Oh what a difference!

[folderol]

Quite some time ago I bought some new guitar strings (Ernie Ball Super Slinky) but never seemed to get around to putting them on - until this evening that is!

The difference is mind boggling. Checking up, I'm embarrassed to realise I had the originals  on for about 9 months, and have no idea of their pedigree

The question is, how on earth do you identify a very slow deterioration of performance?

[offthewall]

 
Well, Mr G.

You've certainly hit on a thorny subject here, young man.
If you posted this on some other forum I would imagine you would be inundated with so many 'for and against' comments that it would cure you of even mentioning the 'S' word. 

After 50 years of guitar picking I still haven't managed to get worked up about this subject.
At the simplest level ... if you are, like us, working from home on a casual basis your strings should last 'quite a long time'. Unless, of course, you use a lot of alternative tunings or you have exceptionally sweaty hands or you play 15 hours a day.
Different game if you are gigging 5 nights a week 

Examples.
Being a 'poor boy, cheapskate' I have never had any truck with these expensive brand name strings.
For my electric guitars, which I feel gain most of their tone from the electronics, I discovered a great deal on multiple sets of Olympia 9/42's from Black Dog music supplies.
http://www.blackdogmusic.co.uk/ViewItem.php
I have stuck with these for the past 8 years and truly would not change.
On my 'go to' couple of instruments, which tend to be in daily use, I may change a set once a year.
The tell-tale signs are normally a dulling of tone and a reluctance to stay in tune. I never change one string, always the set.
For acoustic it is a different story. Tone is everything.
After trying out many big name brands such as Martin and Gibson, without finding any I was comfortable with, I finally stumbled across some 'extra cheap' phosphor-bronze lights by Stagg. I was immediately taken by the full richness of tone and the soft feel of these budget range strings.
http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/products/7932-stagg_phosphor_bronze_budget_acoustic_guitar_strings
Over the years I have installed them on all my acoustic guitars until ....
last year when I bought the brand new Adam Black S5.
I was astonished at how super-smooth and how sonorous the 'stock' strings were. I wrote to the manufacturer to ask what strings they fit to new instruments and they replied that:
From the factory Adam Blacks acoustics are usually fitted with standard phosphor bronze D’addario acoustic strings (gauge 12-53)
I am now converted and am 'saving up' for a couple of sets of these as they are about three times the price I normally pay. 

 
James

[Oren]

... if you are, like us, working from home on a casual basis your strings should last 'quite a long time'. Unless, of course, you use a lot of alternative tunings or you have exceptionally sweaty hands or you play 15 hours a day...
...Olympia 9/42's from Black Dog music supplies. I have stuck with these for the past 8 years and truly would not change.
On my 'go to' couple of instruments, which tend to be in daily use, I may change a set once a year.
 I never change one string, always the set...

For acoustic it is a different story. Tone is everything...
...standard phosphor bronze D’addario acoustic strings (gauge 12-53)

I leave strings on a guitar as long as possible - until they begin to break or become difficult to tune. (apparently, my hands do not produce any of that acidic compound that causes strings to corrode prematurely ) My G&L George Fullerton signature had the original factory strings on it for nearly ten years - keep in mind I have several guitars, so one instrument does not get played overmuch.
Acoustic guitar strings are changed more often: on the average of once every two years.
As you may intuit by now, I like the sound of old strings.

All my electric instruments are strung with D'Addario Nickel Wound - http://store.daddario.com/category/145823/EXL120_Super_Light_9-42 - in James' guage of .009 to .042
 For acoustic guitar (my 1996 Godin Seagull S-6 Cedar) I side solidly with James - D'Addario Phosphor Bronze EJ16, .012 to .053 - http://store.daddario.com/category/144849/EJ16_Light_12-53

[MarioD]

Like Oren I have several guitars but only one gets played every week, that being the guitar I take to my teaching sessions.  I use D’Addario Chrome XL flat wounds, .010 to 0.48, on it and I change them about once a year. I use D’Addario Chromes (.013 to .056, .012 to .052 and .011 to .050) on my jazz guitars and I change them about every other year, or longer. Now the chromes have a dark jazz sound to them so letting them get old adds to that sound.  My “rock” guitar gets D’Addario .009 to .042, and I like a bright sound with it so I change the strings about every 3-6 months depending on how much I play it.  Like James and Oren my acoustics get D’Addario Phosphor Bronze EJ16s. They also get changed every 6 to 12 months, again depending how much I play them.

One thing that hasn’t been mentioned yet is string care.  I have very acidity sweat. I wipe my strings down with a clean lint free cloth after every time I play them.  This extends the life of the strings by many months. 

Now I should mention that when I had one guitar and I was playing a lot, 1-4 hours a day, I was changing strings every 3 weeks. Everything depends on how much you play and what type of sound you are looking for.

If you ask 100 guitarist how often should I change strings you will get 100 different answers }

I hope this helps.

[folderol]

Ah right so no need to panic... yet

These new strings seem to give more output than the old ones, and I think are maybe just a wee bit too sparkly. We will see how they settle in.

The good news is that there seem to be holding their tune better than I expected for 24hr old ones.

[offthewall]

 
The one great constant about new strings is that ... yes, they will settle in. 
The variable is that it often depends on how often they are played during that initial period.

Try to double up on your practice sessions for a week or so. This will help the strings to bed in and will also give your callouses a real good boost. 

The 'sparkly-ness' should settle down.

 
James