I don't change strings, am I alone?

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Heimdall56	I don't change strings, am I alone?	Lead	[-]
(06/27/09 5:08 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Tags : None It just occured to me again that my Martin 000-18 MC still has it's original from the factory strings. The strings are either four or six years old as I don't recall the exact year the Martin Carthy signature was offered. I bought this guitar NOS from a dealer thanks to the generous help of fellow member. When new, the guitar was a bit tight but that is to be expected. As I played it the guitar warmed up but of course the strings deadened. For awhile I contemplated changing the strings but procrastinated because I don't like changing strings for some reason. Now I am so pleased with the sound of this guitar I am not going to change the strings until one breaks and they are mediums so that may not be anytime soon. Am I alone in the wilderness or does anyone else leave their strings on indefinitely?
kydave		#1	[-]
(06/27/09 5:24 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Am I alone in the wilderness or does anyone else leave their strings on indefinitely? Some oldtimers I knew back in Kentucky were like that... but they were stone poor and lived so far in the sticks that Sears wouldn't deliver Black Diamonds even if they could afford 'em. Kentucky Dave's Martins: 00-28H (2006 Custom); SP000-16R (1999 Special Edition); 0000-28H (1999); D-28 (1971) myspace.davetrabue and beargrasscreek Piraticus 13:7 , , <> ^^^
mudpuppy55		#2	[-]
(06/27/09 7:06 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I was sort of like that as a youngster, but then again money was pretty tight. Sometimes I'd buy one string at a time, so as not to lay out cash for a whole set. Unfortunately, money is still tight, but w/age my ear became more sensitive (or less tolerant). In any event, things changed and now we even have on-line sellers who make the price of a set more competitive. (In "the day", mom & pop music store prices were all over the board.) So if I feel the tone is going, the only thing stopping me is a lack of ambition....which subsides quickly! Necturus maculosus (A.K.A. mudpuppy) Chuck, Mi.
teherie		#3	[-]
(06/27/09 7:26 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I think Norman Blake said it best in Church Street Blues: "I wish I had some guitar strings, the old Black Diamond brand. I'd string up this old Martin box and go and join some band." Actually, my son loves to change guitar strings and dress fretboards but I think he's bucking for the job as Neil Young's guitar tech after watching "Heart of Gold" so I haven't "changed" strings in a couple of years myself.
mudpuppy55		#4	[-]
(06/27/09 7:55 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Wow, you have a *string-lackeyWhy didn't I think if that Necturus maculosus* (A.K.A. mudpuppy) Chuck, Mi.
YorkshireD28		#5	[-]
(06/27/09 8:09 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I change strings regularly on my other guitars, but I do like dead strings on my D28. It just sounds absolutely wonderful once a set is bedded in and settled, after a couple of months or so. Never needs tuning. However, I usually change them after about 1 year to 18 months. Don't know why I change them really, I just kind of feel guilty and think that I should, but once I get the new bright jangly things on I always regret it and wish I'd just left the old ones. You've got me beat with 6 years, though! Yikes, that's some seriously old strings ya got there! Yorkie
KoaBoa		#6	[-]
(06/27/09 8:51 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Hey Yorkie! How's everything? Back on topic. I left strings on my 000-15S for more than two years. They still sounded great, but they started to feel awful, sort of bumpy and corroded. I shudder to think what they looked like under a microscope. Fearing they might give way in the middle of playing a ballad beneath my wife's window and ruin my chances that she might let me back in the house, I broke down and changed them. When I played with the new strings, she opened the door, more to get the dogs to stop howling than anything.
ronsongz		#7	[-]
(06/27/09 9:05 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	New strings are one of the least expensive luxuries in the world - why deprive yourself? Changing them is fun, and gives you a chance to clean the fingerboard as well. Not changing them is kinda like not clipping your nails. If your guit sounds good with six YO strings, it will probably AMAZE you with new ones. Ron
dhcrow		#8	[-]
(06/27/09 9:18 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I must make the change mine on a regular basis. I play out so much that my stings are "dead" at the end of each show - IMHO. Plus, I love the sound of new strings. I purchase them in bulk quantities. crow "Martin guitars - just try to buy one!" Everything you do shapes our future! Be careful out there! Crow
jscio		#9	[-]
(06/27/09 9:36 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	A long - LONG - time ago, when I was starting out, I'd only change them when they broke. One at a time. The windings often came loose from the core as bits of them fell off over time. Hey, I didn't know any better. Now it's on an as needed basis. There's no real schedule; nothing scientific about it, I guess.
jt4usall		#10	[-]
(06/27/09 10:58 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I just mentioned this subject in another thread (the one about guitars "opening up"). I need to change stings every few months. I'm hooked on Newtone mediums. They are the best sounding strings I've ever tried, and I've tried a lot!! They made my old 000-1R sound like a much more expensive guitar. It almost cured my GAS!! jt
tak508	String Change every 40 years	#11	[-]
(06/28/09 12:04 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I bought my baritone ukulele around 1962. I remember changing the strings once or twice when the wraps would fray. The ukulele has sat idle for more that forty years, the strings still sound great, but I should probably change strings every 40 years whether they need it or not… Leonard
tim52160	srings	#12	[-]
(06/28/09 12:59 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Mine are at least 4+ years old and i think older. They are the ball end la bellas like willie nelson used with black trebles, I cant tell the difference when i changed the old ones .
jaymehime		#13	[-]
(06/28/09 3:55 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	YorkshireD28 wrote: However, I usually change them after about 1 year to 18 months. Don't know why I change them really, I just kind of feel guilty and think that I should, but once I get the new bright jangly things on I always regret it and wish I'd just left the old ones. Felt like that with my om28. I changed them twice in a year. After the first change I wondered why. It just sounds good with old strings. However, the OM35 does sound much better with new blingy strings.... hmm The guilt thing is true.. changing seems to be just conspicuous consumption sometime. "I love to sing, and I love to drink scotch. Most people would rather hear me drink scotch." - George Burns - James
Modac X		#14	[-]
(06/28/09 6:09 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I like the tone of played in strings on my maple and mahogany guitars. But I change strings pretty regularly, because after a while, old strings won't tune up perfectly. Strings lose their elasticity after some time---that's probably not too good for the guitar, either. I never worry about metallic sounding new strings, because I use the JP Nickles, which sound broken in after about an hour of playing. Dennis
oldacousticplayer		#15	[-]
(06/28/09 6:48 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I'm in the string changing camp. I change at least once a month. Every time I change I feel like I got a new, terrific sounding guitar. String sound deteriorates very gradually, and you may not realize how much the sound has changed untill you change them. This all depends on the sound you like. I like a bright, airy sound. If you like the deep, dark bluesy sound, changing may not be for you. Brian
yelob		#16	[-]
(06/28/09 7:45 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	'2+ years on the '52 D18,for some reason the guitar still sounds pretty good and I dont want a jangly period while new ones settle in.That's why GC leave them on so long,they understand these things
geeterpicker		#17	[-]
(06/28/09 8:06 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Just thinking of the crusty, rusty feel of them makes me cringe. It also means your fretboard has all those years of crud on it. How can you stand that? A fresh set of strings and quick fretboard cleaning and that guitar will sound - and feel - great. What are you waiting for? Wipe the cobwebs off that wallet and spend $5 on a set of strings! Brian
WaveRay		#18	[-]
(06/28/09 8:38 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I searched long enough for strings I like on my guitars. And the sound I found was with new strings so I change fairly often. I love the sound of new string. They make the guitar sound like it did when I fell in love with it so, as it goes, I fall in love all over again a little. Feels nice. Also, there's the fact that different metals contacting each other over time develop chemical reactions to each other and corode and will do harm. Pitting, flaking, discoloration. Strings and tuner posts are different metals. I'm just saying. Ray Page 63 in the introduction thread 05 HD-28V 03 Taylor 455ce 12er (dealer custom rosewood) 05 M3M 71 D-18 00X1 2/3 of my hair
Rod Neep		#19	[-]
(06/28/09 8:47 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	OK... I'll say it.... I really, really can't understand why anyone would own a fabulous guitar such as a Martin and then mute its tone and performance with cruddy old strings! It makes no sense whatsoever! Might as well play any old junk store guitar. Rod
Mac Mechanic		#20	[-]
(06/28/09 8:47 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Well, I've got a 50-year-old piano that has never had a single string changed, and it sounds fabulous. I change the strings on my guitar more often than that, though. Paul I may be wrong, but I'm not far from it...

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