Hello everyone. Most times guitar string tend to be looked at by sound or feel. Brand X sounds better than brand Y. Coated strings do not feel like uncoated, etc. That is not my goal here. My questions are about cost, longevity, band for the buck. Many here live on a fixed income or zre low income. I am in grade 1 learning my A D E open chords. Here are my questions. Forget sound for a moment. You pay $7 for a name brand uncoated string. Or you pay $15 for coated strings. Over all, from a financial perspective, which string cost less over a year, or over time? Will coated string save you money over time as they last longer? This is about saving money for the low income, not about ultimate tone. Thank you.
In my opinion if cost is the main factor, then Iâd go for a good basic string - something like Ernie Ball or DâAddario. Very cheap strings (or imitation â be careful buying online if they are too cheap) could be a false economy as they can be more prone to breaking.
You donât have to change strings often - to be honest I can put 200+ hours in on uncoated strings before I change them, and then itâs only because I havenât done it in a long time.
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You might want to check out Stringjoy strings. Made in Nashville and âmade to last longerâ.
I use them and they sound good and do last a long time. I think it was over a year ago I last changed mine. For context I play around 2 hours daily.
They are also expensive upfront, but do last.
In the end it comes down to your ear and how you want the guitar to sound.
I recommend at least trying them once.
Whatever you decide on, good luck with getting something you want.
If youâre looking to economize on strings, the best way to do that is to never change them. Many people rarely change their strings and it has no impact on their learning guitar, which I presume is your main goal.
Ok, never is a long time â how about once a year? Your string budget would be less than $10 a year, even folks on a fixed income can handle that.
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My favorite uncoated strings cost about $8 a pack and I can kill them in a week of heavy Playing. M favorite coated strings cost about $25 and last me minimum 3-4 months of heavy playing.
If youâre just starting out a good set of coated strings will last you around a year and will not rust. If you live in a humid environment uncoated strings can begin to rust in weeks.
If youâre in a dry environment you shouldnât have to worry about rusty strings.
Are people changing strings because they go bad or is it because of lost high end tone? What I mean is if you use the $7 Daddario stringsâŚand then wipe them down after use, would they last longer? There is so much marketing hype, plus people fall for âreviewsâ and influencers. Their job is to sell you stuff, not educate. Thank you for the help.
I have had both reasons.
I had a wound string come unraveled at the 3rd fret last October. The strings were 137 days old at that point and I had played that guitar maybe 35% of 60 minutes per day. In that case, it is good to note that the string that broke the winding was string 3, so that winding was particularly thin.
My usual reason for change is that I have a harder time keeping strings in tune. I used the same set of strings and mostly the same guitar throughout BLIM1. When the strings were 301 days old and well used, I deciced to change due to tuning issues. Once I had the new strings on, I tamed the brightness by wiping my hand all over the wound strings. They sounded dull - the way I prefer on that guitar, after about 3-4 days.
Likely a bit longer. If you wash your hands before playing, that will help a lot as well.
I am currently on my second set of coated strings. These are now 339 days old on a guitar I average maybe 15% of my usual 60 minutes per day. They sound and feel just fine. I do not see any appreciable wear where thewy contact the frets, but I also polish my frets pretty well. the first set I tried was a different brand and I replaced them due to tuning being a problem after 287 days.
I live in a very dry climate, outdoor humidity will be 6% today, indoor is about 33%, so rust is not a problem. The air conditioning is on often now, keeping the air annoyingly dry.
I have used some uncoated alloys that tend to last a bit longer, but I also think the coated do the best for longevity, but I do not think quite double, so it doesnât make up for the price. My uncoated preference is due to sound, but I think the Ernie Ball Cobalt alloy has lasted the longest of the uncoated and would therefore be the best overall cost.
I can give you access to my spreadsheet if you like. It is a mix of comments related and unrelated to your question, but mostly youâd need to derive your answers from the data.
Thank you for understanding the question. Trying to buy the greatest value and quality combo to save money overall. Learning guitar for me is not about performing. It is about having a hobby that is affordable, enjoyable, and therapy. I have no interest is GAS or the newest modeling amp of the moment. Thank you for the help.
Yo Blind
If youâre no different from most beginners, youâll benefit from making playing as enjoyable as possible, or else youâll stop playing because itâs just not enjoyableâthatâs why weâre doing this, right?
â get your guitar âset upâ properly
Forgive me if you already know all this:
One of the critical aspects to a guitarâs âplayabilityâ is that it is set up correctly.
If your guitar is not properly set up it could be âbuzzyâ, or the strings so high above the frets that your fingers will complain mightily. Both of these make it a lot less fun to play, and youâll find less compulsion to pick up the guitar, practice, and get better.
Setting up a guitar is not cheap.
In the Northeast US, count on $40-80 (more if the frets need work).
BUTâYou may not need work done!
If you have a friend knowledgeable in the ways of a guitar, they could evaluate your guitar for you, or maybe even tweak it a bit by adjusting the âtruss rodâ. A good âluthierâ (person who builds/works on guitars) would give you an honest evaluation for free (most likely).
BUTâif you do need work done,
youâll be more likely to keep playing if you pay to get that work done!
In short
- Find out if your guitar would benefit from a good set up
- Find a reputable luthier
- Have the guitar set up
Not having your guitar (especially a new guitar)
not properly set up is most likely a false economy
I bought a new guitar as a zero experience beginner, and it was much easier to play after I finally read enough threads to pony up the bucks. The first luthier did an OK job for $45, then an excellent guitarist friend played it and felt I didnât get my moneyâs worth. So I winced and took it to âthe best one in the areaâ. That was $75 to adjust the truss rod, and file the nut and bridge better, I supplied the strings. It is much, much friendlier to play. (woulda been less expensive if Iâd gone to the superior luthier first).
The learning curve is long, but enjoyment begins darn close to the beginning, and keeps growing.
Happy trails!
Bruce
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imho, I just get some dâaddarios. Theyâre easy to acquire at my local music store and I donât find them real expensive.
And I do consider myself lower income too.
I also donât replace my strings so often. Like when theyâre physically damaged. Like breaking or like Michael said, the winding coming off a string. And yes, by the time I change them, the new ones sound 100% better. The old strings sound dead. But ya donât know it as thereâs nothing to compare to.
I do wash my hands prior to playing and wipe my strings off after Iâm done playing for the day. I assume that makes them last a while longer, but I really have no idea. I suppose I get maybe a year out of a set prior to replacing.
Iâm pretty sure Iâve used dâaddarioâs most of my life. They donât break my bank when I buy some. I feel like they last long enough considering I play everyday.
I do know they go dead sounding after awhile. But like I said, I donât know it till I replace them and hear what a difference it makes after new ones are installed.
If I were a real musician I think Iâd change them way more often, but Iâm not. I just play at home for my enjoyment. Point is, I can enjoy my dead sounding strings and not know Iâm deficient in needing to replace them.
imho, thatâs good!
New gear wonât help ya play better. Education (like JG) and practice will. 
Get yerself some regular quality strings from you local music store and proceed with learning to play music.
Thatâs my take. 
The guitar is a Taylor Academy 12 grand concert. I saved for it. I did a setup on it myself using the Music Nomad KISS tools and method. The neck relief is now .008 or 0.2mm. The nut was filed to spec as well. I put OEM Taylor branded tuneing machines and Taylor ebony bridge pins in it. It has Daddario xj16 strings on it. They work, so I can just keep using them and wipe them down.
Iâve lived in poverty my whole life. I totally understand the question. Any strings will do, I just happen to have daddario. I almost never change them, have often gone at least 2 or 3 years with the same set. I do no maintenance or special care for strings. Never had a problem with strings, I have many problems with playing but thatâs unrelated to strings.
Not quite sure how a good set up will add longevity to the strings you use regardless of their price 
But for a beginner not worrying about the subtle deterioration of tone, play them until they break or start to show signs of rust. To avoid the latter, get coated. My be more expensive but will unlikely rust up. Fond of Nanowebs.
Gauge wise my acoustics are 12s, electrics a mix of 9s 9.5s and 10s.
Am I low income ? Sorta as retired for 15 yrs and not brining in mega bucks.
Was a frequent set changer but realized the other day in a conversation with other peeps here, my stable had a complete make over in March last year, all xteen over one weekend, and they are still wearing the same gear. On the electrics if one sounds dull I make some tweaks to the presets on my PODGO. Acoustics ? Yeah crack on keep playing. Its only me that hears them as Iâve not recorded for a while or performed at our OMs. Other life issues may have been a factor but end of the day, I am not hearing any dramatic tonal changes in my stable after a year and a bit on.
But Iâve not long turned 70 and the wife says I am deaf !! 
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Hah, never thought of that actually. Coated, not coated, brand, no brandâŚ
In the end, i think it doesnât matter.
Iâve settled on Dâaddario XL110 a loooong time ago. I usually buy a 3set box. (bit cheaper).
They seem to be nickel coated, but what does that mean anyway⌠For me, theyâre a good price for the value i get out of them.
My suggestion would be not to listen to âinfluencersâ which are, if you look at it, just another way for brands to have commercials going, donât read too much and just buy strings.
Did you reply âwhat did you just say?â?
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To be honest, I usually change my strings when I feel they start looking and feeling gross. The degradation in tone is so gradual that I donât really notice it. (When you put the new strings on, though, you do notice the change in tone.)
I donât keep track of how often I change my strings, but I guess it must be 2 or 3 times a year. But, as I wrote above, I could easily change only once a year if I had to.
Some people have boiled old strings to clean and revive them. There is some internet arguments for and against. Apparently Eddie Van Halen did this, and I remember a very famous (name escapes me) classical guitarist who boiled the wound strings (never boil the nylons!). Bass players are also known to do this.
It wonât make your strings new, but it can revive them a bit, allowing you to use them longer.
I suppose there would be no harm in trying, right? Best I can tell, boiling water for 3-5 min. I read a story that David Bromberg said he wiped his strings with a little castile soap. Maybe a drop of that in the boiling water?
Hey Blind â Reads like youâre way ahead of my knowledge base and quite committed and knowledgeable. I hear great sounds in your future!
Cheers
Bruce
I think it was said well already, but if you are just playing for yourself and learning you can go a VERY long time without changing strings. Hand washing helps a lot, wiping the strings helps a little. I just changed the strings on a guitar that I play nearly every day. Yes it does sound A LOT better, but it still worked before the string change.
I like the coated strings because they stretch out the number of times you need to change the strings. So think about like, double the price for double the time between changes and the cost per day is about the same, but with coated strings you need to change about half as often. That said, if you are going for the 12 months before a change, the coated strings will be meaningless because the coating will have worn off long before the value wore off.
Given your situation, I would think buy a decent brand of uncoated strings and play them until you cannot stand it anymore. That said, you can also get a value pack usually 3 sets for a small discount. This is good because, small discount, but also if you break a string or decide to finally change, you already have the strings ready to got, donât need to order, ship and wait.