Stretching in strings: any tips?

[Kev Brigden]

Stretching in strings for me is a pain in the backside... sometimes it goes quickly, other times not... I've just recently converted to Ernie Balls with the same gauge and they are taking forever to break in... is there any way to speed up the process??? Obviously, I've been snapping them at the pickups and also at the 12th fret... but still no joy...

cheers for any info...

Kevin

[PekkaM]

I use D'Addario XL-strings .009 to .042 on my Jem. Last time I changed strings, I put the new ones on and tuned them approximately. Then I just stretched them a little and left guitar for an hour while I did something else. After that I stretched them a little more, put the locks on and tuned it. I haven't had to touch the tuners ever since despite week of many hours of daily playing

[yurich]

I use what Rich does: grab the string at the 12th fret, and stretch it by shaking the hell out of it! do this till your fingers hurt and then some more, and you're fine

[Lonely Raven]

Ditto.

I'll grab one or the whole set of strings and pick the whole damn guitar
up by them. Once the steel reaches is final tension, they just *wont*
stretch any futher!

Different strings stretch differently. It's all about composition and how the
metal molicules are assembled. IE how the string is made. That's why
strings like the Blue Steel that are Cryogenically Tempered are pretty
consistant. They take a lot of the slop on the molecular level out of the
picture. Heh, makes me want to take my favorite D'Addario's and have
them sent out for Cryo Tempering just so I have the best of both worlds!

[Rich]

Kevan has a nice trick if you're just changing strings, wish I had paid attention

[BrianH]

IMO stretching the strings to the 'break point' will do nothing but hurt their life span and their tone. Stretch them somewhat, but don't over do it.

I find that streching the strings up near the nut, mid ways and then near the bridge works best for me. Good Luck..

[Kev Brigden]

cheers for the replys guys

[SalemB]

Originally Posted by Lonely Raven

Heh, makes me want to take my favorite D'Addario's and have them sent out for Cryo Tempering just so I have the best of both worlds!

What is the cryogenic tempering anyway. Do they just throw them in liquid nitrogen for a few seconds or is it a more elaborate procedure?

[nuno]

...who knows...

i use a bit of both methods: i kind of 'slide' my finger (with a cloth) all along the whole string lenght, throughout the fretboard, from saddle to nut.
not with a hell of a strenght, but uniformly throughout the string lenght, and not just in this or that point.
my D'Ads last pretty long, that way.

[Jemdude]

I use D'Addario XL-strings .009 to .042 on my Jem. Last time I changed strings, I put the new ones on and tuned them approximately. Then I just stretched them a little and left guitar for an hour while I did something else. After that I stretched them a little more, put the locks on and tuned it. I haven't had to touch the tuners ever since despite week of many hours of daily playing

I know this is an old subject but I just wanted to offer this to anyone interested. I followed this procedure with the same strings on my BSB and it works awesome. I did it about a month ago and usually play at least an hour a day. She stays in excellent tune and the strings have a very nice sound to them as well. Much better than the EB's I used to use IMHO.

[Lonely Raven]

Cryogenic temporing is MUCH more complex then just tossing liquid
nitrogen on things!! Ouch!

What they do is put the items (whatever, strings, engine parts, and
especially brass instruments Oh that does wonders for brass) in a big
freezer that can do something like -300F.

The temp gets lowered over a peroid of a few hours to -300F, and what
happens when things get REALLY cold? Well the molicules lose some of
that energy. EVERYTHING is in constant motion. Even the metal that forms
your bridge. But as it gets colder, those molicules tighten up, move less,
and get more compact.

The *final* trick is that the freezer is computer controlled. Over a peroid of
days the freezer is raised from -300F to room temperature. I'm talking
*Days*. What this does is keeps the molicules of the metal all nice and
aligned. Not only to the particles stay uniform (rather then randomly
packing into an approximate shape) but they also generally align poles
North/South.

So for strings you have to imagine a stock string, all the molicules
randomly packed into a long thin wire. Now Cryo Temp it and suddenly
all the molicules are lined up North/South, the string is EXACTLY the
same diameter (down to the molicular level) all the way down the
string, and it's even DAMN smoother!!

Cryo Tempering is used on racing engines for Porsches, Harley/Buels,
airplane parts, Space Shuttle parts, Swords, Knives, and ESPECIALLY
brass instruments!!

OH MY JEBUS does this do wonders for BRASS. Suddenly it's more rich
and harmonically correct, and EVERY works more smoothly because on
the molicular level all those parts are nice and smooth and consistant!!

I've used this on bearings, shaving razors, and the breaks on my Porsche.
It blows people away when you can Cryo Treat a $.99 cent disposable
razor, AND HAVE IT LAST A MONTH!!

Heh, the razor trick is how a lot of Cryo shops advertize their work.

I don't have any links right now, but look up some shops!!

Now that I think about it, I think I'm going to find a shop and send them
some 10 Packs of D'Addario!!

[7 Dying Trees]

do the stretch thing, lock it, play it and abuse the crap out of the whammy bar, leave it for a while, and retune. Works for me and I get to have some fun

[Knightmeir]

I never stretch 'em. Never have problems. I have good luck like that : D

[pri0531]

Ditto to Nuno's technique.
Out,
GP