How long you go between string changes depends on a few factors.
Do your strings look rusty or black? Change them. Have they been on your guitar for more than a year? Change them. Does your guitar keep going out of tune? Change them. When in doubt, it's best to replace your strings. The nice thing about guitar strings is that they're fairly inexpensive, so there's really not much of an excuse for not changing them.
What kind of strings should you use?
Guitar strings are pretty confusing especially to a beginning guitar student. There are multiple thicknesses, brands, materials, and much more to consider. Again, since they're not very expensive if you find a set you don't like, get rid of them.
There are three basic types of strings, and many variations.
A classical guitar has nylon strings, an acoustic has steel strings, and an electric also has steel strings although they're usually made of different materials. Nylon strings have 3 or sometimes 4 wound strings which have an inner core of nylon or silk wrapped with very thin wire. The unwound strings are nylon and resemble fishing line.
A steel string, acoustic guitar has strings that are usually made of nickel, bronze or phosphor bronze. The bronze strings have a brighter sound than nickel and project a little better.
Electric guitars have strings that are usually nickel, and they're generally thinner (lighter) than acoustic guitar strings.
Those are the bare bones basics of guitar strings. In future blogs I'll go into more detail about ways for a beginning guitar student to choose the right strings.
Do your strings look rusty or black? Change them. Have they been on your guitar for more than a year? Change them. Does your guitar keep going out of tune? Change them. When in doubt, it's best to replace your strings. The nice thing about guitar strings is that they're fairly inexpensive, so there's really not much of an excuse for not changing them.
What kind of strings should you use?
Guitar strings are pretty confusing especially to a beginning guitar student. There are multiple thicknesses, brands, materials, and much more to consider. Again, since they're not very expensive if you find a set you don't like, get rid of them.
There are three basic types of strings, and many variations.
A classical guitar has nylon strings, an acoustic has steel strings, and an electric also has steel strings although they're usually made of different materials. Nylon strings have 3 or sometimes 4 wound strings which have an inner core of nylon or silk wrapped with very thin wire. The unwound strings are nylon and resemble fishing line.
A steel string, acoustic guitar has strings that are usually made of nickel, bronze or phosphor bronze. The bronze strings have a brighter sound than nickel and project a little better.
Electric guitars have strings that are usually nickel, and they're generally thinner (lighter) than acoustic guitar strings.
Those are the bare bones basics of guitar strings. In future blogs I'll go into more detail about ways for a beginning guitar student to choose the right strings.
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