You’re insane for keeping the same set of bass strings on for 6 years. But I'm insaner than you because I've had mine on for over ten years. So get in the back of the line sonny, this sanatorium bed is mine.
That is pretty insane although a couple of months ago I got a vintage 4 string peavey bass from 1985 and I'm fairly certain it had the original strings on it. They still sounded decent on there but oh man, I put a new set of Stringjoys and it was like playing a whole new instrument. Night and day difference in the tone.
The longest I had a set of strings on a guitar was three years, give or take a few months. I was homeless at the time and used my guitar to earn my living. I kept the strings til they all broke. Each time one would break, I would change the tuning and keep on playing. It also costs a bit more for me to by strings as I play classical guitar.
Very informative - I've been looking into this issue for myself recently for the OPPOSITE reason - I made an (acoustic) guitar record in sept 2020 (it just came out - called In Virus Times) on a small body Martin that had quite dead strings on it - maybe at the time 18 months old (?). Two nights ago I gave a debut performance of the piece here in NYC, with the same dead strings still on the gutar (now certainly over 3 years old). Somehow the sound fit the music (and that covid time in which it was made). But I was worried about breaking a string so brought as a backup a newly strung instrument. At soundcheck everyone in the room agreed that they liked the dead-string gtr sound better - at least for the piece I was going to play. Luckily despite some string-thrashing I made it thru w/o breaking any. But it got me curious about whether anyone makes 'new' strings that evoke this 'dead' string sound? String makers always highlight 'brilliant highs' and 'full-bodied lows' but a dead string has a different characteristic entirely - not ideal for every situation but maybe for some... I'm looking for answers! I dunno if I"m the only one - I seem to remember someone - Stephen Stills? Jorma? - advocating for old strings and saying they'd immediately rub motor oil on new strings to get the process started. I haven't tried your strings but it sounds like you know what you are doing - I'll look out for them. I was especially interested to hear you talk about string coatings - about which I've always had a lot of suspicion - maybe they last longer but if they don't sound as good (and I often think they don't sound or feel as good) then what's the point?
Had an EBO that came with wrapped strings in 72. Changed to a round-wound set and it was in the 80s when i changed them. Did clean them after each night. Finally had to admit that my rounds had become flats.
also...fun fact. when stringjoy strings finally do eventually go dead sounding, i just take them off, let them rest in a loose loop for a few days and then use them on a fretless basses. seems like letting the strings rest kinda gives them a second wind and since the fretless basses are intended to sound kinda boomy and flat anyway you dont hear the loss of clarity with the tone knob cranked to the warm setting on a fretless. its like string reincarnation, plus i dont have to buy strings for my fretless line-up. its like free flat wounds with every new pack! note: you do have to tune them up half a step to get "fresh" tension so this doesnt work if you tune everything to a standard single tuning. just FYI. dead strings are also good to keep for experimenting with new tunings so you dont waste money just to find out you hate that tuning. when you find something you like...then buy new ones, and you got free flatwounds. lol.
bought a 5 year old used Recording King online cause my friend has a different model and hers sounds amazing, but mine came in with dead strings that are probably as old as the guitar💀. I'm currently waiting on some stringjoy's and they should be here tomorrow! can't wait to hear the difference
I had a set of nyxls on my les Paul for 8-9 months, and I changed them due to feel. I feel that over time they as you said, lose some elasticity and feel stiffer, as well as less strong. Although, if you clean them with a naphtha soaked rag often-like every few days- (wounds for a few passes, maybe 20, plains until they stop squeaking) they will not only feel "slinkier" but sound less muffled, brighter, and sustain longer. With the wounds the more often you do this the more likely you are to have acids oils and dirt not to get to the core and thus will last longer. There's nothing you can do about the micro fractures tho. It's the same reason playing cards wear out over time, you bend something, vibrate it etc, eventually you'll stress the material
Had a guy bring me a guitar once that had a dead G string. He put new strings on it, no change. Took it to a so called "professional" and paid $250 to have it "set up". No change. So, I get it on the bench, pull the strings off, and when I pulled the G string peg a paper wad came out with it. Someone had wobbled the damn hole out so the peg didn't fit tight and kept pulling out as soon as you tried to wind it. So he shoved a fucking paper wad into it. All I could do was shake my head. Professional luthier my ass.
I found this video because I was curious about the effects of time on strings. I uploaded a video of my friend's guitar with strings she has NEVER changed. She's had the guitar for about 17 years---the strings are literally from out of the box. It's insane to me that she's never thought to replace them, and they sound exactly like their age.
When I was a teenager (20 years ago) I played a Chinese Dean playmate, but I forgot to bring it on a trip to my grandparents. They dug out my uncle's old Gibson, and I played that for the week. The strings were from the 70', like the guitar, it sounded and felt like crap. I actually thought my guitar was better.
I appreciate the fact that I used to change guitar strings every couple of months when I used...another brand lol. I can keep stringjoys on for over 6 months and not tell a difference if they're new or old. Of course cleaning my strings regularly helps. But your strings are umatched in durability and tome in my opinion
Got a used TRB6 bass from 1996 about 10 years ago. Never changed the strings since i got them and i dont know how long the previous owner had used them
something funny i do, i practice on flats that i will not change cuz i hate playing my main bass which has roundwounds all that much annoyed of killing them weekly and attacking the strings so different ... which I think would be a nice topic outside just being mellow, no one seems to be talking about
I have had the same set of strings on my Strat/Floyd Rose for 5 years. I don't play it a lot, and it hangs on my wall perfectly in tune. When I need to pull it off the wall, for different things, it always performs. I suppose I should change them soon.
longest ive had bass strings on was over 18 months, actually stringjoy strings. i regularly changed Ernie Ball strings every 6 months or so and the way i could tell they needed changing was when the g just snapped. when i switched to Martins i would go about 8-10 months before they sounded so bad it bothered me. first stringjoy pack i put on i decided to play them until they just completely died or broke to see if it was worth the higher price compared to EB slinky's. yep. 18 months and they were still playable. obviously there was a noticeable lessening of tone but not really intolerable. apparently stringjoy strings sound like martins for the lifespan of martins and then instead of suddenly dying they transform into slinkys for the same lifespan of a slinky. i used to break slinkys again, every pack, usually the G, bout every 6 months, ive broken martins but not regularly and about 2 weeks ago after about 20 packs of stringjoy strings and about 3 or 4 years of literally stringing every bass in my vast collection with stringjoy strings, i did in fact break one. it was a 6-string set, high d string skinny-ass 18 guage and i broke it putting it back on after removing it to file the headstock nut. fortunately it broke mid-winding around the tuner peg so i soldered it back together and it still works, albeit ugly as crap. does sound kinda flat now. but let's be honest...its an 18 guage wound string so the core is probably about a 9, so thats like 24 pounds of tension on a 9-guage core and i dont play gentle so i'm not shocked that it didnt survive.
It isn't "just" the core wire that matters. Loading down the wrap wire with dirt/grime/tarnish will have a deadening effect as well, but in a different way. Coated strings provide a barrier between your fingers and the outside of the string, this obviously prevents sweat from getting down not only into the wrap wire, but into the core wire as well. 80/20 v phosphor is an interesting question, in this case you have a wrap wire that is prone to tarnishing (this tarnish adds extra load to the strings) and is also prone to selective leeching, which can have negative effects on the core as well.
They don't dampen sooner, but they do oxidize quicker which some people think means are dead...not so. The most common reason strings dampen (due) is due to the wrap wire uncoupling from the core, either because of mechanical degradation or corrosion. Hope this helps.
Hey man, I can't remember if I've seen your brand stringjoy. I live in a really remote area and do most my gear shopping online. But you seem really passionate and knowledgeable about strings. Subscribed and I'm gonna have to try a pack of stringjoy strings. Interesting video, pretty informative. I never think about strings to much. Lol, When I first started playing music 13 years ago, I would never restring my guitars... maybe a year without restringing them. The high strings would be black, and yeah. I just changed the strings on my guitar about a week ago and now change my strings more often. I'll have to give stringjoy a try and see how I like them.
Thanks so much for the kind words! I hope you'll give us a try next time your guitars are in need, I think they'll impress you. Appreciate the subscribe!
@@Stringjoy yeah nice video. I like supporting small companies when I can. Going to order a couple packs right away and check you guys out. Do you have high guage / baritone strings? Baritone might be kind of niche and not sell as well
I prefer my, Ernie ball 7 Gauge strings to go dead I use a 17 Guage wound third with the 7 gauge when I run out of flats oh yeah I customize my own set of flats so that they're like 7s I use a custom set of Thomastik flats I use gimme strings and select different guages
After a couple weeks the frets have worn through the windings on my D string to the point that it's done. If I left strings on a guitar for 3 months they would probably all have broken off from bending and playing funk rhythm for hours a day
I use diaddro string for 4 months to my acoustic guitar but now I lost my 4..5..6 strings bass sound ...now as a result my guitar sound is not perfect.... what was the reason?? Please sir tell me about this....
Well, all strings age, typically players change their strings every few months. That said, some strings definitely age quicker than others. I would recommend trying some better strings and seeing if it improves things, if you are looking to not change strings quicker than every four months.
Fast fret works great for me. Stringjoy also makes a great string cleaner. I find that fast fret helps prevent dirt and grime, and stringjoys cleaner gets stuff off of your strings best
I have a acoustic with at least 30 year old strings on it, for the majority of time it wasn’t played, but i’m playing it for a year now... maybe I should change them in the near future, they actually sound very awful
Oh, no a dead string wouldn't cause buzz, buzz will always be due to setup. A string can't buzz on its own, what you're hearing is something else hitting against the string.
