Roxx Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 I bought my new Les Paul Modern Dec 30 2019. I have a great deal of hours shredding her and still have the same strings Gibson sent on guitar. I am completely happy with them and keep them cleaned and wiped down before putting her back in case. I average 30 to 40 hours rocking out every week. Amazing that strings tese days stay in tune and good . Years ago ,like in the late 60s and early 70s, I changed quite often. I do lots of stretching and string english and they are holding up well. I don't plan on a change until strings start wearing flat at the frets. so far so good. I have several sets to replace them but am happy for now 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 I hate the sound of new strings - but I'm talking only about acoustics.... I use Elixir Long Life strings and leave them on for a year or more. To me, until they settle in - they get in the way of being able to hear what the guitar itself sounds like. But - like I said, that's on acoustics - without pickups. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notes_Norton Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 I love the sound of new strings (I'm talking electric) and I can't get them to last very long even though I wipe them down after every play. If I get a month out of them I feel extremely lucky. Notes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad1 Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 I like new strings on electrics and acoustics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 If I'm getting paid to use it it gets new strings before we go out. rct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 If you are a note bender, you need to pre stress your new strings until they set... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 (edited) 5 minutes ago, ghost_of_fl said: I found pre-stressing the strings made them 'go flat' faster. I do some very light pre-stressing and then put up with it slipping and retuning for a week. I love the sound of new strings, generally in retired life they last me about a month till they start sounding dead. When performing I always replaced them before playing on what ever guitars I was using, usually no more than 3 guitars. Edited June 10, 2020 by mihcmac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notes_Norton Posted June 11, 2020 Share Posted June 11, 2020 20 hours ago, ghost_of_fl said: New strings go out of tune when you bend notes. I like 3 days old strings until they are about a month old. Then I put up with the flat sound for at least another 2 months. I have Sperzel tuners. They don't wrap the strings around the pegs so there is none of that settling. On my Parker I put the new strings on, tune them up, stretch them and retune a few times than put them in the case the night before my next gig. Then on the gig, I wiggle the whammy then tune up and they stay in tune all night. I do a lot of bending. Part of that is the design of the guitar. Sperzel locking tuners, graph-tech nut and bridge, and almost a straight path from tuner to ball-end. My Parkers with a whammy stay in tune better than the guitars I've had that didn't have a whammy. Often they are still in tune for the next gig. That always amazes me. And if put the P-Rails into the P90 position, the new strings sound so clear with such a great ping, I wish I could play new strings every gig. But I'm not wealthy and I'm an environmentalist. Notes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxx Posted June 11, 2020 Author Share Posted June 11, 2020 (edited) I don't think I got my message across very well. I was just reporting about the longevity of my original Gibson strings and how happy I was that they are still ringing out loud and clear after several hundred hours of playing. I don't gig with this guitar and only use to record with. I am curious as well as studying the life of the strings under heavy use. I don't have a whammy on my Les Paul but I do a lot of string bending. I have several guitars and I do change strings as needed. I am experimenting and think it is unique to still be able to rock out with the original strings I got from the factory. If for any reason that they get worn and go tone dead whatsoever, I will put a new set on. I will of course use the Gibson electrics as they have proved as good as any other strings I have used in the past 50 years. Edited June 11, 2020 by Roxx spelling error corrected Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Filbert Posted June 11, 2020 Share Posted June 11, 2020 I must be weird, I prefer strings that are well worn in. Then again, I don't sweat as much as some people do so my strings don't seem to corrode as I have seen others do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notes_Norton Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 On 6/11/2020 at 11:21 AM, ghost_of_fl said: I have an Ibanez with a Floyd Rose and it still drifts with new strings. Seems like the tuners can't be the problem there (locking nut). The Sperzel tuners don't need a locking bridge or nut. Of course if you break a string the guitar goes out of tune. The Sperzel tuners use about 3/4 of a wind around the post on the 6th string and a little more than one wind on the 1st string. A lot of string "stretching" happens here as the winds settle in under tension. Add to that the design of the Parker guitar with no harsh angles in the string path and a nut and bridge that won't bind a string. Ken Parker did a great job in that aspect of improving a guitar. But still, back to the original post, the strings won't last me a month, no matter what brand I get. I live in a salt-air environment, close to the Atlantic Ocean in Florida so that might have something to do with it. I don't use Air Conditioning so if it's humid outside, it's humid inside. Plus during "the season" I have a once per week gig on a quay over a brackish water lagoon. There's I consider string and reed changes as a cost of doing business. Insights, incites, and typos by Notes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 (edited) I like using Ernie Ball strings because they survive my string setting as I install them and because several of my guitars have tremolos. D'Addario strings, for me, seem break too easily and loose tone quickly. I do pick hard, play hard and use very stiff small Dunlap Jazz III sharp point picks and love to trash my trem. I had good luck for a while using Rotosound and Nashville Straights but Ernie Ball has been consistently easier to find. Edited June 13, 2020 by mihcmac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 26 minutes ago, ghost_of_fl said: That's funny because I switched from Ernie Ball to D'Addario for the same reason. Probably the difference in how we play or maybe my string setting method. 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 Nope... I never liked D'Addrios, been using Ernie Ball for almost 50 years now... Balls are Best.... 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 I was talking about Using Ernie Ball for the last 50 years. When ever I got a new guitar with D'Addario I immediately replaced them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 (edited) Ernie Ball came out in 62.. when I first started playing Guitar. Edited June 13, 2020 by mihcmac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 (edited) 12 minutes ago, ghost_of_fl said: As far as I know, they provide OEM strings for only these companies: Beaver Creek Alhambra Beard Collings Bourgeois Buzz Feitin Tuning System Echopark Cort Dean ESP Gold Tone Music Group Jamstik Larrivee Loog LSL Mayones Mike Lull NS Design Stoll Relish Spector Takamine Tanglewood Strandberg Gama Toon Lauwers Taylor Yamaha Walden Traveler Yep cause they're cheap. Edited June 13, 2020 by mihcmac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 Thats not what the manufacturers pay, everything goes to the lowest bidder and they don't even individually wrap each string. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 5 minutes ago, mihcmac said: Thats not what the manufacturers pay, everything goes to the lowest bidder and they don't even individually wrap each string. Duck season Rabbit season Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 This site best guitar string lists Ernie Ball as #1 and D'Addario as #7 https://www.guitarworld.com/gear/best-electric-guitar-strings-you-can-buy-today Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 (edited) It doesn't really matter what you use, as long as you can get what you want when you need them. I really like Rotosound, but if your not in the UK they can be hard to find, consistently. Edited June 13, 2020 by mihcmac 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 On 6/11/2020 at 10:17 AM, Notes_Norton said: I have Sperzel tuners. They don't wrap the strings around the pegs so there is none of that settling. On my Parker I put the new strings on, tune them up, stretch them and retune a few times than put them in the case the night before my next gig. Then on the gig, I wiggle the whammy then tune up and they stay in tune all night. I do a lot of bending. Part of that is the design of the guitar. Sperzel locking tuners, graph-tech nut and bridge, and almost a straight path from tuner to ball-end. My Parkers with a whammy stay in tune better than the guitars I've had that didn't have a whammy. Often they are still in tune for the next gig. That always amazes me. And if put the P-Rails into the P90 position, the new strings sound so clear with such a great ping, I wish I could play new strings every gig. But I'm not wealthy and I'm an environmentalist. Notes I will have to try that. I have a Vintage Jaguar with a vibrato arm that I use to play Surf music. Or Ventures stuff. I use the vibrato and bend strings a lot and it goes out of tune every time while still playing. I can hear it when it goes out of tune. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, ghost_of_fl said: *wabbit I spell it right cause I got learnin. Edited June 13, 2020 by Sgt. Pepper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 32 minutes ago, ghost_of_fl said: Are you implying Elmer Fudd's speech impediment was the result of being uneducated? 🧐 😄 He did own a mansion and a yacht. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 Yeah, but the Culture Warriors at Warner Brothers took his gun away last week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.