Using .008's

[Gotdablues]

I know the new Roto's come with an extra E string. And it really, to me, is the unwound strings that spoil the punch first. But, cats right on. In a studio session I change before we start, and most often halfway through too. I can absolutely hear the difference in the strings from the first take to, say the forth take. Being accustomed to playing freshy's makes playing fading strings unbearable. On the otherhand if my guitar is sitting around the house I can play it for some time without it bothering me, but not through an amp. Like many things with guitars; if your getting by without it, you don't need it.

Wow. Hobby players like me appreciate hearing from you pros, thanks. Just need to understand what you are saying Ezra, you change strings in the middle of a session and you get the strings to settle(stretch) enough to stay reliably in tune afterwards? Cat you do this too? Now I've heard people say to pull up on the strings to stretch em, but my guitar still needs to sit 2-3 days

[Cat]

'Zacly, Blues...I stretch them. I pull them back and forth over the 12th fret or so sort of like I'm going to launch an arrow off of a bow...but DON'T pull them way farther than you'd push them with your playing. This detunes them maybe four or five times. But when they don't budge...you're okay. For certain, if you are playing through the board (AVID C-24 desk & best ProTools) and have great headphones (Beyer PRO 770)...it's really evident the tone goes away in as little as fifteen minutes. Ezra's right about the ephemeral nature of the tones. Really, brand-spanking new ones have that certain "electric" guitar sound...don't know what to say other than that...other than I buy a 100-pack of single 8's because they pop left and right. Newies aren't really necessary for anything other than the "red light is on" sort of thing. For me...this is where I'm REALLY concentrating on my finger techniques and wringing all the nuance I can out of the guitar. I mean, I'm sitting down at the board, hunched over body of the Ibanez pretty much clamped under my chin...just about drooling on the thing.

Once I get lots of warmups and jamming for maybe an hour...we break...change out...and go for the money. Usually, there's beer and pizzas (and ) during the jamming so they get quite dirty PDQ. So, this ain't no big deal for anyone other than those that are trying for that really up close and personal sound...and I don't mean volume...I mean finesse/touch/feel.

If you guys missed the last reference, check Jeffrey Beckers out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAyocfgbwVk

This YouTube thing is filmed with his bottoms then his overdubs...two cameras...all from a GREAT angle to see how so freakin' LIGHT his touch is. A great tutorial for those that need to be amazed from time to time that people can actually play like this!

Cat

[MinorKey]

At the moment, I have exactly one good pair of shoes, two pairs of jeans - and with a 36" inside leg measurement, I can only get Wranglers or Levis to fit me. They cost around £50 a pair over here. I have got one decent coat....praying the current sunny weather holds up for a couple of days so's I can wash and dry it.

I do have a small pension I've been cashing in since I was 50 - works out at £10 per week, I take it twice yearly in January and July. For the last few years, it's been my guitar money....new amp, new strings, whatever. This year, due to my much reduced circumstances, it'll have to go on clothing and overdue bills. I'll be lucky if I can afford two new sets of strings by the time I've finished!

So you see, you've got to understand how the other half lives. I couldn't live without my guitars....but it's hard work finding the money for essentials, never mind new strings every few hours. I'm not jealous of your success - you've worked hard for it, you deserve it, and as they say in your part of the world, "good on yer, mate!"

But try and remember not all of us have the luxury of being able to change strings willy-nilly after every few hours of wear - it's not just the unemployed (unemployable, feels like at the moment!) like me, it's the people with mortgages and kids (and maybe ex-wives and alimony) and bills to pay who are feeling the pinch at the moment.



(Still smiling even though we're in the grip of a recession and a conservative government....)

Vic

Hey Vic I hear ya. Tho I work I only work part time due to my young kids, one of which is autistic. So money is a bit tight, which is why when I get something its usually bought secondhand, paid in installments. And yes I find strings expensive, people say Try these strings, try lighter, or heavier, but its just not feasible! I change strings only when I need to!

[Gotdablues]

As of this morning it's been 36hrs since I put new strings on the LP, Hybrid slinky .009s this time. And 2 or 3 strings still aint settled in completly. I'm hoping by the time I get home tonight it'll be playable.
It's just been my experience:

1. String guitar
2. Put guitar back in case for a few days

So, normally its not so much the stringin of the guitar or the price but, the waiting period.......

[Cat]

Just shove the strings all over the place for five munutes. Aye, swab the decks, me hearty. Bend the heckers out of every note you play. They'll stop flatting out sooner or later. If they don't, make sure they're wound right on the tuning pegs.

Cat

[TRGuitar]

Just shove the strings all over the place for five munutes. Aye, swab the decks, me hearty. Bend the heckers out of every note you play. They'll stop flatting out sooner or later. If they don't, make sure they're wound right on the tuning pegs.

Cat

That's what I do.

[Cat]

Yeah, TR...it ain't rocket surgery...

Cat

[TRGuitar]

OK Did a restring and a little cleaning/maintenance on an old friend. I used 9's, Ernie Ball's but in keeping with the recent posts, I only had to retune twice and I was good. I noodled, stretched and pounded between tunings and after 2 reps, I was good. See? I do have to mention the old friend is a Gibson Les Paul but still ......

[Cat]

I was given a new Firebird X for my 60th...and it's got motorozed self-tuners. (It's also modelled after the Edsel...WHAT a dud!) The way TR tunes is they way you should do it. Ear & fingers...and some self-checking. Nothing magic...

Cat

[EzraplaysEzra]

Yeah, I just put this on another post too.
I've never had an issue with strings needing time to settle in. I have a strat, I have 5 springs on the trem and the trem set flat on every guitar. I use ultra stupid lite strings, nickle wound strings and I also use baby powder to cut down on sweat and slipping. I also use a lot of hand in my playing if that makes any sense, I'm not on me tips o' me fingers much, so I turn strings into goop wands super fast.
The point I made in my post elsewhere was I spend in strings at a gig, session or rehearsal, half of what my drummer spend on beer and cigg's. I spend in a week what a lot of people would spend on a couple happy meals. So its not as decadent as it all seems. Yes I buy in bulk, yes its a write off, but I'm really not spending too much in the grand scheme.

Back to strings settling in. I change my strings often, I always use the same gauge, my nut is cut specifically for that gauge. I check my intonation every time I plug in. If its off I adjust it but it isn't off very often. I de-tune completely when a guitar travels anywhere. I check EVERY screw on my guitar at the beginning of Every session. I use kluson vintage types because I'm a snob. Screws hate them! Always loose. This week I am drilling out the tuner screw holes in my oldest strat, doweling up the holes and re-drilling pilots for the screws again. I'm pretty sure I did this as recently as last summer on this guitar. I remove my necks periodically coat the bolts in Ivory soap and reinstall, I crown the frets, I replace frets. I have replaced the teeny tiny allen heads on my saddles. I enjoy all of these little rituals, but I do them because I need my guitar to sound and behave exactly the way I expect it to every time. Failure to do so cost me money in some instances. But more so, I just like having that relationship with my guitar. So, I can't say for sure but I think the settling in thing might be a symptom of a minute issue somewhere over the mechanical marriage of strings and instrument. Possibly some string materials are more elastic? Anyway, Are you guys aware that only a handful of companies actually manufacturing strings and they are all using the exact same machine to do it? Yup.

Also, I write professional musician on my taxes and I always feel like someone is going to lock me away for it. I'm not a pro, I pay for 90% of my studio time myself. Seasoned yes, but nobodies knocking down my door to put my licks on their tracks! I'm a hobbyist same as you, man. I've just said yes a whole lot and got to put a lot of time in.

[MinorKey]

When I come to restring the Tanglewood I want to try some heavier strings for blues. The ones on it are awfully light!

[Gotdablues]

So, I can't say for sure but I think the settling in thing might be a symptom of a minute issue somewhere over the mechanical marriage of strings and instrument. Possibly some string materials are more elastic? Anyway, Are you guys aware that only a handful of companies actually manufacturing strings and they are all using the exact same machine to do it? Yup.

I think that's a pretty accurate statement. This Epiphone LP I got a few years ago at Christmas is made in China and totally original, haven't changed a thing 'cept for strings, I do tweak on the innotation, because I'm becoming more and more anal about tunning. I don't have much to complain about though, this guitar is a good quality piece IMO.

It seriously took 2.5 days where I was to the point with the Epi where I didn't have to fool with the tuning every 2 miniutes, but NOW it is totally tight and doesn't go out at all no matter what. Chords sound the same consistently, consistently, consistently (say that 3 times )

[TRGuitar]

Epiphone Les Pauls are good guitars and I like the made in China ones better. I believe Gibson put a portion of the labor savings into better materials. I know some of the MIK ones were alder with a mahogony veneer and the tuners on the chineese ones are Grovers. When I first saw "Made in China" I thought, oh great ........but then I played the thing. I like the sound of the pickups better too. My SG is MIK and not the same instrument. Crappy cheap pots and the pickup poles didn't line up. Sorry ..... I digress ......

Thar 2.5 days should be able to be reduced to a few minutes. I bend the heck out of the strings and strum hard as mentioned above. I was at a Ted Nugent show and his tech was on the side of the stage stringing his guitars both before and during the show. Clean, unstring, restring, play them hard retune, repeat a few times then on to the next guitar.

[racetruck1]

I like a string thats as thick as possible, I learned on heavy strings and did the going lighter route. I can hear a real loss of tone on both acoustic and electric. My custom Buckel guitar has a set of vintage Dimarzio super distortions on it. (circa 78) It just doesn't sound as biting or get the overtones on it with light strings, i.e. less than tens. The light strings just don't have the mass for the aged magnets of the SDs. At least thats my theory of it. I've also gone from a tight action to one thats a bit high. I get a better tone and less "undesirables" aka fret buzz and fretting out. I'm not a speed freak and I pay more attention to the nuances of the ringing note while it rings. My personal faves right now are 13s when I can find them or 12s if I can't, for both acoustic and electric.

I've also gone from thin necks to thicker necks also, I can't actually say why for sure but that's what I've ended up with. I'm not a fan of Fender necks for this reason, I lean more towards Gibby "baseball necks", they fill my hands better. JMHO.

String brands don't really mean much to me any more other than I won't use DR strings, they make my fingertips feel funny, I don't know why. Other than that,anything goes, as long as they are on sale. I haven't broken a string for about twenty years and I do bend a lot, I also massaged my nut and saddles on every guitar I get. Usually have to to get the heavier strings on as most guitars come with 10s on them and slots are too tight for 12s.

If not gigging, rarely change strings, when gigging, change after every venue. If I'm payed to play it is just good respect to the listener to have everything as perfect as possible, after all, I feel they are just putting up with me!

[EzraplaysEzra]

Amen to the fat necks. I play strats and have ran through just about every incarnation of neck profiles there is. The "boat tail" as they refer to them is what I've been on for awhile. Thin little necks are great but you get worn out on them quickly, physically tired from playing them sooner.

Interesting theory about the heavy strings and the old pole pieces (I love those old super distortions by the way) I think it would have to do more with the inductance from the coil than the poles but I can see where hotter pickups would "like" thivker strings more. That's the whole theory behind bass guitar pickups after all. And you'd be aiming for more bass frequencies after all. They don;t call it the super distortion cuz its thin and shrill.