When was the last time you changed your strings?

[ploverwing]

Last week. The Reds were seriously frayed at the first fret. I'll be changing them again pronto after my gig on Sunday because I am NOT loving the Hannebachs. I think the Reds probably need changing pretty frequently (i.e. every few months).

 

[Wiggy]

... I have an ammo can that I store strings in and just counted 50 sets in there with not too many duplicates. And that doesn't include the individual strings...

I resemble that! In my case, cigar boxes.
(Boxes found at flea markets...)

 

[KevinFL]

I resemble that! In my case, cigar boxes.
(Boxes found at flea markets...)

Nice. I use cigar boxes for storage too, my preference being the cedar boxes. I also take joy in emptying those boxes one cigar at a time.

 

[rustydusty]

I try to change the strings on the instruments that I play alot, every three months or so.
Strings have a lifespan when tuned to pitch.
When I do change them, the difference is quite noticeable, and I ask myself: “why didn’t I do this sooner?”…

 

[Kenn2018]

Depends on the ukulele and how often I play it. Or, I'm not liking the strings that are on the uke so I change them to see if a different set will sound better.

I try to find out what strings are on my tenors when I acquire them, that way I can always return to them if I wander afar and don't think I have found anything better than the original strings. Interestingly, like jtsteam, I have had that happen a handful of times.

 

[eternal tinkerer]

Depends on the ukulele and how often I play it. Or, I'm not liking the strings that are on the uke so I change them to see if a different set will sound better.

I try to find out what strings are on my tenors when I acquire them, that way I can always return to them if I wander afar and don't think I have found anything better than the original strings. Interestingly, like jtsteam, I have had that happen a handful of times.

I'm in the same boat. I'll potentially change strings a lot right (three times in a couple months, even?) when I first get a new or new-to-me uke. Once I find the right tone and feel, then I'll go a few months to a year depending on how often I play the ukulele.

 

[Jan D]

I already keep my ukuleles safe from harm, tuned, humidified, loved up, and free of fingerprints. You’re saying I have to change their strings too??!!

 

[DuckyI]

Changed a set of Worth CDs that had been on one of my main players for 6 months just last week, replaced with Fremont Blacklines. The Worths were holding tune, no fraying but they had become a little dull and thuddy, and the difference was substantial. Volume, tone, resonance, all back in spades. All that for about the cost of a pint (London prices...), definitely worth it.

 

[ripock]

It has been so long I couldn't remember. I went to Strings By Mail and searched my purchases. I bought the strings that are on my low G uke on Feb. 2, 2021. And the Worth strings on my high G Kamaka are even older. I play a lot but I am a gentle player, mostly fingerpicking melodies and scales. Perhaps that explains the large intervallations between my string changes.

 

[BigJackBrass]

London prices...

London prices? Eeh, you can get a ukulele for that much here in t'North!

 

[miqbri]

I have changed my strings multiple times over the past two months but that is because I am trying out which ones I liked not because they are falling apart. I am sure once I settle on something it won't be that frequent.

 

[about2]

I confess. I am a string changer. I can’t help myself. I changed a set just tonight. I love experimenting.

Tonight’s change was a fun one. I put on Perry’s Octave strings on my Ohana bari. Why? Bc I want to see if my Favilla or Ohana sounds the best with them. I will report back after they’ve settled in.

Monday I changed the strings on a tenor I’m giving to my grandson. I put on a set of Baby Baritone strings for him. And included a set of gcea’s in the bag.

My thinking is, why should two ukes be tuned the same? I’ll make one a high g and the other a low. Or I’ll take one bari and tune it low gcea and the other Dgbe. Or take a third tenor and tune it as a baby bari.
And then there’s the nice tuning of GceA.

The possibilities are wild as are the tones. But it requires a string change here and there.

 

[TBB]

Now I want to know the answer! The question could be taken a couple ways one seeking to answer the question, "How frequently do you change your strings?" and the other, when was the last time that he (McCartney) actually changed strings as opposed to a guitar tech or someone else changing them for him?

My thoughts exactly!


As for strings, I don’t change them very often at all if I can avoid it, I mainly use Living Waters and they seem to last quite well. I put a set of Aquila Reds on my Wunderkammer May recently after hearing how good they sound on @ploverwing ’s Moonbird. I really love the way they sound and will stick with them on that uke, but it’s a shame their lifespan seems to be relatively short because I particularly hate changing strings on the May with its string through bridge and tiny soundhole

 

[Oldscruggsfan]

A question inspired by this clip....

View attachment 162723

Me? Three ukuleles, three years, one string change each. Admittedly, I've only had one of those for half that time, but there ya go .

Does this merit a poll? Such as:

• only when one breaks
• once a year
• every 3 months
• more frequently

 

[ampeep]

I don’t particularly like the process of changing strings, but am always impressed about the sound improvement that results. Noticed that when the wound strings start to look discolored, it’s time to change ‘em.

 

[ailevin]

I've changed complete string sets on my soprano twice in the last couple months, mostly experimenting with string tension and brands. I switched a new tenor from high G to low G. I also have tended to try both high and low G when I get a new ukulele, if that counts as a string change. I went back and forth between high and low G on all three of my Wow ukuleles.

On on "daily players" we haven't yet broken a string, but after close to a year of playing we replaced strings on both of them. Also, we had a string that just wasn't right after we had new strings put on after a set up. It was a tenor C string that seemed to play out of tune up the fretboard. I had the luthier replace it on the spot and the problem was solved.

 

[70sSanO]

Strings seem to go through an odd, and lengthy, transformation.

I’ve noticed that months after a string change, I’ll have to continue to tune the strings, even it is it only by a few cents.

While some of this might be environmental changes, I attribute it to a continual stretching since I rarely find them tuned too sharp.

But I have also found that a particular ukulele will sound better, or worse, at different times of the year. Whether it is me or the uke, I can’t say.

All of my ukuleles kind of compete with each other. If I’m happy with the sound of a particular ukulele, I leave it alone, even after years with the same strings. If I am not happy the the sound of some particular notes, especially soft playing, I might set it aside and revisit, or start swapping out the strings.

I really don’t have a set time table.

John

 

[man0a]

Change the strings when they need to be changed.

Symptoms of worn out strings can include visible wear., but they will also become hard to keep in tune without any wear if you play a lot.

If you perform and expect the audience to buy tickets, do the work to make your uke sound the best for the performance. Which includes monitoring your strings and changing them when ever necessary to get the best sound. Of course some players will like the sound of worn out strings, which is fine if that is the sound you want to present when you perform for an audience. As strings on ukuleles can take a while to settle, performers need to plan to change strings in time for them to be stable at the next performance.

Professional musicians have told me the opposite. When strings seem to stay in tune for an unusually long time, then they should be replaced because they have likely lost their resonance due to over-stretching. Strings sound noticeably worse before wear and tear becomes visible.

 

[smspears17]

The opposite of what though? "Which includes monitoring your strings and changing them when ever necessary to get the best sound." Which is what I posted as well, do you think professional performers do the opposite if this? If you sell tickets to a show, of course you are not going keep strings which have become overstretched and do not sound as good as new strings.

Unless you like the way they sound after they have lost their resonance, and they still stay in tune. Ukulele players are allowed to have this sound if that is what they want. Including if they are performers. When amplified it might even suit some music genres. There are famous guitar players who famously avoid changing strings until the strings break, no doubt they can also afford a guitar tech to get around the tuning problems.

I am not going to post an exhaustive list of when you should change strings. Mostly because I don't know all the reasons. For UU members who still don't even know the names of the notes on the fretboard, there are some things they can easily notice, like physical damage and tuning problems. I suspect more than a few would not know or care too much if the strings have been overstretched and are a bit dull, read the comments on how long they leave the strings on the ukes. However, if you want to sell tickets to a show, that is not good enough and you do have to take a lot more notice of when you should change strings because you are selling a product to the audience.

I think they meant opposite of them being difficult to keep in tune. If strings going out of tune means that they are still stretching, then it seems reasonable that the uke staying in tune far longer than it should means the strings have lost their "give."

 

[Wiggy]

Such a conundrum. My belief is that a string has not settled until it is done stretching. This is along its whole scale length. That can take several weeks or more before it will hold the tune. Somewhere in my cobwebs I read that the molecular structure of the string will stabilize at [along] the scale length and pitch to which it is tuned. That is why it is important to keep all your instruments tuned at all times.