How Often Should I Change Guitar Strings & Why?

'When Should I Change Guitar Strings & Why?' from www.GuitarIQ.com, deals with this common question over how frequently do guitar strings need changing. There is no one answer to this question, it will be different for each player, but having a clear understanding about 'why' we should change our strings will help us make an informed decision on 'when'.

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[spewe]

Omg i havent changed them in 5 years 😂

[justinayers]

>People only change their guitar strings when they break one
I've been playing without a high E for over a month now, that's how much I hate changing the strings

[AlexKidd]

2 or 3 weeks I go with, they seem to wear out quickly on my guitars, the guitar always sounds tons better after you change the strings

[felixortiz]

Haven't changed strings in 3 years. Will do today :)

[junkiedropouts]

My main reason in addition to this is when I see the fretboard needs cleaning, which is much easier and nicer when unstrung.

Often means the strings aren't always very worn, but even when wiping down after, my hands have always coated the fretboard in grime and it doesn't feel as fresh.

Never seems good for the wood to have a buildup of dirt, skin and human-oil.

[alvinphua]

Keep your string ‘fresh’ longer by wiping oil (eg wd-40) over the plain strings after practice sessions. This helps prevent corrosion so strings stay fresh longer. This helpful for those using double locking tremolos- reduce frequency of dreaded string change and tuning

[voodooo]

I haven't changed mine in 2 years. The duller sound I get I compensate by playing a bit closer to the bridge, but I would change more frequently if I was recording and playing gigs.

[lukezecchin]

No worries. Must say I've never heard of using WD40 on guitar strings, not sure I'd want it on my strings and fretboard : ) There are plenty of other dedicated products specifically for cleaning guitar strings that might be worth checking out though.

[SoFlyOfficial]

I love what u said that your not sure how often, but why. this is a great video and thank u

[LexxLifts]

Havent changed string in 3+ years... they seem fine

[kaidenmarthaler]

I've never changed them. Maybe I should do that

[nicolewallis]

Thank you. Answered my question to a T. And common sense yes I didnt even think about whiping my strings down.

[thelowmein]

I only change mine if that start to feel overly sharp or uncomfortable in my hands, or if the tone starts getting bad

[cmgillespie]

I changed my strings last week for the first time since getting my guitar almost 4 years ago because they were getting weak, and hateee it. I can only hope, it's gonna take months to get back to my tone.😪

[nicolewallis]

So thank you so much. Thats why my fingers turn black from the strings. So yes very helpful.

[livingroompickersclub]

I pretty much agree with everything said except I have my setups done with strings that have been on for a few days because the tension on broke in and strings is different than the on new strings... most strings-even the best ones will stretch for roughly 2-3 hours of play. That being said I change my strings between 2 and 4 weeks all depending on whether I'm using John Pearse (2 wks) or Elixirs (3-4) wks.

[JuniperCo]

Cheers mate. I am changing my strings after every gig. I thought it was too frequent but like you say it's personal preference. I find that a gig and a few days practice before the gig means that after the gig they need to be changed again. I think i'm doing it right because I can hear that they need changing. Thanks for the advice. Donna UK

[daviewavie]

I have a guitar that I bought ten years ago and it still has the original strings on that we're on it when I bought it. It's an acoustic. A friend of mine played it too hard and popped the low E string peg out of the bridge. The peg would then pop out before the string was even close to being in tune. Not really thinking about changing string in the future I super glued the peg in. And it does stay in, but that's why I never changed the strings. I can tell that they probably sound a little more dull than they should and they feel a little cruddy. I've only dabbled with guitar for years Til recently I've been learning and practicing more. Not sure it's worth replacing the whole guitar as it still sounds pretty good. It's a entry level Carlo robelli, but I thought it has always had a nice full tone.

[trinibates]

Thank you. Very helpful and answered my questions.

[fansmmosharma]

In the market we can find cheap to expensive guitars..are the strings used in all guitars irrespective of price of the same quality or they vary like guitar prices?