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bscott

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Can anyone tell me what strings come on the LP's from the factory?

Would it be better to change them, the same way you would change oil on a used car you just bought? I can see fret marks on the bottom of the strings. Thanks

 

Brian

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Can anyone tell me what strings come on the LP's from the factory?

Would it be better to change them' date=' the same way you would change oil on a used car you just bought? I can see fret marks on the bottom of the strings. Thanks

 

Brian [/quote'] I have no idea what strings are original, and can't tell you what to do, but, yeah, I replaced mine very soon after getting the guitar with EB Slinkys. .... fwiw

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flat spots make your strings intonate and tune lousy.

Lose 'em.

You don't want the same brand, whatever it is, because they are typically the least expensive around.

Maybe they are epiphones brand or something. I dunno.. but since guitars get shipped and stored and displayed the strings don't have much of a chance of making an impression, so I think nobody would claim them anyway!

 

when the frets wear into the bottom of the strings it creates nodes.. so that your harmonics are off.. it changes the thickness of the string, so to speak, so that it's no longer the same guage in specific places, and in overall effect.

lousy tuning and intonation.

 

high strings are usually the first to go.

 

If you clean your strings, say-every other time or three you play-you'll be feeling the bottoms of the high strings as you pinch a cloth up the length of the string, and you'll develop a feel for what your ear is telling you.. flat spots cause problems.. they all get them, sometimes you feel them but the string will still tune very well. But change them out when intonation or tuning goes whacky.. or just before!

 

TWANG

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I try to find 3 for $whatever deals on strings and change them at least every two weeks. When I was playing 2-3 nights a week, I changed them once a week. I like the sound of new strings. When they lose their new string twang, they come off.

 

I've tried noname strings and they usually sound good but go dead fast. I like D'addario XL10. They seem to retain their winding integrity longer and sound good through the life. They still come off after 2 weeks. I haven't used Slinkys in a couple of decades, but have meant to try them again. DR Pure Blues are good strings. None of them last long enough for me. Strings are a consumable item like spark plugs and brakes. You gotta change them when they go out.

 

As for failure modes, I think it's a combination of dirt, skin oil, and gradual winding degradation. If you leave them on long enough, you can detect fret wear on the bottom side of the string.

 

Life is determined by composition and winding tightness. Some people spin the string in the direction of the wind at the bridge just before tuning it to tension. I've never tried this, but it makes sense. On rare occasion, I have had a new string fail right out of the box. The strangest was recently when I re-stringed. The D string made a sitar sound when fretted in the 8th to 10th fret range. The neck was good, no high frets. I finally pulled the whole set off and installed a new set and no more problems. I've changed twice since then and the problem hasn't returned. The set in question had been in my gig bag for a couple of months. I guess the moral is to buy strings from a dealer who moves them quickly and you won't get old strings. It makes sense that over time they will lose some winding tension and shift a little.

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When I get a new guitar (which is not often enough) I take the strings off, rub some pencil lead graphite in the slots of the nut, oil the neck with a high quality furniture oil, and wax the body with a non-abrasive Carnuba wax (Johnson's) and adjust the neck intonation. I also wipe the strings down after I play the guitar. This seems to extend their life a bit.

 

Whenever I re-string my guitar I wax the guitar, put more pencil lead in the nut and I check the neck intonation (tweaking the intonation of necessary).

 

I buy cheap strings because:

1) They wear out frequently

2) I live in a corrosive climate, and play many parties near the ocean, so they corrode quickly

3) No string company wants to sponsor me :-(

 

I usually buy D'addario XLs. They come in a plastic envelope which keeps the dampness out. I remember opening a box of DRs that I had stored for a few months (I got a deal on a number of sets) and wherever the strings crossed each other, there was a little spot of rust. That deal ended up being no deal.

 

Another thing about the D'addario XLs is that they have reduced packaging, as all the strings are in the same plastic envelope (which I recycle). I'm an environmentalist and try to be as "green" as I can (see http://www.nortonmusic.com/environment.html for details)

 

I also like the sound and feel of new strings so I try to balance frequent changing with my commitment not to waste the earth's resources.

 

Insights and incites by Notes

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This is the GREATEST forum. Everyone is so helpful - and NICE!! Thanks so much for your help. I am working nights for the next couple of weeks but can stop at a shop on the way home and get some new strings. Thanks again.

 

Brian

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