How often do you change your strings? Many guitarists don’t change them as often as they should, which can actually impair on your performance. For this reason alone, it’s always worth considering when to change your set of strings.

Musicians should plan to change strings on average every 3 months. They also can change it after around 100 hours of practice. Usually, strings may last twice as long, and you can use them as long as they do not break but, of course, it’s a good thing to change them regularly.

Here are some points to consider about your strings:

• If you’re using a guitar two hours a day, then it is needed to change the strings at least once per month. Frequent use of the guitar make its strings weaker than ever, so they need to be replaced. If the musician plays less often – like an hour every day, for instance – then the strings should be changed every six or eight weeks, or every three months or so.
• Sometimes, when you are unable to get your preferred sound in your guitar, then it could be a good idea to change the string, as different gauges (and how new they are) affect the tone.
• If you find your strings rusty and discolored, it means that they can end up breaking, sooner rather than later. You will feel more uncomfortable playing your guitar, and you may even hurt your fingers. In this case, you need to change your strings as soon as possible. Playing rusty strings is never a good idea!
• If you keep your guitar in a humid environment, then it is advisable to change your strings more often, as there is more chance for them to get rusty and discoloured. Even if you don’t play the guitar more often, you’ll have to change your strings if your home environment is humid.

Recommended Strings:

There are several great brands such as D’Addario and Ernie Balls to name but two of the most popular. It’s always advisable to invest on good quality strings rather than cheaper, more generic ones. 

At Eastwood Guitars, we use only GHS Strings, which are great value and top quality. 

Big thanks to Joseph Nicholls from Best10gears.com who contributed to this post.