elixir users: how often do you change your strings?

[Spieler]

I keep a scrap of paper in my guitar case to note the dates of string changes. It would be interesting, possibly funny, to see how badly I guessed at string change intervals without a written record....

Since 10/06 (when I started my current scrap), I've changed my PB Elixir strings twice after 4 months, once after 6 months, and three times after 5 months. In December of '07 a Taylor tech restrung my guitar with free Elixir 80/20s at a Taylor clinic; I kept them on just 3 months before returning to PBs. This past August I participated in an Elixir string trial, playing the test strings for 2 months before returning to Elixir PBs.

So: under normal conditions, and with my preferred Elixir PBs? 4-6 months.

Your radio buttons, they fitteth me not.

~ Sarah

[buddiesorg]

How could I go 18-24 months without restringing?

Probably the biggest reason was that I hated restringing ... so I put it off.

I also like played in strings and don't like the new string sound ... but the strings are a bit too played in by 18-24 months.

Now I actually enjoy restringing, so the annual restringing marathon is an event to which I look forward.

[Brackett Instruments]

Pizza!!!!!!!! I wish there was a "pizza" option on the poll. I don't use Elixirs (but have no problem with people who do). There's not a option on the poll for me to vote so I have to click "view poll results" every time to see the results.

[andrew b emmel]

When i say that i change my strings once a month i should say that when i do there is plenty of life left in them.. i just like to have fresh strings. on my gits that dont get played that often i put elixer polys on them and they seem to last forever although i dont like their feel or tone as much as the nanos. recently i read a thread about the "second strings project" where you can donate strings to musicians in third world countries where strings are few and far between, you have to pay postage so i am saving them to send in bulk but i hope to make some players over seas very happy and i also dont feel like i am wasting money .. win win situation.

[Acoustic Rick]

1-2 months?? You're kidding right?

How bout 1-2 weeks. I use Elixirs and I can get maybe 20-25 hours on a set of strings and they're outta here! Months.......not hardly.

Dadario strings I may get 12-15 hours playing time before they go bad. I seriously cannot imagine keeping the same strings on a guitar for months. I guess maybe I play 10-15 hours each week.

[franchelB]

I change mine yearly...around this time. My guitar is played about 52-60 hours a year.

[newton]

The only thing I don't like about goretex strings is that I never build up any calluses on my fingers. Then when I switch over to non-goretex strings it's a pain, literally.

I have noticed that goretex strings make less of a screeching sound on the strings when I jump around with movable major 7th chords and bar chords. They are smoother and quieter in that regard but, if the action isn't set too high, then that's not typically an issue for me.

[Dru Edwards]

I change every 3-4 months but I've got a few acoustics so I might only play an hour a week on some of them. I play electric in the band so that's where most of my practicing goes. I love the Elixirs though.

[Mr Fixit eh]

At about 6 hours a week, I change them once a year.

Steve

[wthurman]

Originally Posted by andrew b emmel

My main axe gets them once a month at least I use nanos. I'M not Sure how you go a year or more on a set

I don't even like them all that much until they've been on a month.

[hotwired]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

Hi c_o…
When the sustain goes South, or the intonation, they are gone - I change them.

On my main guitar that is monthly whereas non-coated it's about every 1.5 weeks (3 sets a month).

So about 3 times the non-coated rate for me. I tend to stress/kill strings by doing a lot of bending and drop tuning.

(I hate that these forums make you put a title in every reply...that always stumps me for a minute, being an ADHD creative type...what do I put that will make someone acheive total enlightenment...?) But I digress even before I've ingressed...I use Elixr 12's and 13's (experimenting with 13's because of the extra resonance...whole different feel and sound). But I tend to "rehearse" 30 minutes a day, 7 days per week (sometimes an hour), then 3 hour, super energetic "beat the stuffing outta that thing" gigs twice a month. I've always wondered how long I can coax. I don't know how to really tell on the "sustain" as one reply mentioned. (I wear hearing aids and some nuances escape me). But I tend to get nervous and change at least every other gig. That MIGHT not be enough. I've got one tonight and i'm going to at least change the 13's on my Taylor 314CE today and stretch the heck out of em' before my gig tonight.

Is there any way to tell if they're near their end of life by looking at the coating near the sound hole where they get struck most often?

[leew3]

I voted '5-7 months' but it's likely longer than that. I have 8 guitars so each one only get an hour or two a week of playing time as I cycle through them based on some random pattern I can't identify.

[12barBill]

Originally Posted by hotwired

(I hate that these forums make you put a title in every reply...that always stumps me for a minute, being an ADHD creative type...what do I put that will make someone acheive total enlightenment...?)

Just FYI... you do not have to enter a title in order to reply.

As to this 15 year old thread, I tend to change Elixir strings when I notice the coating has started to come off of the G string over the sound hole where my pick strikes the string. At that point I put on a new set.

[Mbroady]

Originally Posted by camera_obscura

man some of you guys that change so frequently on elixirs, it scares me to think how often you guys would change regular non-coated strings then.

Prior to Elixir’s strings would go dead after a few hours of playing. Back in those days I would boil the strings to extend their life, but I could easily go through 6-8 sets a month.

With Elixir’s I can get 2 to 3 months out of a set, but I do change them sooner if I have an up coming gig or plan on recording.

[TheGITM]

I change the strings when they need to be changed, regardless of the brand. Sometimes that is 6 months. Sometimes that is 4 months. Rarely any more frequently than that... these days.

If you are gigging professionally (or semi-professionally) then I would advise changing strings every week, minimum. I know some guys that change strings for every performance.