Dead strings.

[kennyhowes]

Who here likes the sound & feel of old strings?

Kenny raises his hand, with the qualification that yes, if they're so dead they won't hold pitch then it's time for new ones.

Now here's my question: is there a way, especially with acoustic guitar strings, to make them less bright, other than simply breaking them in? I really like that "hearing the wood" sound.

[winston]

I love old strings also........with the same qualification as you Kenny. I have nothing to offer however, on the subject of breaking in strings faster. I wonder if there is in fact a way of speeding this process up?

[jps]

I like old/old sounding strings on my basses, I am not a fan of extreme zing; on my guitars I like them "broken in" but not too dead sounding (except on my acoustic guitar, where I do like a brighter tone), this is where flats rule.

[jps]

I have nothing to offer however, on the subject of breaking in strings faster. I wonder if there is in fact a way of speeding this process up?

I think Jaco Pastorius recommended chicken grease.

[FretlessOnly]

'Tis true. He used to eat a bucket of KFC before playing. This has two benefits:

1. It cures hunger.
2. It clogs bass strings.

Problem with guitar is you'll end up with four dead strings and two bright ones (assuming you use a wound G, which is the only way to go with chicken). Same with the BBQ sauce treatment.

I've always found with guitar strings that 2-3 days of heavy playing is enough to really deaden them. Or, you could try TI Jazz Flats. I have them on my 650D and they sound great. The only problem there is you'll likely end up cutting all or almost all of the silk ends off.

[jcreasy]

When I was a kid, I used to pledge my unfinished guitar necks with the strings on and I feel like that aged them...

My 2 cents, anyways.

JKC

[blue330]

This is a great topic! And an under-appreciated fact: strings get better with use, the note comes through more, and the tuning tightens up. And of course eventually they've had it, but sometimes it takes years. When I tell people how long I keep strings on instruments and I usually get this "ha ha , very funny" sort of response, but semi-dead-string enthusiasts know the truth! There are so many great acoustic guitar sounds on records, usually older ones, that sound like not-new strings, and it's so nice to hear all that pitch information coming through as opposed to the ultra-tech, sort of all-percussion top end you hear on so many modern recordings. Same for electrics, of course. I think electric strings get good after about 3 days of playing and stay that way a long time- unless you have Death Sweat, which a lot of people have. I'm talking about those people who can leave tarnish spots on metals, like nickel, almost immediately. This is pretty common, and I know a guy who can kill strings in about 5 min. of playing. You can usually find somebody like that to help you if you are in a hurry to break in a new set! In the studio I routinely see people changing strings that aren't even broken in... it's a pity.

[jcreasy]

OK... this is funny. To each his own.

When I was playing out regularly, I changed strings and cleaned the fretboard once per week (wipe downs in between). We had a marathon practice one night, then both weekend nights most of the time and noodling in between, so I'd say 15 hours of heavy, sweaty use. Not much, but my guitars were always clean and taught feeling on the neck, which I liked.

The other guitarist in my band had what you call the "... death sweat." I kidded him all the time about it being uric acid or some other corrosive material because his guitar always felt filthy. He played a cheapie and his sweat literally corroded the "... chrome" control knobs on his guitar and it looked like something from the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald!

To make a long story short, I prefer bright, fresh strings and a pretty taught set-up. Kenny probably uses flat, worn out strings because he's so damn'd short.

JKC

[analogpackrat]

At least partly dead is better to me. Maybe 5-10 hours of playing removes the excessive zing. But then I mostly play bright guitars. And I hate changing strings anyway, so it all works out

[paologregorio]

I was going to suggest zymoel on the fretboard, strings and all.

[doctorwho]

It's been years since I changed the strings on my 460, and they are just now starting to sound like they need to be changed. IMO, it's not time, but sound that is the deciding factor as to when to change strings.

[rickenbrother]

I love old strings also........with the same qualification as you Kenny. I have nothing to offer however, on the subject of breaking in strings faster. I wonder if there is in fact a way of speeding this process up?

Eat pizza and fried chicken, then immediately play your guitar, but don't wash your hands.

But seriously though, if you prefer not to have the zing of new strings, wouldn't it be better to use just flatwounds? (speaking as a bassist would)

[winston]

I can't stand flat wound strings on a guitar or bass. I don't like my strings to sound dead Joey.

[analogpackrat]

I've got some kind of flats on the 320 I bought a couple of years ago. They are the strings it had on it when I bought it used, but they looked new at the time. See, there's more evidence that I hate changing strings . They're 0.012s and I don't really like them. I have a set of TI flats to try out, but haven't gotten around to changing them out. I hope I like them better that whatever is on there now. So far I like old, mellow rounds better than any flats I've tried, which admittedly isn't a large sample.

I wonder if there is an oil that doesn't go rancid that could be lightly wiped on new strings that would "age" them?

[rkbsound]

I only change strings when I break them. That said, I have a bunch of guitars and I don't get to play all that often -- maybe a couple of hours a week. Some guitars have had the same strings for 5 or more years. I agree that the "dead-er" sound can offer a more mellow, natural sounding tone. Laziness is also a factor. Perfection in music to me is equal to sterilization.