question about old strings

[Thor Von Clemson]

I have a question about old strings. Maybe it is just me, but I am starting to like my tone more as the strings get older. I have not changed the strings on my rr for quite some time, and I love the tone. I do not think I will be able to get the same tome/feel from the strings if I put new ones on. I am wondering if anyone else has encountered this and is it safe to leave strings on for a really long time?

[Dreamland_Rebel]

Re: question about old strings

as strings die, they loose all there high end sparkle and low end punch.

maybe you should try some nickle rockers or somehting that isn't as bright.

i personally hate old strings. to me they loose their feel and elasticily and sound dead.

i think the reason you seem to like old strings is because you have dialed in your amp to sound best with your old strings. that is one of the reasons so many bands have bad sound live.

i've heard so many guitarist get so pissed at their sound after a string change and they always say the some thing. "i don't understand, it sounded so good last night."

so next time you change your strings, re-do your amp settings. you might just change your mind.

but do try some other types of strings. there are so many to choose from and they all sound different.

~JW

[jgcable]

Re: question about old strings

You just got used to hearing what old strings sound like. Afterall, most of us have "old" strings on our guitars because 1 week after you put new strings on they are no longer new!

[etaeniura]

Re: question about old strings

get a bottle of string cleaner. it costs like 3 bucks and it takes about 30 seconds to wipe your strings down with it. THey won't sound "brand new" but they will improve greatly. I personally dislike the sound of brand new strings-but after a day or two they lose that initial :shrill" sound and they are good to go.

[toejam]

Re: question about old strings

[ QUOTE ]
maybe you should try some nickle rockers or somehting that isn't as bright.


[/ QUOTE ]Yeah, try some pure nickel strings instead of steel plated. I've tried GHS Burnished Nickel before, and I hear their Nickel Rockers are pretty good (I believe Eric Johnson uses those).

[ChickenScratch]

Re: question about old strings

You can try Elixer strings, they have a thin coating on them that you don't even feel. The coating's purpose is to make the strings last longer but as a side effect it dulls the tone of the strings a bit. Put on a new set and they sound like you have had them on for 2 weeks already. The up side is it has that same tone forever.

I personally prefer the tone of younger strings but keep Elixers on the guitars I play least. On my Carvin that I play the most I keep Ernie Balls and I clean them with a damp cloth with a spritz of Windex or Fantastic after I'm done playing.

[etaeniura]

Re: question about old strings

I have a set of elixirs on my acoustic and think they are great. They have been on there for probably 5-6 months and still sound as good as new-they are even still shiny! The only thing I don't like is that the coating seems to make string bendind difficult-the strings want to roll over the frets instead of slide. I guess the coating creates a little more friction ont he frets or something.

[Number Of The Priest]

Re: question about old strings

The thing about Elixirs is that they're coated. Elixir Nanowebs have a thinner coating that feels more like uncoated strings, while Elixir Polywebs have a thicker coating. I'm currently using 12-53 Polywebs on my Taylor acoustic and they've lasted me since I got the guitar in October. They still sound (and look) like the day I got the guitar. I'm keeping with Elixirs on my Taylor for sure.

I've thought heavily about using Elixir electric strings on my Jackson Soloist but I do a lot of string bends and have a really heavy-handed attack, and so I break strings occasionally. I like the prospect of having long-lasting strings but I don't want to put a set of these expensive strings on there and then break one of the treble strings doing huge bends early on in the string life... what a waste! [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

And yeah, Elixirs do feel a little more slick compared to uncoated strings. They're designed to reduce string squeak when you slide your fingers across the strings. As a result, it is a little bit weird to feel the strings rolling when trying to bend... not that I bend strings that much when playing acoustic. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[thetroy]

Re: question about old strings

I dunno about you guys, but I'm fairly sure the set of Elixir electric strings I had was only coated on the wound strings. The plain strings were just normal steel. So if you want just buy a set of Elixirs and then get whatever you want to replace the treble strings as they will break or be dead sounding long before the wound strings will.

[toejam]

Re: question about old strings

[ QUOTE ]
You can try Elixer strings, they have a thin coating on them that you don't even feel. The coating's purpose is to make the strings last longer but as a side effect it dulls the tone of the strings a bit. Put on a new set and they sound like you have had them on for 2 weeks already. The up side is it has that same tone forever.


[/ QUOTE ] [img]/images/graemlins/scratchhead.gif[/img] That's the first time I've heard that. Most people complain Elixirs are too bright. I know the ones I originally had on my Carvin were on the bright side. And the coating, I believe, is only on the wound strings.

[Madness]

Re: question about old strings

I use them on my Ibanez acoustic. The guitar came w/them and after about 4 months I decided to change the to Martin strings...bad mistake, I lost a ton of bottom end and Immediately went down to my local music store and got some more Elixers. I initially thought that the whole "coating" thing was just a gimmick but, I was completely wrong. Not only do they last a hell of alot longer but, they also sound awesome.
Toejam....you're right about the coating only bieng on the bottom 3.

[delt]

Re: question about old strings

> and then get whatever you want to replace the treble strings as they will break
> or be dead sounding long before the wound strings will.

Weird, usually i find the bottom strings lose their tone much faster than the high ones.

.... and is it "elixer" or "elixir" ?

[toejam]

Re: question about old strings

[ QUOTE ]
and is it "elixer" or "elixir" ?

[/ QUOTE ]
Elixir. I've still got the little blue hang tag that came off of my Carvin SC90 I bought in 2002. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[delt]

Re: question about old strings

ah (: you english people can't spell worth schitt [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[Number Of The Priest]

Re: question about old strings

Weird, I find I personally lose the tone and slick feeling of the unwound/treble strings faster than the wound/bass strings. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] It's nasty to bend old semi-corroded unwound strings against my frets. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]