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Old strings wear down frets faster.
Fact 20%  20%  [ 2 ]
Fiction 80%  80%  [ 8 ]
Total votes : 10
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Post subject: Fret wear - True Lies?
Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 12:00 pm
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Just took my LP in for set up and was told I needed frets reworked - dimpling on first four frets. Looked at my Strat and saw same thing.

During the course of conversation I was asked how often I changed strings because old strings wear down frets faster.

Wondering how many of you think this is true.


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Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 2:21 pm
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Doesn't make sense to me. Is old sandpaper rougher then new? Maybe the accumulated finger gunk under the strings is caustic? Eats metal but not wood. Yup, makes no sense to me.

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Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 3:50 pm
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It kinda makes sense because the strings are rougher and tarnished when they are old. But when new, they are smooth and not as stretched out. Just a thought. :roll:


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Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 4:20 pm
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i'm going with cryinstrat.. it would seem that a new set of strings would be a bit more "sharp" and hard on the frets, but i really don't know


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Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 4:34 pm
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I could see it argued both ways, but I'm voting on fiction. While old strings might be more "twangy", and slap the flets more (if you play clumsily like myself), they do so because their elasticity is higher. In essense, they could never hit or scuff your frets as much as new strings because they just can't get as tight on the guitar.


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Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 4:43 pm
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I have to say the old strings will do more damage. New strings are smooth, old strings seem more abrasive due to the tarnishing, especially if you leave them on long enough to start rusting. Old strings even feel scratchy when you bend them against frets.


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Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 5:27 pm
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Guitar_Hurricane wrote:
I have to say the old strings will do more damage. New strings are smooth, old strings seem more abrasive due to the tarnishing, especially if you leave them on long enough to start rusting. Old strings even feel scratchy when you bend them against frets.


I never leave my strings on long enough to get to that point. Fresh and bright is how I like em.

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Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 2:12 pm
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I can never stand the feel of old strings when I'm playing


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Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 5:35 pm
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cryingstrat wrote:
Guitar_Hurricane wrote:
I have to say the old strings will do more damage. New strings are smooth, old strings seem more abrasive due to the tarnishing, especially if you leave them on long enough to start rusting. Old strings even feel scratchy when you bend them against frets.


I never leave my strings on long enough to get to that point. Fresh and bright is how I like em.


Amen, sometimes 2 weeks is to long for me. 8)


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Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 6:43 pm
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I can never stand the feel of old strings when I'm playing


I agree, never longer than once a month. More often usually. BTW, unless you're using aluminum for strings, the corrosion products will be softer not harder than the orginal material. What does wear frets faster is stainless steel strings which are metalurgically harder than nickle plated ones.


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Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 9:12 pm
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I used to change my strings more often, but time, money and the fact I have more guitars (so the strings don't get played as much as when I had 1 or 2 and so wear out faster.) And so if one has dead strings--I might play a different one rather than change strings. But I still change them.

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Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 6:30 am
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If I had a dime for every dumb, unfounded thing that got said as Truth in a guitar store (and then endlessly repeated thanks to the Internet), I'd buy Clapton's Blackie. Not a reissue, the real one.

There is absolutely no reason to imagine that old strings are tougher on frets than fresh ones.


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Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 8:20 am
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Most everyone here is echoing my incredulity over the statement. There have been times when I didn't play regularly enough to justify (in my mind) changing strings so there are times when I've gone months before changing. I usually change them at least once a month. If I were gigging regularly and working up a sweat I'd probably change them once a week. All that being said I never left strings on to the point where you could see or feel corrosion (unlike some big box music stores we all know) so I think the guy was trying to sell me a case of strings - along with some fretwork. :wink:


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