at a much lower volume and still be entertaining. And the (Jack) Anderson 20/45, and the Marshall, ruled the garage prior to 10 P.M.
But I finally reached a point where I just could not stand to play , or I should say, listen to digital tone any longer. The Anderson got moved into the house along with a matching 2x12 cab, and the Marshall rules the garage alone now. But what about the zentera, you ask? Well, look for it as soon as the weather changes (read, prices rise a bit) on Ebay.
Now lets not forget, this is a string post. Now I don't want to hijack this thread, but I'd like some of you guys to chim in with your experiences concerning string life....with Tube amps vs. SS/Digital amps as well. Tony