How long until strings 'settle' - Banjo Uke / Banjolele

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UkuLou

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Just got a Banjolele today and changed the strings to Aquila Banjolele strings right away. It was a bit fiddly and I know I'll need to get the bridge right etc.
My question is: how long does it usually take for strings to "settle". I played today for a good while and kept re-tuning after each couple of songs. Does it take days or weeks? I play about an hour a day.
 
I'd consider everything up to ~10 days perfectly normal.

To speed up stretching do not stretch the strings manually - rather tune them ~half step up over night during the first few days. You will soon notice that the tuning intervals get longer and longer...
 
ON average, about 4 days, sometimes a little more, not usually a little less. I usually just lay the instrument out and retune it 6 or 8 times a day for a few days.
 
I put new Aquila nylguts on a Kohala soprano before we left on our current long road trip. I tuned them a little high. I expect them to be in good shape when I return after five weeks. :( The nylguts on the Alvarez tenor we bought two weeks ago still needs tuning-up after every couple of songs, especially the fat C string. Yes, they take time...
 
How long until strings 'settle' -Well, (sorry in advance) How long is a piece of string ? :stop::rolleyes::biglaugh:


Sorry,sorry,sorry...there have been some good answers so far . You can enhance the detuning effect by pulling gently on the string once tuned and letting it go ...sometimes referred to as "snapping". There are others who don't like to do this . It's up to you.

At the end of the day , it's just fishing line assigned wonderful marketing blather .
 
Depends on the strings. Some settle quicker than others. I find by tuning high over the first few days, they are usually more or less settled in a few days and you won't need to retune during a playing session but you will need to retune every day, possibly for several weeks more, not by much, but they'll still need retuning as each string relaxes by a different amount. Eventually, though you'll find you don't need to tune every time. At that point I find I usually only need to retune when I take one out somewhere.
 
Thanks for all your comments - I really appreciate your experience.
So, it's been a few days and I've had to retune each day and during each playing session (on banjolele) usually after each song. It is much better since I got the bridge and intonation right and they don't go "out" so far. I'll keep going and hope that it continues to improve. I don't mind retuning each day, but after every song is a bit ridiculous. Thanks again :)
 
UkuLou said:
Thanks for all your comments - I really appreciate your experience.
So, it's been a few days and I've had to retune each day and during each playing session (on banjolele) usually after each song. It is much better since I got the bridge and intonation right and they don't go "out" so far. I'll keep going and hope that it continues to improve. I don't mind retuning each day, but after every song is a bit ridiculous. Thanks again :)
Click to expand...
At this point, if you can't get through a practice session without re-tuning, I would be wondering why, and it probably isn't the strings. Sure, strings stretch, but they can't stretch forever. Something else is going on. Something is slipping.
 
Rllink said:
At this point, if you can't get through a practice session without re-tuning, I would be wondering why, and it probably isn't the strings. Sure, strings stretch, but they can't stretch forever. Something else is going on. Something is slipping.
Click to expand...

If you have friction tuners, you need to ensure the screw in the centre of the tuning button is properly adjusted. Too loose and the strings slip, too tight and you will have difficulty making fine adjustments to the strings. If the strings are slipping out of tune, you probably need to tighten the tuners.
 
Shunt be more than a week with regular use......but..... :)
 
Not sure about Banjolele strings but Aquila Nylguts Seem to take 4 days to a week to stretch fully. Hope this helps. :D
 
I'm happy to report it has been 7 days since my original post about the settling of strings.
They have settled reasonably well over the week and when I tuned before playing today, they were just slightly flat. It looks like they'll be okay from here and the intonation has worked well. :) :) :)
 
I got an Ohana soprano with Aquila nylguts in a swap about 3 weeks ago. The strings finally settled. I restrung the 'uke backwards yesterday and tuned it A#-F-C-G to turn it into a re-entrant chording mando-oid. The strings went a semitone flat overnight. Hopefully they'll settle again soon. I must say I'm ambivalent about Nylguts. They sound good on all my ukes, but the stretching times... ay yi yi. I have a set of Martin fluorocarbons arriving soon for my baritone; maybe they'll be a different experience.
 
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