When should I change my guitar strings you might ask. Although changing your guitar strings can seem like a daunting task, it is something all guitarists must do.
Changing your guitars’ strings is important for keeping your guitar clean in tip top shape. If you haven’t changed your strings in a while, it might be time!
New strings make a world of difference when you have been playing the same old and worn out strings. Improving the sound quality and playing experience is enough to get you motivated to pick up your guitar more often.
Below we discuss the signs telling you that your guitar is ready for new strings!
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When Should I Change My Guitar Strings
It is recommended that you change your strings every 3 months. But apart from that, there are other physical signs that tell us when our strings are ready to be replaced. However, you should not wait until you see these signs before deciding to replace your strings.
Your Strings Have Rust
Rust occurs when your guitar is not stored in a good place. Humidity, spills, and old age will result in string rust, and an uncomfortable playing experience. If your strings look brown and grimy, you should definitely replace them.
Your Strings Feel Gritty
Your strings should make playing feel easy. With clean guitar strings, your fingers can slide around the fretboard with ease. However, gritty strings increase playing difficulty because additional friction is created. That grit comes from head sweat, and weathering from external forces. If your guitar has not been stored properly, your strings will erode. That is how you know it’s time.
You Strings Are Discolored
Your guitar strings should be silver, not brown! You can compare the part of the strings that are above the nut to the part that’s over the fretboard. If you can see a drastic difference between the part of the string that you do play versus the part that you don’t, a string change is long overdue.
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Why Do My Guitar Strings Smell
Many guitarists have noticed that their strings smell after extended use. If you play your guitar a lot, the residue, dirt, and sweat on our hands transfers over to the guitar strings. All that grime collects over time and can even make the strings smell! This is why maintaining them is important.
How To Change Your Guitar Strings
Every guitarist should know how to change their strings. It can seem scary at first, which is why we can procrastinate, but once you do it a few times it becomes easier. Depending on what kind of guitar you have, the approach you take will be different. Below are some videos that can help you out.
Acoustic
Electric
Final Words
If playing the guitar feels grimy, is discolored, or even smells bad, it’s time to cage your strings.
The methods for restringing varies between the type of guitar you have, but overall the process is the same.
It can be easy to put off changing the strings on our guitars, but every serious guitar player should change their own strings, because it is necessary to maintain the cleanliness and quality of our instrument.
If you want to learn about guitar strings you can read these articles:
How To Take Guitar Strings Off
How Many Strings Do Guitars Have (How Many CAN They Have)?
What Are The Letters Of Each Guitar String?
