Solution to not having to change strings every fucking day

[JoergieN]

I'm really starting to get tired of having to change strings every time I record a guitar part. I have pieces of like needle sharp guitar strings and shit laying around on my floor, it's hard to get the old strings to coil up properly in my trash can, it's a bitch when I'm in the middle of recording and the new strings decide to go out of tune. But it seems that if I don't change strings they just dull up and sound like shit.

Is there a method to where I could use pod farm clean tones or something to brighten up the shittyness of older strings before reamping? I could try it out myself but I trust the advice of this board before doing anything since I'm not an audio engineer and I suck at mixing. Please note that I do not produce big bands, I record my own music but guitar tone is the only thing that I'm kind of picky about

 

[Charlie E.]

I was just about to ask when most people change strings while tracking...
I'd appreciate any feedback.
Anyways what I do is use fast fret to try to keep the strings nice and fresh. I also make sure to store it away as soon as I'm done. Leaving the guitar out on a stand will just make the strings collect dust and/or moisture humidity etc depending on your conditions.
But yea I hate getting stung by string tips and trying to coil the old strings into a small garbage can. It can be quite a daunting task! :Spin:

 

[updog]

yes, it is a bitch when you're in the middle of recording and your new strings go out of tune... but that's what new strings do. make sure you stretch the strings properly if you aren't doing that yet

you need to either endure your current situation or rethink your priorities; do you REALLY REALLY need the best possible tone for your own demo productions, especially those that will never be published or some other random scratch tracks?

 

[Terminus]

Make your songs up with a set strings and record guide tracks so you know what you're going to do, then when you finalize everything buy a few sets and do a final recording of the songs with the new ones. If you're doing serious demos with intentions to sell or pass them out, definitely use new strings as much as you possibly can. If it's just rough stuff for you and your friends to listen to it's not as important to re-string every song.

 

[JeffTD]

Sounds like you aren't stretching your new strings properly.


Are you doing this for every single thing you record? I don't bother changing strings that often unless it's a final release type of deal. Demos, tests, writing, covers, etc get old strings every time.

 

[drew_drummer]

Sounds like you're being way too anal. Are you seriously changing your strings every day???

Change them when they need it. Not when some bozo on an internet forum tells you to! When I recorded my parts for our next album, I only changed them once in four days. Didn't feel any need to change them anymore than that.

Saying that, if they legitimately are going very very dull after only a few hours playing. Maybe you're playing them too hard, or maybe the brand you're using isn't up to the job.

 

[ForHerDeadEyes]

Well.. New strings, are new strings.. :/
I've heard different arguments on stretching the strings vs. not doing it..
I do stretch them, but medium hard, until they "sit".. in contrast to going Hulk on them and stretching them hard as fuck..
Different approaches and opinions etc.
BUT, here's my take on it and what works for me:

1. When changeing your strings, clean and oil the freatbord from time to time, to dissolve and remove all stringkilling shit..
2. ALWAYS wash your hands and dry them, before touching the strings..
3. Strings loose their shimmer by being stretched, so you can detune your guitar after you've recorded..
4. Wash your fucking chips-and-dip-chocolate-big-whonka-burger-with-extra-mayo-covered hands..
5. Always clean your strings after you've recorded, wipe them down with a dry cloth.. you could use acetone to remove all fat and crap..
But be careful not to touch the fretboard/guitar with the acetone/alcohol.. don't forget to clean the back of the strings aswell..

This might work..
http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/production-tips/710368-yt-match-eq-ir-tutorial.html
If you record the clean strings one by one.. Letting each string ring out maybe 3 - 4 seconds per string..
Then you follow the tutorial above.. and match up your worn strings with the fresh take..
Might work well.. maybe not.. haven't tried it yet..

 

[Full_Tilt]

brand new strings are just as much of a problem as old ones ok so they sound good for sparkly cleans but once you start using preamp gain they might as well have been heavily played in . Ive found many times that brand new strings simply sound too bright .

 

[SwambA]

I've been using the D’Addario EXPs coated stings and they last so much longer than standard D’Addario. I was really amazed, they feel/sound no different than the standard ones also. I used to change my strings at least once a week, now once every 3-4 weeks, even at the point of changing they still don't have that rusty, tarnished, fret scraping, dead thing going on.

 

[locus_coeruleus]

3. Strings loose their shimmer by being stretched, so you can detune your guitar after you've recorded..

I believe that's a great way to fuck up your guitar set up.

 

[bryan_kilco]

do you REALLY REALLY need the best possible tone for your own demo productions, especially those that will never be published or some other random scratch tracks?

THIS.

My current strings are like 3 months old. I've even broke a few of them, and "fixed" them (Floyd Rose, they break at the bridge, snip and unwind from tuning peg, done). They are soooo freaking dull right now.....but I dont have any shows coming up and I only record at home as a hobby/demo ideas so it's not majorly important at all to have fresh strings on. Just add a bit of highs/presence if they are too dull.

 

[ForHerDeadEyes]

I believe that's a great way to fuck up your guitar set up.

Well.. Like I said.. different opinions..
One could argue that changeing your strings every day, would fuck with the setup even more than just a detune in between takes or over night.. especially since it's just for recording demos at home..
What I said works for me..

 

[paladin shredder]

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/acce...noweb-electric-guitar-strings/101539000000000

 

[JoergieN]

Thanks for all the reply's. To answer some question, no I don't change my strings every day, but I do change them every time I go to record guitars, which is less often nowadays. I write music for games so 95% of the time I work with midi, but I'm a little pickier about guitar tone since I'm a guitar player so that's the only instrument that I actually record audio with.

Yes I do stretch the strings out, that's almost a must when using new strings. I think I'm definitely going to just try out new things like coated strings and just figuring out ways to brighten up my DIs. But for my other question, has anyone ever tried to brighten up you DIs using like a clean vst or something like that?

 

[updog]

But for my other question, has anyone ever tried to brighten up you DIs using like a clean vst or something like that?

just give it a shot yourself, that's easy enough to try for yourself without the approval of the internet people :Spin:

it's essentially polishing shit and raising noise levels which is less than desirable, but if bright is what you want then it will work well enough for demo stuff.
for a bright clean signal, instead of (just) eq'ing you could try LePou's LeXtac which imo works great for bright clean tones.

 

[Sloan]

I love Elixers

 

[locus_coeruleus]

Well.. Like I said.. different opinions..
One could argue that changeing your strings every day, would fuck with the setup even more than just a detune in between takes or over night.. especially since it's just for recording demos at home..
What I said works for me..

Hmm, yeah, that makes sense to. But isn't detuning the same thing as, for instance, removing ALL the strings before putting the new ones (instead of changing them one by one)?

 

[ForHerDeadEyes]

Hmm, yeah, that makes sense to. But isn't detuning the same thing as, for instance, removing ALL the strings before putting the new ones (instead of changing them one by one)?

Yeah, I guess it's sort of the same thing..
Although.. I'm in the camp that doesn't remove one string at a time..
Never had an issue..

Of course, the best scenario is to not detune or doing any tricks..

The OP is recording demos at home..
I use D'addario and I can record about 2 - 4 songs (practiced) without a change.. If it goes more than 2 - 3 days of not recording.. I change them again, when I record again..

Some people here seem to change strings every 2 hours..

 

[JoergieN]

The problem is that they're not demos, it's the final product. That's why I'm probably about to outsource the mixing and reamping. I have barely any experience in audio engineering and I have not developed an ear for it yet. But even if I outsourced the engineering part, I would still need to have the midi maps and DI's all done from my home. The midi maps are not an issue obviously but the DI's will need to sound adequate.

Right now I changed strings 2 days ago. I'm going to give it a couple of months and let them get dull then start experimenting with clean tones to try to get a subtle but more new sounding tone. If that doesn't work out, I'll probably just switch to coated strings like elixers. Thanks everyone for the input. After I experiment with this I'll do a shootout or something in a couple of months.

 

[Leon--]

When i have new strings i start recording immediately and then IF the next 1/2/3 days i can notice a difference,then i will change them again,but it really depends.