bbkobabe
Well-known member
Some strings seem to last forever... those Worth clears Rustydusty mentions are in that category. I have a set of Aquila Lava strings that also appear to be super long wearing as well...
It really depends on the brand and the material they are made of. I'm a big fan of the Worth clears, the heavy ones, and Worth browns for my mahogany baritone. And I've tried lots of different kinds!
I read on a guitar forum that 40 hours of playing time is about right for guitars...
Wound strings wear out fast and should be replaced individually IMHO... This has also been mentioned above. It always irritates me when those wound low Gs or wound C strings are worn through when the other strings seem fine... I only use solid drop G strings now, since I got fed up with how fast the wound ones wear out. Worth and Aquila both offer versions of solid low G sets...
That said, I have a set of Baby Baritones on one of my tenors right now that has TWO wound strings... and it is distressing to see how fast they are wearing... But they sound so great that I'm going to put up with that I guess... But they cost about $15 so we'll see if decide to do this again.
Here is a tip I don't see in most videos: I like to loop a rubber band around the neck up by the nut and use it to pin the loose end of the string down while I do the tying (or slipping the string into the notch if you have that type bridge) to keep it from flailing around and getting in the way. Then, put the loose string end through the hole in the tuner capstan, twice through if it will fit. Wind the string once around above where the string emerges through the hole, and then force the string down below that and wind the rest down towards the headstock to really lock it in solid and keep lots of down pressure on the nut.
I takes some practice, but it's not that hard to do. And new strings (almost) always sound so nice that it's totally worth it!
I also use a plastic string winder I got from a guitar store to speed up the process.
And for most strings and most ukuleles, try this: Leave about 2-3 inches of string poking out of the bridge, then tighten up the string and pre-tune it. Next, use tweezers to stuff the string end back up into the hole in the bridge, pull it up through and over the saddle, and trim. This doesn't always work, but I think it gives the cleanest finished look. But don't try to push the end up the hole if the string is still loose or it will untie your knot!
It really depends on the brand and the material they are made of. I'm a big fan of the Worth clears, the heavy ones, and Worth browns for my mahogany baritone. And I've tried lots of different kinds!
I read on a guitar forum that 40 hours of playing time is about right for guitars...
Wound strings wear out fast and should be replaced individually IMHO... This has also been mentioned above. It always irritates me when those wound low Gs or wound C strings are worn through when the other strings seem fine... I only use solid drop G strings now, since I got fed up with how fast the wound ones wear out. Worth and Aquila both offer versions of solid low G sets...
That said, I have a set of Baby Baritones on one of my tenors right now that has TWO wound strings... and it is distressing to see how fast they are wearing... But they sound so great that I'm going to put up with that I guess... But they cost about $15 so we'll see if decide to do this again.
Here is a tip I don't see in most videos: I like to loop a rubber band around the neck up by the nut and use it to pin the loose end of the string down while I do the tying (or slipping the string into the notch if you have that type bridge) to keep it from flailing around and getting in the way. Then, put the loose string end through the hole in the tuner capstan, twice through if it will fit. Wind the string once around above where the string emerges through the hole, and then force the string down below that and wind the rest down towards the headstock to really lock it in solid and keep lots of down pressure on the nut.
I takes some practice, but it's not that hard to do. And new strings (almost) always sound so nice that it's totally worth it!
I also use a plastic string winder I got from a guitar store to speed up the process.
And for most strings and most ukuleles, try this: Leave about 2-3 inches of string poking out of the bridge, then tighten up the string and pre-tune it. Next, use tweezers to stuff the string end back up into the hole in the bridge, pull it up through and over the saddle, and trim. This doesn't always work, but I think it gives the cleanest finished look. But don't try to push the end up the hole if the string is still loose or it will untie your knot!
