MackTheKnife Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 So, according to Captain Obvious, strings are important to the sound of a guitar. I haven't changed strings on my J-45 for one year and a half. It had Gibson strings on it. I always liked the sound of the J-45. Very balanced and bluesy tone. Not too much bass but enough. Yesterday I strung it with Martin MSP7100. Mamma mia. It now has super strong and dark bass, and when I play it it vibrates against my stomach, more than any other guitar I have played. Before it never really did so. It's now also much louder, clearer and more colorful in general. It competes with my D-28 and D-18 in terms of volume. I knew strings make a difference, but I never expected such a dramatic change Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GDC Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 18 months is an excessively long time for a string change. I should think the difference is quite dramatic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 You seriously didnt expect a drammatic change in tone after changing 18 month old strings for new ones ... ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Though in family J-45's are highly different creatures. That doesn't just count for vintage - let's say pre 1960 versions - vs newer models. The recent waves of 45's - let's say post 1995 - Historic Collection, Modern Classic, Standard, True Vintage come with variations too. My 2010 Std. fx has tons of bass - what year was your guitar born ? Regarding strings, I would wait a month or two before making the conclusion. It might have sounded splendid as the old strings faded below normal, but 18 months with the same steel is quite a lot. Let's hear what you hear - and welcome here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Neil Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Sometimes (more rarely though) it can work the other way around. The old, soft, woody, dry tone of a guitar with old strings can be 'ruined' by putting on new ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainpicker Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 I haven't looked back through my threads but a year or two ago I tried leaving a set of phosphor bronze strings on my J-50 to see if the old string thing would be something I liked. I think I got to about eight months before I couldn't take it anymore and had to abandon ship for some new strings. I haven't tried it again since. Instead of old and funky and bluesy sounding they just became lifeless and dead to my ears. Once the trebles go it ain't fun anymore. But I will say that my experience with D'Addario Nickel Bronze and Martin Retro monel is that they do last considerably longer than PB's or 80/20's. And by "last" I mean that they sound good enough to play with other people without being embarrassed for the guitar. I can get about four good months out of the Nickel Bronze and right around six months out of the Retro's. The caveat is that I play my six guitars in rotation so no one guitar gets played into the ground string-wise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojorule Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 18 months with the same strings is no time at all... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 so.. you don't happen to apply the same "change" logic to socks right??? LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbpark Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 So, according to Captain Obvious, strings are important to the sound of a guitar. I haven't changed strings on my J-45 for one year and a half. It had Gibson strings on it. I always liked the sound of the J-45. Very balanced and bluesy tone. Not too much bass but enough. Yesterday I strung it with Martin MSP7100. Mamma mia. It now has super strong and dark bass, and when I play it it vibrates against my stomach, more than any other guitar I have played. Before it never really did so. It's now also much louder, clearer and more colorful in general. It competes with my D-28 and D-18 in terms of volume. I knew strings make a difference, but I never expected such a dramatic change The Martin strings (the MSP7100 in particular) have been my go-to and sort of secret weapon for my Gibsons, and I agree that they really sound great on a J45, or any Gibson for that matter. You also went from an 80/20 string to a phosphor bronze, and I feel the PB just brings out way more of the J45's sound. I was worried though when I first tried Martin strings on my Gibson, and thought the guitar would spontaneously earth fire or implode! Worried about the same thing happening when I used Gibson branded polish on my Martin, but all is still well with the universe and no guitars were harmed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 I use "long life" strings and usually go for 12 months. Yeah, a brand spanking new set of a different brand is going to sound "brighter". It's as silly criticizing someone who leaves their strings on for 18 months as it is to criticize someone who changes them every month though. Many folks dislike the sound of new strings and can't wait for them to get over the spangly sparkly bright sound. I don't hear a big change after the first week or so. I think, once they've "stabilized" they don't change much as long as you keep them clean and don't bang the crap out of them with a diamond tipped titanium pick, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the other side Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Wow! 18 months. That reminded me of my first 100.00 USD guitar in 1977. I don't remember how long they were on there, but I do remember some rusty looking stuff on them and one string finally broke! I then started getting paranoid of not knowing when my last tetanus shot was. I then changed them. Low and behold, what a difference! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 18 months with the same strings is no time at all... I agree. I call that a break in period😏 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MackTheKnife Posted February 2, 2017 Author Share Posted February 2, 2017 Sorry I didn't make clear that I "only" played it dor a total of 30 hours, according to my log. It's not like I played it for 18 months straight. I have 12 guitars, and I usually rotate them, but still have some that get more playing time than others. The point I took home is that it's really something normal. I was not expecting that huge difference, even though I have changed strings on my other guitars, afterwards they sounded like a slightly better version of themselves. But to me my J-45 sounds like a different guitar now and I was excited about that. And it sounded good before, E-minor: It's a 2014 model. I bought it online, the shop owner told me it's a great J-45 but it has a little weaker bass when compared to other examples of the same model. I can't confirm that anymore, it rivals my Martin dreadnoughts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldCowboy Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Somewhere, it seems to me, there's a point where you get a good blend of strings and guitar sound. On one side of that point, the dominant sound is that of the strings/on the other is the dominant sound of wood. Neither is necessarily bad, but most of us develop a preference - one way or the other - with various stopping-off points along the way catering to fine-tuned individual likes and dislikes. One person's warm and woody sound is another person's dull and dead sound. Another person's bright and responsive is someone else's overpowering and brash. I believe that one quality of a truly excellent guitar is the potential to be fine-tuned to a variety of preferences according to string choice and the length of time the strings go unchanged. It's all pretty subjective within reasonable bounds - if rust and crud turn your fingertips black, that's a bit over-the-top; if you change strings at the first sign of them settling-in, that probably is, too. I know players who fall into both those categories! Some guitars will facilitate one end of the spectrum, while others facilitate the opposite. That can happen among examples of the same model, and the J-45 is a good illustration. I've found that current production hog topped Martins, quite a few short scale Hummingbirds, and some Martin D-35s tend to start out, freshly strung, in the warm/woody or dull/choked (according to individual preference) category. If that's what you prefer, they'll get you there pretty quickly and stay there for a good, long while. Don't expect them to deliver bright and lively, though. Half the fun is learning what you like and finding out how to make it happen😃 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbpicker Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 I actually think that 18 months is against the law in some states. 😳 Rb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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