guitar players - best method for putting on new strings?

[skeith]

What is the best method for putting on new strings so that it stays in tune for acoustic guitars?

Some recommend wrap around the the peg on the head stock before inserting it into the hole... others say kink the string at the hole....others have fancy over and under recommendations for the string wrappings around the inserted string.

What works for you guys?

[Dan Gould]

Interesting question, I hope someone chimes in. I got new strings for Christmas and should probably replace the ones that have been on my guitar since September 2012.

Or should I?

I can't hear any change, I used to change strings only when I broke one. I play every day or close to it and its been 16 months. Is it a given that I should be changing strings and even if I don't hear a change, I'll notice the change when I do put in the new ones?

[jazzbo]

I don't have a special method for putting on strings. Shawn may weigh in here, he's very good with new strings, he spends a bit of time stretching each string as he winds it up and after the first tuning.

I tend to wind a few revolutions of string around the tuner peg, that's how I was taught by my pal Rabbi way back when, he says that helps the string stay in tune.

Dan, you should notice a difference. They should ring out more, should have more "resonance." I don't change my strings that often and it's so odd to have that sonic change that at first I really feel it's 'not right.' Then I get into it and go 'oh yeah this is really good' and then. . . they get older and that special signature goes away. I know some guitarists that then change them. I play them for months afterwards.

[BFrank]

Dan, you should notice a difference. They should ring out more, should have more "resonance." I don't change my strings that often and it's so odd to have that sonic change that at first I really feel it's 'not right.' Then I get into it and go 'oh yeah this is really good' and then. . . they get older and that special signature goes away. I know some guitarists that then change them. I play them for months afterwards.

Same here. I don't change strings as often as I should, but am always amazed how much better the guitar sounds after I do.

... maybe I'll do that TODAY!

[Jerry_L]

I change mine when I see significant black oxidation or corrosion (or after they break ). A couple of wraps around the peg and a pinch or two to get the stretch out keeps mine in tune.

Edited January 23, 2014 by Jerry_L

[Hardbopjazz]

Back in the late 80s when I was still playing music, I was at a guitar show. Al Di Meola was there. He told the audience he was speaking to that he changes his strings sometimes twice a day.

You hear a differnece when you change your strings. As Lon said, "resonance.:

Edited January 23, 2014 by Hardbopjazz

[Jerry_L]

Back in the late 80s when I was still playing music, I was at a guitar show. Al Di Meola was there. He told the audience he was speaking to that he changes his strings sometimes twice a day.

You hear a differnece when you change your strings. As Lon said, "resonance.:

Al must not have as many guitars as I do.

[jazzbo]

[Jim R]

There are a variety of subtle "tricks" when it comes to preferences for winding strings at the post. The way I learned to do it (which I wouldn't necessarily recommend to anyone) is very simple and basic, but slightly risky for having a string snap off at the post. In 40 years of playing, however, I've only had one or two strings break there (and as I recall, they were both a very light guage high E strings). At any rate, if one wanted to learn about various ways of doing it, I know there are quite a few tutorials on the web, particularly on Youtube.

In terms of preferences for frequency of string changes, I think that's highly subjective. The "brightness" of new strings is not a positive thing for a lot of players, including yours truly. It's less of an issue for me anyway, since I prefer flatwounds, but I still don't like the brighter sound of brand new strings. Personally, I don't change strings until I encounter intonation problems. I've found that I can typically keep the same strings on for at least a year or longer*, as long as I wipe them down after every playing session (which I learned to do habitually many years ago). I also gently wipe the fretboard and the back of the neck (with a different cloth) after every session.

(* When I play, I don't do a lot of serious string bending, which I'm sure contributes to the life of my strings)

I should also add that since I own six guitars, which all get played pretty regularly, the strings on each one get much less use than if I only owned one guitar. In other words, "ymmv".

Edited January 24, 2014 by Jim R

[skeith]

I put on new strings to my acoustic - wow big difference in sound.

I didn't have much problems with the wound strings (bottom 4) wrapping nicely around the tuning peg (if that is the right word) ... the top 2 strings (unwound) didn't wrap as nicely and I got a couple of overlaps which is apparently a no-no.

Anyway sound is so much better I can't believe I waited almost a year to change strings... I think the deterioration in sound quality is so gradual you don't notice it.

[jazzbo]

I also think that the sound degradation can be very gradual especially if you're an occasional player (I'm an occasional player, though I've played more the last nine months than for about three years before that and have been appropaching an every day player).