New Strings…

[Juan Luis Vidal]

A mixture of Ernie Ball 10s, 11s and 10-52...depending on the guitar

 

[deepender]

Interesting - I found if I don't stretch them enough, they definitely have tuning issues after playing, even just from rhythm but especially after bends and lead work. Maybe I just bash them too hard with my right hand?

I used to just accept the fact that it was going to take some time for the strings to “settle in” for some stability after bending. Then I watched a pro change strings and realized I needed to be more aggressive in my stretch technique. Now, after winding the strings on the peg under moderate tension and bringing them into tune, I give each string a hard “Z” stretch, retune, stretch, retune, etc. until the stretch no longer pulls the string flat. Rock solid stability ever since.

 

[DISTORT6]

I thought the “What picks?” thread was next.

 

[Victor Vector]

I thought the “What picks?” thread was next.

Nope its the do you bevel your picks thread lol

 

[DISTORT6]

Nope its the do you bevel your picks thread lol

Don’t worry…it will turn into “What pick?”… guaranteed

 

[MichaelS]

Don’t worry…it will turn into “What pick?”… guaranteed

Lemme help you...
.88 green Dunlop Tortex triangle picks... BUT I sand the tips pointier (usually during online meetings without camera).

EDIT: oops... noticed there's a thread for this now...
https://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/do-you-ever-bevel-you-picks-and-what-your-go-to-shape.57639/

 

[Headset]

Im a fan of wiping down my strings with plain paper or cloth and every now and then adding string cleaner and a quick wipe down. My sweat seems to be really corrosive so I’m in the habit of wiping down the strings every 1-2 play sessions and wipe down the fretboard every 1-2 weeks. I probably change strings on a guitar 2-3 times a year (full tune up including oiling the fingerboard and body polish). That’s largely because I own so many guitars now. When I was younger I would change strings every 1-2 months. If I pushed it to two months I usually broke a string.

I used Ernie Ball for the majority of my time as a guitarist. I recently switched over to PRS signature and I’m preferring these. They don’t sound as “twangy” as new strings used to feel. I generally prefer the sound of strings about 1-2 weeks after they’ve been replaced but I find the PRS strings seem to hold their tone more consistently then I’m used to.

When it comes to tuning and string stretching, I only remove two strings at a time (one each from bass and treble end, only for floating bridges). I restring and tune that pair before unwinding another pair. As I finish each pair I retune the instrument. Once that’s done I stretch the strings by hand for just a minute or so. I retune again and sometimes a ball bearing will move inside the bridge and I’ll retune again (feels like it’s always only 1 string no matter how detailed I am). At that point I play for a few minutes, usually tune back up to pitch once and the guitar will stay in tune perfectly fine. I credit the string change process and the stretching in maintaining stable tuning. I would imagine removing so much tension all at once to add it back again is more strenuous on the instrument than maintaining a tensile strength closer to the instruments tuning throughout the process but that’s just my speculation.

 

[Chef T]

He Probably Doesn't Change The Oil Either...Even More Savings! (In His Mind)

wait… you mean I’m supposed to change my oil filter each time I change the oil?