New Strings

[RicharD]

Is there any finer treat in life than new strings?  I think I've been using the same set for 3 months.  I just restrung my geetar (even cleaned the grime off along the frets) and sheesh..... what a difference.  I need to do this more often.  I used to change strings whenever I broke one, but since I started using D'Addario strings,  I hardly ever pop one.

[Manic]

Is there any finer treat in life than new strings? 

 I change em every week before the fri/sat gigs. breakin a string mid show sucks, which is another good reason to keep fresh wire on. I like the balance of top end between the wound and plain string when they are new.

I tin the wire noose that ties ball end on the plain strings to cut down on break in(stretching out of tune) time. works great.

[GroundhogKen]

OK, since we're on the subject, and I don't think we've discussed it in a few years...what kind and gauge strings does everybody use?  Picks too.

I like DR Pure Blues 10s although sometimes I sub in a .011 for the E string.  I love the way they feel and bend.

I like red Dunlop Jazz III picks.


Ken

[rafe]

10-46 nickle rw and heavy pick. I wipe them down( axewax ) after use and change sets when one breaks, I rarely break strings but I don't know why that is, I play hard at times. I use graphite (from #2 pencil) on nut and bridge when I re-string. Average is around 3mos. on my numero uno most played ( the black tele ) 1st new guitar 1989 looks and sounds great!
I like the way they feel after they have been played a while, they have an elasticity to them (unwounds)
I bought 20 set's at a great price and I like them ....Brand doesn't matter to me , but I absolutely demand US made strings

[Bassmanster]

D'Addario 10-46, Dunlop delrin 1.5 mm.  Dunlop gator 1.5s are nice too.

[tubesornothing]

Gibson Vintage Reissue 10s.  I have lots of guitars, but 4 guitars I play all the time. I replace about once every couple of months.  I have caustic hands so I have to wipe it down or they go black (I gotta look into that axe wax).  I use really heavy nylon picks with grips from Brain 1.30mm - basically a small piece of plywood.

[Manic]

Ive been using DR tite fits for some time now. I went from shred to country, I use .009's

Them unsupported bends with anything bigger than a .009 set on a fender scale is just to much for Me.

For blues or anything else I like 10's

I been favoring a Jazz III pick. I do like the red ones better, they dont get ruff edges like the black ones and the EJ Jazz III's.

FWIW

[Dynaflow]

 Ernie Ball regular slinkies.. When I was gigging I'd replace every second show. Picks I use dunlop .77 or .88 and lately I've been toying with Herco medium combo thumb/flat pick for the rockabilly stuff.

Regards,

Dyna

[RicharD]

I useta use Slinkys but it seemed like the lasted (seriously) only a few hours.  I've been using D'Addario 10's for a few years now.  I use JD.88 picks.

>breakin a string mid show sucks
For most of my gigging years, I was a dummer.     Ya break a stick, ya miss a beat, pick up a new one, and carry on.  I'll never forget the horror of breaking a sting for the first time.  I was using a Jazzmaster (floating whammy bar) so when you break 1 string, all the remaining strings go way out of tune.  No backup guitar & it was the first song of the set.  I have never gigged w/o a standby since.

[EL34]

Strings - Ernie Ball purple pack. 11-48
Picks 
George-L picks with the silicon grip dots
Sometimes the heavy purple Gator grips or some of the non slip Yellow Dunlops

[OldHouseScott]

9s or 10s in Elixer Nanoweb (I hate changing strings). I use a thick pick, the V-pick Screamer.

[EL34]

I hate changing strings also. I wait till I break one until I change em.

I am always amazed at how much better the new strings sound and wonder why I waited that long between string changes.
It takes a few months for one to break, even with all the whammy bar antics and rude noises I produce when I play.

I wipe my stings all the way around the diameter of the string with a lemon oil soaked rag every time I put the guitar up and so the strings don't really get grungy.
I can tell when one is about to break, the tuning starts to act a little weird.

[G._Hoffman]

D'Addario EXL110's on my electrics (.010 -.046).  My acoustics all have D'Addario EJ-16s (.012 -.053).  Picks are Fender Extra Heavy.  



Gabriel

[Dynaflow]

 What I notice on mine when I change them is it isn't so much the dirt (which will cause the tone to be a bit dull) but more a flattening of the string at each fret. After a while the nature of that flat spot (it would follow in my warped brain anyway) causes them to sound bad. You can feel it when you run your fingers down the strings on the fretboard side. Just something I notice on mine when its time to restring, perhaps its because I fret entirely to heavy, always have, always will, probably also why my speed will never be terrific (not that I care). Just an observation.

Regards,

Dyna

[G._Hoffman]

What I notice on mine when I change them is it isn't so much the dirt (which will cause the tone to be a bit dull) but more a flattening of the string at each fret. After a while the nature of that flat spot (it would follow in my warped brain anyway) causes them to sound bad. You can feel it when you run your fingers down the strings on the fretboard side. Just something I notice on mine when its time to restring, perhaps its because I fret entirely to heavy, always have, always will, probably also why my speed will never be terrific (not that I care). Just an observation.

Regards,

Dyna

The last few years, I've been putting stainless steel frets on all my new guitars - which I think are GREAT - but they have one kind of odd side effect.  After a few weeks, there is always a little kink in the string at each fret!  I like to change my strings about the time they show up, and they don't seem to effect tuning stability or anything, but they do feel a little weird.  I've taken to just looking at them as my string life indicator.


Gabriel

[Platefire]

I'm still using Slinkeys since the 70's even though I tried a lot of others temporarily. They sound good, hold up good and are cheap! In my night club days I changed strings every week--in some cases very dirty sweaty conditions here in the south were string killers. I use to have a 65 strat with floating trem that ate strings--broke 5 in one night one time(my record). Now I'm playing in church and leave strings on for months. Long as I'm getting decent intonation I leave them on. When they start playing flat, they have to go. Got about 9 electrics and two acoustics.

BTW-in the 60's in the small southern town where I was raised to get light gauge you went to the local drug store and bought a set of Black Diamonds with an extra B string.
You would chunk the big e string and used the extra b string as a g string. After a hard night of playing the black diamonds would change colors and be dead as a door nail. They sounded great for one night!

[Dynaflow]

 Wow, theres a blast from the past. The old black diamonds, red package with the black diamond on them... Back in the day before slinky's that was all we used back then. They were thick gauge, would turn a nasty coppery color.. I remember those well.. 


Regards,

Dyna

[CraigB]

Curt Mangan nickel wound - 10.5, 12, 16, 26W, 36, 48 - on my teles and strat.  The lighter B & G strings facilitate a bit of ease in playing pedal steelish bends.  I like the slightly heavier E's.  Haven't tried 'em on the LP, still playing DR 10s on it.

Change strings about a week before playing out so they're fully stretched out for better tuning stability.  Otherwise, they get used until they're completely dead or one breaks.  Every few string changes, toothbrush the nut, mask it off on each side with some wide painter's tape and spray some teflon stuff into the slots, also pull the string guide and spray the underside where the strings rub.  Pencil lead works good too.  Nothing bugs me more than a string that hangs up in the slot and makes tuning problematic.


Most often use the white teardrop-shaped Fender medium pick.

There's this kid that works at the local guitar shop, phenominal player, can play anything from jazz to old standards (he does a beautiful version of somewhere over the rainbow) to shred.  A few weeks back I was in there and noticed he was playing with a strange looking pick and asked him what it was, and he was like "here, take one, I got a whole bunch of them," and I think he said it was made of buffalo horn.  It's fairly thick at the top and has a concave to it that makes it nice to grip and thinner at the picking edge.  It whittles down just like a regular plastic pick.  Been using that a lot lately.

Happy THanksgivig!

[bigsbybender]

I use different types on different guitars.
On my Guild Starfire IV, I use GHS Boomer 11-50. That guitar has such easy action I actually use bigger strings to make it feel more like my other guitars, plus with big strings, it has big sound. I prefer the GHS because they use an unwound G. Their G seems to be the most robust, I haven't broken one since I went to their strings.

I experiment more with the BigsbyTele, needing a bright string that keeps tune well with the Bigsby Vibrato. I used to use Ernie Ball Slinky 10-46 but the high E kept breaking and the G kept going out of tune. Since then I have used GHS Boomers, a Fender Stainless string, and D'Addarios. Right now I am using GHS progressives. They are bright, almost too bright, but when I play after a bucket of KFC they sound right. They stay in tune very well too.

On my seagull acoustic I use Ernie Ball 11-50Earthwoods. it makes it a more "electric guitar" feeling acoustic. On the Guild D40 and Martin D35 I use Martin Marquis 80/20 bronze. 13-60. Big strings for big rhythm sound....they're hell on the fingers unless you play them regularly.


I'm restringing the Seagull and Martin today, I'm having relatives that play guitar come over for a thanksgiving guitar-pull.


J.

[Justa]

For electrics I used to change strings about once a week and bought what I perceived as a premium.     Now that $$ are much harder to come by I change about once a month and I use whatever is nickel wound strings are on sale in the 10 pack.  Pretty stuck on .010-.046 on the 25.5 scale and still on the 24.75 scale even though they are easier to pull.

On acoustics I use phosphor bronze .012-.054 and have had good luck with different Martins.  The thing about acoustics is that strings loose their brilliance so quickly I just have to put up with it in the home.  If I am playing out I like them new or just a couple of days old.  I used to use .013-.056 but I have gotten apprehensive about the extra 20 pound pull on the neck and fret wear plus I don't have the hand strength since a nasty injury.

[EL34]

yeah, the acoustics sound so good with fresh strings.
I have a Tacoma Road King that I use the Elixir 12-53'2 on

The strings are dead as a doornail on my acoutsic right now.

At the Dallas guitar shows I used to attend, I would see high end acoustic makers change the strings for every potential client that sat down to try out their guitars.
I think it was Collins I saw one year that was always changing strings when I walked past his booth.

[madison]

.010 -.046 E-Balls though I have some 9s on one Strat that I don't play very often.
Medium Dunlop picks.

Taste has changed over the years.