Can strings last forever?
 

I heard it's possible for a string to stay on a guitar for 30 years. Strings mainly break because of over tuning or misuse.

Most replace them before they break for reasons of tonal quality.

Yes of course strings can stay on a guitar for 30 years. Absolutely. They may sound like crap, but if they are not played the worst that can happen is they rust a bit. They probably will not break...but they will still sound like crap.

So "last forever" needs to be defined. "Last" as pieces of metal (in that they may not break), yes. Last as useable and tonally pleasant strings, no.

Mine last maybe a month. They will lose tone, the outer coiled wire will break, and in the last stages they not stay in tune and the guitar will lose intonation. They never break.

I've broken strings - - - usually the G at the post from retuning.

I think I have broken a string maybe twice in the last 30+ years.

Mine have lasted 18 months, but their sound is deteriorating now. On a good guitar they might last longer without breaking but for me personally 18 months is about as much as I'll give em.

Ludwig

Wait until you start playing it. You will find you will have to replace them every year :D

At one time I had a set of strings stay on a guitar for 18 years. When I finally dug it out and played it again, they didn't sound very good, but you could still play them.

The same set on my old Guild 12 string for about 3 years now. Still sounds good. No corrosion.
Gets played approximately never tho'... I mean , it comes out the case about twice a year, plays Wish You Were Here, goes away again 'til next time. I should sell it.

I've played on strings that haven't been played on for years and they are still pretty true. The main reason for string deterioration is human chemistry. The life of your strings is dependent on your genetics and diet. Mine last me about 90 hours of playing on metal wound.

I have guitars that still have the original strings from over 15 years ago that still sound good. I have dry hands and keep my guitars in their cases.
Occasionally I will find a string that has spontaneously broken while in the case, but that is rare...

I had the same set of strings on my Les Paul for 17 years. BUT I never played it during that time. When I pulled it out of the case I tuned it up and it was fine. Couldn't touch them though, rusted and dirty. Of course when I replaced them the guitar woke up. Nobody hear would go longer than a year, hell I change mine every 6-8 weeks because I love fresh strings. I play a lot.

Gernally I change strings on my "working" guitars every two/three months.

I have some closet Queens which have had the same strings on for over a year.

In my "cell" (where I spend much of my daylight hours) I have a hand made 0028 which is what I use for working out chord progressions and arrangements for new pieces.

It rarely gets played much - just hangs on the wall - it sounds wonderful this morning but - tuning was a little challenging - I may put new strings on my 0002h which has worn the same set since April, and pass the old ones down to the 00 (which only ever gets used strings). Just seen from my "string log" that my poor L-1 hasn't had a clean set on since March '13 !

30 years ? They might still be on and under some sort of tension but I wouldn't want to tune them up or play them.

There ,may well be some museum display pieces, (like in the Victoria and Albert who have exhibits dated to 1700s) that don't get string changes from one decade to the other.

I visited my mother-in-law recently and while I was helping her clean out her basement we found her old Sears Silvertone guitar. That guitar was probably more than 50 years old - and it still had the original strings! She told me that she was into folk music and took guitar lessons for about a year, but when her third, fourth, fifth, and sixth child came along, the guitar ended up in the basement. We also found her book of beginner folk tunes with her student markings from 50 years ago.

So, I tuned up those original strings and played folk songs like "Clementine" "Streets of Laredo" and "Oh Susanna" for over an hour while she sung along. Between songs, memories and stories poured out of my dear mother-in-law.

I'm sure the guitar could have sounded better with fresh strings, but I count this as among my favorite musical experiences of my life.