I own a fender stratocaster hwy 1 ....i know single coils create some amount of buzz when you increase the gain... does old rusted strings add to these buzz

I guess it depends on how old and rusty.

I read interviews with Keith Richards and apparently he leaves his strings on there until they're turning black...but not sure if they are actually rusty (brown & rough etc).

Since strings are relatively inexpensive nowadays, I can't see why anyone wouldn't change their strings regularly especially if you sweat a lot etc.

I personally don't change my strings until the lower (thicker strings) start to show signs of rust. Seems like that higher stings are the first to lose their shine. I always wipe my strings, neck and frets after use but as a rule of thumb, when I notice a negative change in sound I change the strings...which is often after about 8-9 months. I personally don't like the "brightness" of new strings. Its also a pain to get them properly stretched.

I use Fender Super Bullet 9's on my Stratocaster and they never broke even though I bend a lot and they sound great even after the strings aren't shiny and sometimes turning black and stays in tune...so I understand Keith's point.

I tend to change mine when I start to notice a change in tone.

Only if its fret buzz. the standard single coil hum should not be affected by the string condition. is this about a recent increase in hum or just a hypothetical question ?

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Jeez... Change the strings and find out. There is no reason to ever play rusty strings.

They are worth more with a relic look

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I only change strings these days when I get bored. Or I think, "wow, what colour were they meant to be?".

No the state of the string won't affect 60hz hum. Pickups only read the vibrating arc of the string. Having grime caked on will affect that arc but there is no reason for it to cause hum.

Excessively dirty strings will cause frets to wear out quicker than they normally would. The acid in the dirt eats into the soft nickel with gusto.

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No no and no

"i know single coils create some amount of buzz when you increase the gain..."

Single-coils don't "create" noise. They just act as antennas and pick up noise being broadcast by transformers, fluorescent lights, CRT TVs, etc. Humbuckers cancel the noise they receive, single-coils just send the noise on to the amp.

When you turn up gain high enough to make the signal from the strings distort, the signal from the strings gets compressed. But the low level noise signal still has plenty of headroom to get louder, so as you turn up the gain the noise level rises in relation to the string signal, so you notice the noise more.

If your guitar is noisier now than it used to be, it most likely means there are new noise sources nearby, or the existing ones have gotten stronger. Broadcast noise isn't blocked by walls, so the source(s) may be in a different room or even outside your house somewhere.

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The strings are connected to ground, so when you touch them you become grounded and become part of the guitar's noise shielding. In most cases, you'll notice that your guitar gets a little noisier when you aren't touching the strings. Rust is a poor conductor and if you have dry skin you might not be well-grounded when touching rusty strings. That would raise the noise floor while playing, so there's some chance that's what you're experiencing.

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Rusty strings accelerate fret wear. They're rough like sandpaper -- when you bend strings they don't glide across the top of the fret, they grind across the top of fret. Plus they sound and feel like crap.

No .

First what do you mean by buzz ? Fret buzz or 60 hz hum capture by pickups or bad gound or you wire between amp and guitar is defect ?

Sory for the late reply ......hmmm i am not sure if its a 60 cycle hum or a buzz ......how do they differ ???

Are you saying you had rusty strings on your guitar in June, and you still haven't changed them? Whether they're creating hum or not, it's foolish to leave them on. I rarely leave strings on for more than a month, on any guitar that is being played regularly.

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+1, Tim!

Unless a dead-and-thwonky drone is an integral component of one's signature tone, it makes no sense to flog strings beyond their useful service life. Guitars (of any brand) always sound and play their best with fresh strings.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

I can see someone on eBay selling a new brand of strings.

"New, rusty brand strings, for that dead-and-thwonky drone preferred by goth-music fans. You only need to change strings when gang-green starts to set in".

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---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.