How Long Do Your Strings Last?

I played a gig three weeks ago and the strings probably weren't new then. I then had 2 or 3 weeks off. Played a gig with the strings last night. Was going to change them today and they're still good. Clean, sound good etc... D'Addarios..... Nothing special. I'll gig again with them tonight. And yes, I play this guitar all night and have a backup in case I break a string.

It seems to me that they really shouldn't last this long. I do wipe down the strings and guitar after each set. I just polished the guitar today in prep for a string change.

How unusual is this? I know some guys who sweat acid and would change strings after each set if they could.

God, what I would give for the gift you have! I'm one of those acid sweat guys, and the only strings I can keep on a guitar longer than a week are Elixir with the plated plain strings. A lot of people don't like their tone but I think it's a fair trade-a little less bouncy and bright out of the box but last for months. I can kill a set of Daddarios in 2 days.

I have been using D'Daddario XL110s for some time now, and I get them to last about two months

with regular playing. By that, I mean playing almost daily perhaps one to two hours each time. When

I detect that the guitar starts to get out of tune (usually around week #8) and tuning becomes difficult,

that is when I change to a fresh set. I also note that the 1st e string is usually the one that gets out of

tune first, and will not tune up easily. That means that it is time to get new strings on. YMMV

Studioplayer

5 years and still going strong.

Studioplayer said:

I have been using D'Daddario XL110s for some time now, and I get them to last about two months

with regular playing. By that, I mean playing almost daily perhaps one to two hours each time. When

I detect that the guitar starts to get out of tune (usually around week #8) and tuning becomes difficult,

that is when I change to a fresh set. I also note that the 1st e string is usually the one that gets out of

tune first, and will not tune up easily. That means that it is time to get new strings on. YMMV

Studioplayer

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This guitar gets played at gigs only for the most part and we play 3 sets, either 45 or 60 minutes. So you're getting even more time out of the strings than me!

I do not pick up my guitars often enough to notice lately, but when I did play the ping of new strings would be gone in a few hours. The new sound and feel could go a week or two. In general I could go a few months because of playing different guitars in rotation. This was just jamming around the house.

I gig and practice on a regular basis and I have yet to find a string as good as the Snake Oil strings. I shit you not...I change my strings twice a year, and that is only because I clean and oil the fretboard, not because they need changed. They are not coated or treated like Elixers, truth be told, I have no idea how they do it. They also have amazing tone and they keep that tone for the life of the string. I just used my last set on this Duotone and the piezo sounds fantastic with them. Rest assured, I will be placing another order this week.

http://sobstrings.net/

I second Poe. Since I've started using Snake Oil strings, I've noticed that:

1. Tone is for sure better. It kinda sharpened midrange (well, at least for mahogany/humbucker guitars with Rock Formula).

2. The have very short kick-in time. I put a new set, couple of strong pull-ups and they are sitting tight.

3. They last forever - I am using current set on my Fernandes APG from October, and I don't remember if I ever changed them on my Burny LPC, so that makes around a year. I can feel that pinch harmonics are getting weaker after a month or two, but otherwise strings are fully playable.

I have tried Snake oil after reading review in Guitar Player, and must say all what is written about them is true and confirmed in practice /emoticons/default_huh.png

The only problem I have is supply lead time. Last ones I've ordered in mid-February been shipped to me only mid-March...

I tried the snake oil strings when they were first touted on The Gear Page maybe a couple of years ago. I really liked them a lot. But, I think I broke one or two and gave up on them. I had an issue with high e strings on Elixers as well. They sent me a bunch of replacements, but I don't like strings that break. Maybe I got some bad sets, but I don't have issues with the D'Addarios.

I'd try snake oil strings again, but I bought a shitload of D'Addarios in 10 packs when on sale and I had another 20% off. It'll take me some time to go through what I have!

I've used a variety of different brands over the years (Ernie Ball, GHS, DR, currently Elixir) and have gotten lots of mileage out of all of them in terms of both tone and non-breakage. I haven't broken a string during play in about 10 years or so.

DavidE

It's not unreasonable for you to get the duration you refer to from your strings. It also depends on your style of playing too. Do you have a light touch with the pick? Do you play mostly rythmn? I get pretty good distance with a set of strings I think, in that I have a light touch with the pick (or pick and fingers) and I don't have alot of

skin oil and persperation getting on them. Wipe the strings down before putting the guitar away can help too.

With respect to the set you are referring to; don't change them just yet. Play on further until you think it gets

more difficult keeping them in tune. You might come to the conclusion that you can get weeks from one set.

Do you break strings alot? I have never broken a string in over 50 years of playing a guitar, both acoustic and electric. So, I guess I must have a very light touch. I use a small Fender Jazz pick (both the pointed and round ends) and use it along with the two fingers.

Some players change their strings often just to keep that "new" bright sound, but I am glad when that "new" sound wears off. Just my preference I guess. Saves me some money too....

Studioplayer

Dave..I haven't broken a string in years so I can't attest to that with Snake Oil strings. I play the occasional lead in both of my bands, but the majority of the time I am playing rhythm and singing.

I would hope that unless you're Steve Vai, Satch or Yankme Valvestem that you're playing mostly rhythm! ;-)

I'm the only guitarist in my band (we're like a 3 piece with a lead vocalist).

I haven't broken a string in years. Not since I tried snake oil and Elixer strings! LOL...

Time to get ready and head to the gig.

I too use D'Addario strings and they do last over a month for me. I'm not gigging at the moment but we rehearse once a week for three hours and I play an hour or so a day. I've tried the Snake Oil Brand strings among others like DR's and GHS but always go back to the D'Addario's as I find they give me the tone I prefer and last longer than most. I do like Ernie Balls on strats but they don't last as long.

DavidE said:

I tried the snake oil strings when they were first touted on The Gear Page maybe a couple of years ago. I really liked them a lot. But, I think I broke one or two and gave up on them. I had an issue with high e strings on Elixers as well. They sent me a bunch of replacements, but I don't like strings that break. Maybe I got some bad sets, but I don't have issues with the D'Addarios.

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Shhhh.....DavidE........Elixirs ARE D'Addarios. /emoticons/default_huh.png I use the Elixirs on my Tom Andersons and D'Addario .10s on my Jpns. Strat. I actually like the tone of the D'Ads when they get a bit old, but they last about 5 hours for me. They stay on the strat about 20 hours cuz I'm lazy.

The longest lasting strings I've found are Pyramid strings. The seem to hold tone the longest. They're a bit more expensive, but it's worth it, in the long run.

I go with either DR nickels, SOS vintage or rock, or sometimes D'Addario on my electrics, and have had good and not so good experiences with them all. Some last a real long time, others of the same brand go dead quicker, who knows why...

As said above, the onset of tuning problems is the telltale sign for me that it's time....

The longest lasting strings I've found are Pyramid strings. The seem to hold tone the longest. They're a bit more expensive, but it's worth it, in the long run.

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Have you tries Snake Oil Strings? I only ask because I have heard great things about the Pyramid strings but haven't tried them yet. I liked the Snake Oil for my Acoustics, but not as much as I liked them for my electrics and was looking at the Pyramids. I am using Dean Markley Alchemy strings on my acoustic right now and I really like them.

I've been abusing Thomastik-Infeld Power Brights for the last couple of years and have not had a string pop. To my ear they are the tightest most consistant sounding sting yet have a spongy kinda feel...bizzare. I find that I change them out of habit before gigs but could easily leave them on. Usually get 2 months of regular playing on 'em ('bout 16 hrs a week).