Just did a test: brand new strings VS old strings.....

[bryan_kilco]

and I have to say, I'm not hearing much of a noticeable difference at all.

Would the interface/preamp/converters, being lower quality (Fast Track Pro), be masking the tonal qualities here? Or are my ears just shot?

Recorded some doodling with OLLLLLD strings (like...6 months old, and I'm super ashamed I let it go that long) and then slapped on a brand new set of the same exact strings and recorded some more doodling.

I can sort of hear a SLIGHT cleaner sound in the new strings, but for some reason the older strings seemed louder. Too floppy, maybe, wabbling closer to the pickups?

With an amp sim applied on high gain, I cannot hear a difference whatsoever....listening through headphones.

Someone tell me I'm crazy?!?!

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

Listen to held chords...there should be a lot more high end there (this is the most obvious difference IMO). If not, then either your old strings were not old or you hit the strings like a pussy.

 

[JakeAC5253]

I'm weird about this. I actually don't like the sound of new strings, it's like there's a lacking of mids or fullness or something, or maybe they're just too bright, idk. Some guys go crazy and change strings once a week. I almost never change strings, not casually anyway, I wait until they need to be changed. Listen to the DIs rather than a HG amp sim, you should hear a drastic difference then.

 

[Trevoire520]

Even through a high gain amp I hear a MASSIVE difference between new and old strings. Old one's have a significant loss in high frequencies that cannot be rectified by changing amp settings or post-eq.

I was just having a chat about this with a guy that was in rehearsing today actually. I did sound for them at a gig a couple of weeks ago and during soundcheck had to tell him to turn his treble/presence up as his rig was sounding a bit dark. Came in today and said that he changed his strings after that and now everything's sounding MUCH better.

 

[stilllifer]

Even through a high gain amp I hear a MASSIVE difference between new and old strings. Old one's have a significant loss in high frequencies that cannot be rectified by changing amp settings or post-eq.

I was just having a chat about this with a guy that was in rehearsing today actually. I did sound for them at a gig a couple of weeks ago and during soundcheck had to tell him to turn his treble/presence up as his rig was sounding a bit dark. Came in today and said that he changed his strings after that and now everything's sounding MUCH better.

This. Old strings sound like ass compared with new strings, regardless of the brand. There is tons of high-end and sustain loss with old strings. Change strings based on the level of use. Takes no time at all and completely need to be done.

 

[bryan_kilco]

Hmm, well I definitely don't play like a pussy (at least, I'm pretty sure I dont! ).....

But yeah, the most difference I notice is how the strings feel and not how they sound. I can upload a clip for ya'll but I guess it's not really worth the hassle.....just never did this test before and wanted to post my experience. I'd say, for me, the difference wouldn't be noticeable in a mix.....

 

[bryan_kilco]

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/6443251/Old Strings VS New Strings test.mp3

Just a short clip of both new and old.....maybe my ears are just very fucked up but the difference is so small to me that it wouldn't matter.

No post processing.

Signal chain is: EMG81 - Fast Track Pro - DAW - TSE808 (gain just a hair above 0, tone and volume halfway), Le456, and Lecab with "EDGE -11 Inch ala Sneap pic" impulse.....

Maybe it's my not-so-great headphones, or the shitty speakers I monitor on?

 

[Clark Kent]

Truth be told you won't be hearing much of a difference on a distorted tone. If you're playing clean guitar you'll definitely hear a big difference.

 

[ulverine]

Truth be told you won't be hearing much of a difference on a distorted tone. If you're playing clean guitar you'll definitely hear a big difference.

Pardon me if this is too obvious and slightly off-topic, but when doing the matching EQ technique, does it really matter how old/new the strings are since whatever's going in the chain is going to become matched with the target anyway? One could essentially have year-old strings on a decent guitar and still have success matching?

 

[C-Martin]

Truth be told you won't be hearing much of a difference on a distorted tone. If you're playing clean guitar you'll definitely hear a big difference.

I still hear a noticeable difference even on high gain tones. Even before i knew it was the "correct" thing to do to replace your strings before recording, even when i started playing guitar, i could hear the difference.

I too used to hated how new strings sounded, i preferred the sound of maybe a day or two old strings but not weeks old. I still do but for a different reason today, not for recording. The thing is, i think people forget old strings are going to be a bit muffled and therefor you don't hear your guitar as much acoustically in the room. If you are playing the guitar at the same time your monitoring and tweaking the amp, all in the same room, you may be letting the new "twangy" string sound in the room influence your judgement. You "think" you don't like it because your hearing/feeling the guitar and strings resonating near you and thus it affects the tone "you" hear but the mic or audience don't hear this, they hear only what comes out of the amp/speakers. Ideally, you should be doing these test by recording a DI track and then reamping it, then you are listening to the actual sound of the signal and not a mix of the acoustic sound of your instrument and the sound coming out of the speakers. This affects mostly amp sims or when your micing a cab in a different room because you have the monitors lower than what a guitar amp would be cranked up to, but it could affect you even if your next to the amp itself.

This is something i've noticed that affects me and others i've recorded anyways, it may or may not be the case for some of you but i've seen it happen.

 

[C-Martin]

Pardon me if this is too obvious and slightly off-topic, but when doing the matching EQ technique, does it really matter how old/new the strings are since whatever's going in the chain is going to become matched with the target anyway? One could essentially have year-old strings on a decent guitar and still have success matching?

Good luck getting a clear and defined tone with year old strings... The thing is, it's not like it's just as simple as a high shelve cutting a few db of high end. Your basically killing the clarity of your signal and there's no amount of EQ you can do post that will fix that, what isn't there in the first place will never be there.

Then again, i have basically acid sweat and after 2 or 3 days of playing on the same strings, it becomes a muddy mess and i lose all clarity so YMMV. If i go over a week, usually strings start to break off anyways and definitely need replacements if i hold off for that long. I know one of my friends can play the same strings for 3-4 weeks before they get anywhere near as corroded as mine, i can still hear the tone change though, it's just slower degradation due to his sweat reacting differently i guess.

 

[Star Ark]

Biggest loss is tuning/intonation/sustain

These are all very important for recording, especially if your arrangements include quad tracking or lots of harmonies or guitar parts played all over the neck. Once a fresh set of strings are on you should check action and intonation and neck tension before doing any serious recording. A fresh set of strings is so much cheaper than pretty much anything else you could spend money on and adds a bigger difference to the end result. Properly tuned and setup instruments are the most important thing, and very cheap to obtain/maintain.

Personally I love new string high end, I love that zing, especially through a tube head.

 

[searanox]

Biggest loss is tuning/intonation/sustain

These are all very important for recording, especially if your arrangements include quad tracking or lots of harmonies or guitar parts played all over the neck. Once a fresh set of strings are on you should check action and intonation and neck tension before doing any serious recording. A fresh set of strings is so much cheaper than pretty much anything else you could spend money on and adds a bigger difference to the end result. Properly tuned and setup instruments are the most important thing, and very cheap to obtain/maintain.

Personally I love new string high end, I love that zing, especially through a tube head.

Agreed. Old strings might sound okay in person, especially if you're used to them, and sometimes they can even sound more like guitars on albums due to the way they are recorded or EQ'd - but do any recording yourself and you will soon learn that even with EQ tweaks, mic placement etc. you can't make up for what's no longer there - clarity, sustain, intonation, articulation, etc.

I have a similar feeling about using Tube Screamers as boosts. I love them, and they add a ton of rich harmonics to your sound, but sometimes they feel shrill, like they cut out too much in the low end and add a sort of nasal, honky quality... until you hear your guitars in a mix and realize that you actually need the low cut for bass and drums to be heard, and the nasal quality translates to a nice shimmer that cuts through everything else. You can't always trust your own ears - it's mics and other more objective listeners that should be the final judge of your tone, not just your own jaded ears.

 

[colonel kurtz]

old strings sound OK to me

...until i put on new ones. then i wonder what the fuck i was thinking in even allowing my shit to sound that bad

i'm also with jake on not being huge on the sound of brand new strings...i'm not big on that metallic clank they give off when you first put them on, but that goes away after like an hour of playing so it's all good

 

[bryan_kilco]

Had practice last night.

The new strings sounded and felt soooo much better to play on than the old ones through the TS -> Mark IV rig. Not to mention, probably a few dB louder.

I don't know why I let them go so long....just wasn't gigging or recording much so I just said "fuggit"....but now I'll be back to changing them every couple weeks.

 

[Mago]

difference of new vs old strings is a lot less obvious on ampsims

Through a real amp it makes a huge difference

 

[zakky]

difference of new vs old strings is a lot less obvious on ampsims

Through a real amp it makes a huge difference

+1.............ampsims cover up your playin(strings too).....real tube amps dont hide nothing

 

[BLUElightCory]

Even through a high gain amp I hear a MASSIVE difference between new and old strings. Old one's have a significant loss in high frequencies that cannot be rectified by changing amp settings or post-eq.

I was just having a chat about this with a guy that was in rehearsing today actually. I did sound for them at a gig a couple of weeks ago and during soundcheck had to tell him to turn his treble/presence up as his rig was sounding a bit dark. Came in today and said that he changed his strings after that and now everything's sounding MUCH better.

Totally agree. It shouldn't be hard to notice a difference at all, unless you're using inherently dark or mellow sounding strings (flat/half wounds, pure nickel, etc.).

I almost always have the artist change strings every few hours (of tracking time) because the high end dropoff is really noticeable.

 

[kev]

Yep, like night & day for me. I'm not sure i'd ever worry about changing strings every couple of hours unless it was a pretty beastly release!

 

[Trevoire520]

Pardon me if this is too obvious and slightly off-topic, but when doing the matching EQ technique, does it really matter how old/new the strings are since whatever's going in the chain is going to become matched with the target anyway? One could essentially have year-old strings on a decent guitar and still have success matching?

Go and look up this awesome thing called "harmonics"

EDIT: Sorry that probably came off more sarcastic and cunt-ish than I intended

But yeah someone hit the nail on the head earlier, you can't eq in what isn't there anymore. And as strings get older you quickly lose high frequency information and once it's gone you can't replace it.