elixir users: how often do you change your strings?

[camera_obscura]

i know it's more about how many hours played on the strings, but generally how often do elixir users change their strings? their package claims 3x to 5x longer life than regular strings and that seems a bit long since i used to change regular strings once 3 months. i don't think the elixirs should last 9 to 15 months in that case. do other elixir users support the claim that their strings last 3x to 5x longer?

[buddiesorg]

I keep mine on generally 6-12 months ... in the past I've left them on for 18-24 months, but I've gotten into the habit of restringing once a year. If I'm retuning more than usual, sometimes they only last 3 months.

[kak1154]

I don't put a ton of hours on mine (too many guitars, not enough time), but the thing I like about Elixirs is that they will last essentially forever if you don't play them. I like to be able to pick up a guitar that I haven't played in six months and not have it sound dead. Other strings seem to degrade after a month or two of just sitting around.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by camera_obscura

i know it's more about how many hours played on the strings, but generally how often do elixir users change their strings? their package claims 3x to 5x longer life than regular strings and that seems a bit long since i used to change regular strings once 3 months. i don't think the elixirs should last 9 to 15 months in that case. do other elixir users support the claim that their strings last 3x to 5x longer?

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.

[Penrith Pete]

Well, i find that the 12's go dead before the 11s but in either case I tend to change them about every month - that is playing an hour or so a day on average. I have recently moved away from them to D'adds as I prefer the tone and brightness. I get about the same from a set of D'Adds for consderably less cash! Elixirs are great for those occasionally played guitars but I don't have any of those just now.

[Brent Hutto]

I chose "3-4 months" because the last set of Nanoweb PB's were on there exactly 3 months before I decided to change them even though they still sounded good. Sure enough, after a couple days break-in the guitar sounded the same with new Elixirs as it had with three-month-old ones. So I'll probably change them every 3 months or so just to be sure but for my playing I suspect they'd last even longer than that if necessary.

I do almost no string bending and only occasionally drop the bottom string to D instead of E. And I wipe the strings with a cotton cloth each day when I'm done playing, plus I wash my hands before playing. So it's really a matter of bending stress moreso than corrosion for me.

[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

[sdelsolray]

The number of months Elixirs last depends on the number of hours the player plays each week, among other factors.

I usually change elixirs after 40-60 hours of playing time. I change tunings often, so this shortens their life a bit.

[Larry Pattis]

I voted 3-4 months, but i have gone longer.

[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

[camera_obscura]

Originally Posted by buddiesorg

I keep mine on generally 6-12 months ... in the past I've left them on for 18-24 months, but I've gotten into the habit of restringing once a year. If I'm retuning more than usual, sometimes they only last 3 months.

18-24 months is pretty crazy, but i wouldn't be surprised if they still sound decent even after all that time.

i am about 5 months into my nanowebs but i have the low E string that goes out of tune often, probably because i go back and forth with standard and drop D tuning which messed up the low E. so i was thinking about changing the strings but i felt that i was changing it too early. plus they sound perfectly good still.

[M.D.Smith]

After about 20 hrs of play time.

[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.

[GEFan]

I said 3 months on my primary guitar. About 5 hours/week so 60-70 hours. I think I could go longer but they get dirty and I get bored so I change them. I don't notice a real change on tone so they are probably still good.

[M.D.Smith]

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.

Non- coated, the night before Sunday service. that's when they are their freshest.

With the Elixir's, I change them on Wednesday eve, play some Thurs, Fri, Saturday and Sunday morning, their still great sounding and broke in.

With the non-coated, after I put 4 or 5 hrs on them, to me, they loose their liveliness.

To me Elixir's keep their lively sound for 10 to 15 hrs of playtime.

I have an older 12 string Ibanez that has it's set of Elixirs on for 8 months now. She doesn't get played much, but she sounds ok, even today.