photo by [sakke]
I just changed my guitar strings last night, and man my instrument sounds so much better. I think regular uncoated guitar strings should be changed every two weeks or so. Perhaps more if you play lot or have the type of oils in your skin that tends to wear out guitar strings faster. I find when i am generally uninspired with my guitar and sound, and i start to window shop for other instruments, changing the strings usually snaps me right out of that.
When i first started playing guitar i didn’t really know about changing the strings, and i must have left the same on there for months. Beginners, dont make my mistake, change your string regularly. And learn how to do it yourself, it always pains me when folks take their guitars to the store to get them restrung. Its not rocket science, and there is nothing about changing strings that can inherently hurt a guitar, except perhaps if you tune the string to high. And using a guitar tuner should mitigate that problem.
When changing your strings always make sure the string runs along the inside end of the tuning post. For bass strings i will usually take one wrap around the post, and then feed it through the hole, for the thinner strings i will take a few wraps.
Frank Ford has a good tutorial on changing guitar strings at Frets.com Check it out here.
Anton
