# Octaves, Zouks, Citterns, Tenors and Electrics > CBOM >  How long is a piece of string?

## Shan Andy

I know I've answered my own question in the title but I'd like to ask:

How long do your strings last before they need to be replaced?

I ask because I'm a very happy new owner of a Hathway short scale bouzouki that I bought at the end of January. It was fitted with New Tone strings and they began to deteriorate after a few weeks. No bother, thought I: after all, I'd no idea how long they'd been on the instrument. And besides, Paul threw in a set of replacements. So I fitted them.

Now, about six weeks later they're showing real signs of age, particularly the E strings which have developed an audible ting that's different from the expected bouzouki twang. Is this within "normal" life expectancy?

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## John Kelly

So much depends on the player and his/her style of playing, and on the personal chemistry of the player too, so "normal" life-expectancy is very hard to define.

Some folk generate more acid in their fingers which can corrode the strings faster.  How much do you play and how hard do you pick?

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## Colin Lindsay

> Now, about six weeks later they're showing real signs of age, particularly the E strings which have developed an audible ting that's different from the expected bouzouki twang. Is this within "normal" life expectancy?


It's funny but it takes about that long with me before I feel that new strings have bedded in properly; when new they can be very bright and twangy but they settle in after a while and I reckon a month / six weeks has them bedded in nicely, to where they've lost that new brassiness and are now mellowed down a bit. I always restring any new instrument to my own preferred brand and tension, so no matter what they're fitted with, once it arrives with me they're off and replaced. I replace them once they start sounding 'dull', which varies between instruments  - my guitar strings (Martin) have been fitted for about four years now and I only noticed last night that they're not as accommodating as they used to be, so they'll be replaced within a week or so. My Fylde bouzouki is coming up on two years now (D'Addario strings) and they still sound good. I'm not playing as much as I did a while ago, due to a house move and a lot of on-going renovation work, but once I get a bit of free time I'll see how the strings on other instruments are bearing up. 
My Bulgarian tamboura is on the same strings that I put on it when I bought it three years ago, and my Oud has never been changed as I'm still plotting string sizes for it - the sole exception to my rule of restringing new instruments, as I want to get a feel for it first.
As John says, it all depends on how much you play, and your individual style.

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## JeffD

My general rule of thumb is that as soon as I suspect the strings need changing (for what ever reason), I change them. If a string breaks I quickly change it to get back in the action, but that evening I will change all the others as well. Its normally something on the order of three times a year, for the amount of playing I do, and how I play.

Also the type of strings is important. Some of the flat wound and coated strings last much longer. 

I haven't done any experiments, but I think it matters if you wipe your strings down when you put your mandolin back in its case after playing.

And, of course, folks that rotate through their stable of mandolins are not going to wear out any particular set as fast.

Some folks have much more corrosive skin chemistry, and that makes a huge difference as well.

It is probably nowhere more true that YMMV.

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## JeffD

I had to learn myself that lasting a long time is not the most important thing about a set of strings. The criteria is how they sound. 

I find it is not uncommon that a set of strings will be too bright when brand new, and take a week or so of playing before wearing into the tone I love. Then I can usually expect on a run of something like 10 weeks of great sound, sometimes a lot more, depending on a whole lot of variables, (including my tolerance for strings past their prime).

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## Denny Gies

I used to use J74's but switched to Elixir nano coated ones and they last me waaaaaaaaaaaay longer than the J74's.

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## JeffD

> I used to use J74's but switched to Elixir nano coated ones and they last me waaaaaaaaaaaay longer than the J74's.


Same with the Thomastik Infeld. They last much longer than J74s.

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## Eric Platt

Just changed the J72's on my Eastman octave because I installed Rubner tuners. They had been on for just under a month. Probably 60 hours or so of playing time. Still sounded good, but the new set is a lot brighter. Almost too bright.  Hopefully they'll mellow out some in the near future. Otherwise, might have to use a slightly heaver pick during practice.

FWIW, the strings on my A Jr. got were changed after a year. Those were regular D'Addario lights. For that instrument, I want a fairly dull, dark tone.

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## Bertram Henze

I have developed a regular routine of cleaning (1) the strings after playing and of changing them after 2 months. I like it bright&brassy, and dull tone and slowly rising risk of breakage in mid-play (2) had me gravitate to that schedule.

1 - without that, I'd have to change after 3 weeks
2 - I hate changing strings under field conditions, i.e. in a session.

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## Reinhardt

I change my bouzouki strings about every 6 weeks. I personally like that nice new bright and lively tone. I just think it makes the instrument more responsive and easier to play. I use Daddarios phosphour bronze which in my experience are just fantastic. I make up my own sets which is a bit more expensive than I'd like but I've discovered a great new site "Strings and Beyond" in the US. They occasionally supply strings post free to Europe. This results in the strings being half the price I normally pay here in Ireland so I buy in bulk (have 3 bouzoukis!!).

I agree with a previous poster re the individual chemical make up of musicians hands. some react pretty badly with strings!! I had an experience of that a few weeks ago in a session. I brought my Mandolin along which had really bright and fairly new strings on. Gave it to a pal who played it solid for about an hour. The strings were as dead as a Dodo when I got the mando back later that night. Couldnt believe it!!

I used to use nicle wound strings on my bouzoukis which werent bad. I used to boil up the wound strings for about a minute and they were almost as good as new when I put them back on. Doesnt seem to work as well with bronze strings though!!

John

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## James Miller

Am going with the title... twice the distance from the middle to one end.

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## Shan Andy

> Am going with the title... twice the distance from the middle to one end.


But which end?

More seriously, how do you go about cleaning strings?


Given that I'm playing for about an hour a day, and probably haven't developed a particularly delicate technique, it seems I'm at the lower end of reasonable. So anything that prolongs string life is a good thing.

Thanks for all the replies

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## Steve Ostrander

For me it depends on how much I've played. If I play a couple gigs, the strings may only last 3 weeks. If not, then they might last a couple months. I haven't found that cleaning them makes a significant improvement.

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## Bertram Henze

> More seriously, how do you go about cleaning strings?
> 
> 
> Given that I'm playing for about an hour a day, and probably haven't developed a particularly delicate technique, it seems I'm at the lower end of reasonable. So anything that prolongs string life is a good thing.
> 
> Thanks for all the replies


Cleaning agent and tish towel.
First wet a spot of the towel with agent and distribute on all the strings (important: also between bridge and tailpiece). Let that solve the dirt for a minute. Then wipe it all with a dry patch of the towel, removing dirt and agent.
I use Dr Duck's Ax Wax, works well and smells pleasant. Ballistol does the same job. I tried Dunlop string cleaner for a while but found it kills the tone faster than not cleaning at all would.

P.S. it's all demonstrated here.

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## James Miller

Lil green scratcher pads work for me, with the grains. Microfiber cloth works great for the undersides of things. Do not play with dirty hands! Go wash your paws before playing the mandolin!

Measuring from the middle does not matter which end.

Luv my Seagull  :Smile:

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## Shan Andy

> Do not play with dirty hands! Go wash your paws before playing the mandolin!


I'll make sure I bear that in mind

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## Roger Moss

When I read this header, I thought you were trying to pose a conundrum, like "How high is 'up'?" I was excited about reading a long list of Zen koans.

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## Mark Gunter

Watching Bertram's string cleaning video was way more entertaining than reading a long list of Zen koans. High drama and comedy. Serious documentary. Has a bit of everything there.

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Bertram Henze

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## Ray(T)

I've also found that strings tend to last longer in the winter than the summer; possibly due to sweatier hands.

Although it won't affect the unwound strings, wound strings from Newtone can either have hexagonal or round cores. The hexagonal ones are brighter than to round ones and Newtone tell me that the latter have a slightly warmer, played in, tone.

As for cleaning strings, I can't ever remember bothering to do so. When they sound off, I simply change them.

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