Dirty strings and Smokey Pubs

[bloodandtears]

I gig at least once a week in smokey environments and I find that my strings struggle to last more than 2/3 weeks usually. I am using D'addario 9's. I occasionally but not religously wipe my guitar down after a gig but find this does not aid matters much when i do.

Any one got suggestions or had similar problems?

Would taking the guitars out of their cases (airing them) help matters?

Does smoke affect the string heavily? The cases (and most of my gear) also smell of smoke ocassionally too.

I have been known to use

fast fret

on dirty string to make them playable

A bass player i knew used to trickle meths down his string and set foire to them to burn of excess muck... lol.... I am not doing that with my beloved jems.

[whatshisname]

Originally Posted by bloodandtears

I gig at least once a week in smokey environments and I find that my strings struggle to last more than 2/3 weeks usually. I am using D'addario 9's. I occasionally but not religously wipe my guitar down after a gig but find this does not aid matters much when i do.

Honestly, it sounds like you just need to change your strings more often. I always wipe my strings down, when I'm done playing, but, IMO, they're done after one show.

Originally Posted by bloodandtears

A bass player i knew used to trickle meths down his string and set foire to them to burn of excess muck... lol.... I am not doing that with my beloved jems.

I've heard of BOILING them, but actually setting them on FIRE? YIKES!!

[rgr]

If you're gigging regularly and getting one week out of a set of strings you're doing pretty good!

Roger

[MicJustMic]

When I was working as a tech for a club band (we played 3 to 5 nights a week) I was chaging strings every other gig . . .

If I didn't I could count on dead strings, or at least one break during a gig.

The brand of chioce for Paul was Ernie Balls, Hybrid Slinky.

EB's last a long time too, he had an SG he used for teaching and hadn't changed the strings in a year on that and they still sounded nice. He of course wiped them down every day, but they also weren't exposed to the environment of a club.

Mic

[artful_junkie]

Sorry to ask, but what's wrong with Fast Fret? I thought it was good for the strings and the neck! I don't use it that often but it does seem to make the strings sound brighter.

[rgr]

Nothing is wrong with Fast Fret if you like it. The Stick kind seems to be better than the spray stuff, and doesn't get all over the place. I actually like it quite a bit, I just haven't used it in years. It's great for that George Lynch horizontal vibrato.

Roger

[Drew]

yeah, 2-3 weeks is definitely respectable, especially for diaddario 9's... Nothin out of the ordinary here, IMO.

I play frequently, not live, but usually at least an hour a night, and several more on the weekends, and a GHS 10-60 7-string set has held up well so far- heavier strings might be an answer, as might another brand; these seem to last longer than most, for me. Course, I haven;t done much experimenting lately...

-D

[JN777]

i wouldnt be concerned about your gear because of the smoke but your lungs!!!! man thats dangerous.

[jeff l]

Originally Posted by JN777

i wouldnt be concerned about your gear because of the smoke but your lungs!!!! man thats dangerous.

+1

[screamndemon69]

you HAVE to wipe your strings down (clean cloth works fine) and ALL the metal parts of the guitar after gigs. if you don't, corrosion sets in very quickly.
i go thru lots of strings as i play out from 1 to 4 gigs a week. i use EB strings (regular 10's) and tend to get maybe 2 gigs from a set. they seem to not break as often now that i'm using 10's instead of 9's. my tone seems to have improved a little with a thicker string set as well.
my hands emit an extremely acidic sweat that eats the strings and metal parts rather quickly if i don't wipe down everything after every show. if i keep my hands clean and wipe everything down regularly, i don't have any problems and am able to get a couple shows per set of strings.
considering the wear and tear my strings go thru (especially on my trem guitars), i won't ever let them go past two shows per set. strings can only take so much stretching and bending before they break. i always bring back up guitars for just that reason - especially my trem guitars.
we should be happy that we get away with such cheap replacements for guitars. i watch kids buy reeds like crazy for their wind instruments and they can get very expensive (oboe and basson reeds cost around $8-$9 EACH!).
i don't think the smoke adversly affects the strings but does make everything stink. i pulled my pedal board out the other day and it almost knocked me over from the smokey stench from bars - and i'm a smoker!
i keep my stuff in a non-smoking room but i can't do anything about the bar stench attatching itself to my gear besides covering things up with a blanket for gigs that are more than a one nighter.
just my two cents

[CrossingStar]

I do wipe my strings down, religiously. I use a rag with either a little naptha on it or some isopropyl alcohal, get them squeaky clean. I sweat too.

[bloodandtears]

are elixir strings any good?