Tony’s Acoustic Challenge – The New Way to Learn Guitar › Family Forums › Community Support › out of tune
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out of tune
Posted by DanielC on April 8, 2021 at 7:33 amso can strings go dead all at once like it played fine yesterday but not today,it says it is in tune,with the electronic tuner..but they sound like there is a dead one in the bunch,,they are a yr old so it is time to replace them,,and i do have a new set ready to install thanks just wondering
ErikBog replied 3 years, 10 months ago 6 Members · 7 Replies -
7 Replies
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Hi @DanielC – Only been playing for a little over 9 months, but never had anything like that happen. You can usually hear the strings going dull gradually. Were they treated strings? Maybe the coating wore off??? I say change them out if you have the new set anyway…
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Hi @DanielC , my experience with strings is this: over time they lose their sparkle and become thumpy. They produce sound but it is dull or dark rather than bright. I don’t notice one day to the next but after few weeks it is noticable and the enevitable change is made and I think oh ya, there is the sound I want. String age should have nothing to do with tuning. Some folks like the sound of “dead” strings, some artists are known for this thumpy dark sound. The ability to tune them and have them in tune does not change but their tone does. Does your tuning sound off or is it the tone of a string (resonance or brightness) not match? Hopefully we can get to the crux of the matter.
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one year???? I couldn’t handle it. Especially if I played it regularly. They would be too gunky to me. But that’s just me. Like Jumpin’ Jeff said, some like them old and thumpy. But I’ll disagree with him on them not going out of tune. I’m sure if the metal used is not very consistent or of poor quality, they could lose their elasticity and suffer some kind of metal fatigue.
The question you need to ask is, is this one string staying in tune after you retune it? It’s possible that the winds on the tuning peg slipped or it was kinked in the nut or ball end and popped free.
But as for me and my strings, I change them around 3 months if coated, 1-2 months if uncoated when I’m playing regularly.
This is all subject to personal preference.
john
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@JohnV said: “But I’ll disagree with him on them not going out of tune.”
Sorry for the confusion. I did not mean that they don’t go out of tune, I was merely calling attention to the fact that they CAN be tuned and probably stay in tune better than new strings which have a tendency to flatten as they stretch.
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Hi @DanielC , I agree with everyone above 💙 .
They’re a year old – you already have new strings – change them out!
Just my 2 cents
BB
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I have one guitar that I play every day for an hour and I change strings every 2 weeks. After some experimenting I did notice something similar to your experience: one day they are fine and the next day they have deteriorated severely.
I cannot recommend string changes enough. It is not difficult to do (there are some great vids, including one by Tony) and very rewarding. If you are up for it: try some different brands and gauges. Won’t cost you much apart from some time and to me it always feels like New Guitar Day when I do it, both in sound and playability.
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