Q: As a beginner guitar player, how often do I change my strings?

A: How often you should change strings depends on 1) many hours per week you play, 2) how oily your hands are, 3) what kind of strings you use, and 4) how sensitive your ears are to the declining tone of the strings as they age.

Regarding #2, your strings will last longer if you wash your hands with soap and warm water each time before you play.

Regarding #3, your strings will last FAR longer if you use “coated” strings. Many brands offer coated strings, but in my experience BY FAR the longest lasting strings for acoustic guitar are Elixir. I find that Elixirs will last twice as long as any other coated string, and 5 times as long as any uncoated string. It is not uncommon for my students to get more than a year out of a set of Elixir strings on a guitar played nearly every day, and the guitar still sounds decent (to me). Uncoated strings don’t last more than 2 months (sometimes, 2 weeks!) before they sound horrible (to my ears) on a guitar played that much.

The most important point is #4. You don’t need to change the strings until you don’t like the sound of your guitar anymore. There is no harm to the guitar from not changing strings. If you don’t notice or care about the tone, leave them on as long as you want. If, when you change strings, you notice a huge improvement in the tone, change them more frequently. If you don’t, change them less frequently.

Q: Is it okay to completely unstring a guitar for a few minutes in order to clean it? Is it always necessary to have tension on the guitar neck in order to avoid damaging it?

A: Yes, it is perfectly fine to take all the strings off.  At the Taylor factory service and repair shop, they take all the strings off at the same time. That is what they demonstrate in their video on changing guitar strings.  If that is how they do it, then it is certainly okay for you and me.

Q: Can I tune my guitar to D? I am a very amateur guitarist and mainly play just for myself and my kids’ benefit. I find that I am breaking the B and top E strings. If I just tune to D so that all the strings are under less tension, will that help?

A: Tuning your guitar to D won't hurt the guitar, and it will make strings break a little less easily.  But it will also mess up your action, make the strings buzz, make the guitar much quieter and muddier, etc.  If you are breaking strings, something else is wrong.  A better solution is to fix what's wrong.

1. Use quality name-brand strings, not cheap Chinese knock-offs you got for a bargain price on Ebay or whatever. Don't buy strings online at all, unless it's from juststrings.com, stringsandbeyond.com, or sweetwater.com. 
2. Install your strings correctly. LINK HERE to see how. Specifically, make sure the windings of the top three strings on the winding peg go down BELOW the bottom of the hole. 
3. Don’t tune your guitar up and down over and over, bending and unbending the strings where they wind around the pegs.
4. Use good pick technique.  Don't beat the heck out of the strings when you play.  Use some finesse; it's not a contest to see who can play the loudest, it's about good tone.  If you want a louder guitar, buy a bigger, louder guitar, don't manhandle a small guitar to make up for its small size.  Or buy an acoustic electric and plug it in. 
5. If those things don’t fix the problem and you are still breaking strings, then buy some strings that are known for not breaking easily, such as Ernie Ball Paradigms, or the newer varieties of d’Addario strings with NY Steel cores.

Q: Are there any good non-oxidizing guitar strings?

A: For acoustic guitar, Elixirs are the longest lasting strings there are. I’ve been using them for years because I can get 6–12 months out of them, and to my ears they sound and feel great, although not everyone agrees with me. Try them out and see if you like them. (I recommend phosphor bronze.)

Another option for acoustic guitar is the new nickel plated bronze d’Addario’s. They’re not coated, so they won’t last as long as Elixirs, but nickel doesn’t oxidize, so they probably will last longer than traditional uncoated 80/20 (which is actually brass, but everyone calls it bronze) or phosphor bronze strings. And I think they sound good, too. I’m guessing they will go dead from finger oils long before they oxidize.

Q: How many hours of guitar playing can one typically get out of a set of Elixir guitar strings, and is it above average compared to other brands?

A: The tone and feel of Elixir strings is a matter of opinion. Sometimes very strong opinion! Some love ‘em, and others can’t stand ‘em. What is NOT opinion is that they last FAR longer than ANY other string, whether coated or uncoated (except perhaps D'Addario's new XS strings, which were designed to be a direct competitor to Elixir Nanowebs). That is because Elixir coats the entire string after it has been wound, rather than coating the winding wire before it is wound around the core wire. This process better seals finger oils, dirt, and oxygen out of the windings. In my experience, Elixirs last about 6 times as long as an uncoated string set, and twice as long as any other coated string set. How many months or playing hours that is depends not only on how hard you play, but also how picky you are. Unlike most uncoated strings, Elixirs do not suddenly die; they go bad very gradually, and sometimes I don’t even notice they have lost brilliance until I finally change strings and get pleasantly surprised with the fresh tone. I’ve gotten a year out of Elixirs on guitars that I don’t play often, and they still sounded great. On my “daily driver” guitar that I use every day for teaching and hauling around with me I usually get 6 months, and even then they sound better than most uncoated strings sound after several weeks. A good rule of thumb with Elixirs is when you start seeing dull brown areas where you finger pick and strum them, they are starting to lose brilliance. But to most people’s ears they still sound decent at that point, so depending on how sensitive your ears are you can change them or keep playing a while longer. Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze 11–51 strings is what I recommend for most beginner students, and 12–53 for intermediate students. These are not my very favorite strings for all applications, but I personally think they sound quite good (FAR better than the strings that come stock on most new guitars), and they just seem to last forever, so they are very cost effective.

The newest D’Addario coated XS phosphor bronze strings with the NY Steel are also fantastic strings. If Elixirs weren’t available, that is the string I would recommend to my students for sure. Elixirs just have a slightly different tone that some people like and others hate, and they last a little longer.

Q: Are Elixir acoustic guitar strings better for fingerstyle playing than they are for strumming? If so, why?

A:  First, the basics: All Elixirs are coated. Elixir is the only string brand that coats the entire string after it has been wound, rather than coating the winding wire before it is wound. This makes the strings last longer than any other coated or uncoated string before they start sounding dull, because it seals the space between the windings from finger oil and contaminants creeping down between the winding and the core wire. Elixir has two types of coatings: the original is polyweb, which is a thicker coating; the newer variety is nanoweb, which is a thinner coating. Nanowebs sound better, polywebs last longer. Polywebs are only offered with 80/20 bronze. Nanowebs are offered in both 80/20 and phosphor bronze.

Now, to your question. The answer is a matter of opinion and preference, not fact. I can only express my opinion. You may disagree and that’s fine.

I’m personally not a fan of Polywebs at all. Yes they last a long time but they sound as dull as 3 month old uncoated strings, right from the start.

On Nanowebs, my opinion varies depending on whether we’re talking about 80/20s or phosphors.

Personally, I generally like the sound of most 80/20 strings (any brand) better than phosphors (any brand) for strumming with a flat pick. 80/20s have a chimey high end and a strong bottom end with a scooped mid, that sounds awesome when using a pick. But I like phosphor bronze strings MUCH better for finger picking, because they have such interesting complex overtones in the midrange which contribute a lot of character to the fingerpicked sound.

I find most coated 80/20’s, including Elixir Nanoweb 80/20s, strummed with a pick, just a little short on the bell like quality for my taste. For that reason, I personally prefer the sound of uncoated 80/20’s for strumming... for about a week. After that, the coated strings sound better than the uncoated ones. It’s a small difference. To most ears, the Elixirs sound fine. Another good choice for coated 80/20’s is the d’Addario EXP’s.

But I absolutely LOVE the sound of Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze strings for finger picking. In fact, on most guitars, I have never heard a better string for finger picking. Apparently, I’m not alone, since nearly all Taylor guitars come with those exact strings from the factory. They are the strings I have on most of my guitars, and they are fantastic. The downside is they don’t “belt” as well as 80/20’s when I use a pick. The bottom end is weaker, and they don’t “sing” as well. It’s a tradeoff I have to live with unless I bring two guitars to a gig. But it’s worth it for someone like me who mostly finger picks. Especially since they last a REALLY long time before they start to sound dull.

Some people complain about the “slimy” feel of the Elixirs but I think they’re nuts. I love the silky feel and reduced finger noise. Others don’t like the sound of Elixir phosphor’s at all, and the first thing they do when they buy a Taylor is put some other kind of strings on it. Again, I think they’re crazy, but that’s the nice thing about free market competition: you can choose. The bottom line is, it doesn’t matter what I think. Try different strings and decide what sounds and feels good to you.

By the way, don’t worry about the tiny “threads” that start hanging from Elixir strings after a few weeks. That’s just the coating starting to wear off, but the strings will sound great for a long time after they start appearing.

Q: Which is better for guitar, brass or bronze strings?

A: Your question brings up an interesting point, that most guitar players don’t know. You are correct that acoustic guitar players have a choice between brass and bronze strings, although you’d never know it by looking at the labeling on the string packages.

All strings made for steel string acoustic guitars are fundamentally steel strings. Strings 1 and 2 are only steel. Strings 3–6 have a steel core, with an alloy wire wrapped around them. There are two alloys popularly used for the winding: brass and bronze. However, they are commonly called “80–20 bronze” and “phosphor bronze”.

Phosphor bronze alloy is made of 92% copper and 8% tin plus a tiny amount of phosphorous. These strings correctly named.

But 80/20 is made of 80% copper and 20% zinc, which is not actually bronze, it is brass. “80/20 bronze” is a misnomer. I don’t know why string manufacturers and musicians call them bronze, but they are wrong.

Now to answer your question, it is all a matter of personal preference. Some people like the sound of the 80/20 brass windings better than that of the phosphor bronze. Others prefer the sound of the phosphor bronze windings. The 80/20 brass gives the guitar a bell like quality, with clear highs and a strong low end, with a slightly scooped middle. The phosphor bronze has slightly less punch, and it brings out the mid range, with more complex harmonic overtones. One is not better than the other, they are just different.
Personally, I prefer the sound of the phosphor bronze for finger picking, and that of the 80/20 brass for strumming with a pick, but that’s just me. The only way to find out which you like better is to try them both.

Q: Trying to get people's opinions. What guitar strings do you use? I have been using the same ones for a while and I'm finding I don't really like them anymore.

A:  This is a question often asked, but there are no valid universal answers because there are as many opinions as there are guitar players. It’s all a matter of individual taste. As for me, I like Elixir Phosphor Bronze Nanowebs, and use them on most of my acoustic guitars. They last WAY longer than any other string, which makes them the least cost and least hassle of any acoustic guitar strings. I personally love the sound of them. I can’t be the only one who likes them, because they come stock on nearly all Taylor guitars. But many other people dislike them and say they sound “plinky” (whatever that means.) Be aware, there is more difference between the sound of 80/20 vs phosphor bronze in a given brand than there is between brands. I personally like 80/20 better for using a pick and phosphor bronze for finger picking, but others have different opinions.

Q: How noticeable is the sound difference on an acoustic guitar when one changes from light gauge strings to medium, and is it worth the extra effort required to fret on heavier strings?

A: First, the basics: 13-56 gauge strings are called "medium" gauge by most manufacturers.  12-53 are called by various names (Elixir calls them "light-medium".)  11-51 are called "light," and 10-47 are called "extra light".  (The last two names make sense, but the first two don't: 13-56 are insanely thick, and should be called "heavy," and 12-53 is what comes stock on most guitars and should be called "medium."  But I didn't invent the names... they are what they are.)

Thus, the way your question is worded, you are asking about the sound difference of going up TWO gauges, from lights to mediums, not ONE gauge.  This is an important point.

On most but not all guitars, going up one gauge (e.g. from extra light to light, or from light to light-medium, or from light-medium to medium) will make the guitar sound noticeably better. The difference is mostly in volume and projection, but there is also a slight improvement in tone caused by the soundboard vibrating harder.

The difference is subtle. There is usually more tonal difference between two brands or alloys of strings of the same gauge than there is between one brand and type of string in slightly different gauges. Also, the difference is more noticeable when playing acoustically in a quiet room. It is generally not as noticeable when plugged in, through a PA. The audience probably won’t notice a difference. Most likely, you are the only one who will notice… (and even you might not hear the difference on stage through the monitors.)

Obviously, if you go up TWO gauges (e.g. from extra light to light-medium, or from light to medium) the difference will double, and yes you will definitely notice the difference in tone and volume.  You will also definitely notice an enormous difference in how hard the guitar is to play!

When selecting string gauges, the only person that matters is you. Do YOU notice the difference in tone from using mediums, and is it worth it to YOU? No one can answer that for you. You have to try it and see for yourself. For some players, yes it is worth it. But for the vast majority of players, the improvement in volume and tone is not worth the additional strain on fingers and wrists, because the tonal difference is not as noticeable as is the pain difference. If you are a young adult male with super strong hands, give the mediums a try and see if you like them. If you are female, or under 18 years old, or over 50 years old, it is ridiculous to go higher than medium-lights.  If you are a beginner, I highly recommend lights.  (I played lights for most of my life, but moved to medium-lights a few years ago because I was playing more and developed better technique and hand strength.)  The bottom line is: if you want to play for hours rather than minutes before your fingers and wrists are screaming, my advice is to stay away from mediums.  (I also suggest that you get a good setup from a professional luthier, which will make medium-lights feel like lights, and make lights feel like heaven.)

BTW, any time you change gauges of strings, be sure to adjust your truss rod! Heavier strings will pull your neck up for sure, making the increased difficulty of playing from heavier strings even worse!  And if your guitar was adjusted properly for the strings you are using, then moving to lighter strings will make the strings buzz on the frets.  (LINK HERE to learn how to adjust the truss rod).

Q: When certain acoustic guitarists break strings fairly often, regardless of what guitar they are playing, what is the likely cause?

A: The following are the four main causes:

1) Not enough windings on the tuning peg of strings 1E and 3G, so that the sharp edge of the tuning peg hole is bending the string back and forth while tuning. Or any other improper winding technique that makes the strings not wind smoothly and tightly around the tuning peg (including the myth that you need to wind the string on top of itself to keep it from slipping).

2) Playing extremely hard with a plectrum… beating the crap out of the strings without finesse, while using too light of a gauge of string for that style (e.g., bluegrass doesn’t mix well with 10 gauge slinkys! Or even with 12 gauge lights.)

3) Frequent bending of strings, weakening the strings from rubbing them against the frets, especially on guitars that do not have nicely polished frets.

4) Use of non-brand-name strings… or fake “name-brand” garbage strings purchased on Ebay or whatever for less than half of the price of genuine strings.

Many of these can be offset by purchasing d’Addario strings with NY Steel or Ernie Ball Paradigm strings, both of which are made with a much more break-resistant steel alloy on strings 1–2 and steel cores on strings 3–6.

Q: Why does a 12 string guitar seem quieter when it’s tuned down a step, with a capo on the 2nd fret, as compared to being played tuned up to standard?

Answer by Scott Brennand (Irv agrees):

A string needs to set a resonant surface (top) into motion to create amplified sound. The top of a guitar has inherent weight and stiffness that the vibrating string’s momentum must overcome before it can vibrate. The more momentum the string possesses, the more easily and quickly the guitar will be set in motion. Because a string’s momentum is defined by weight and tension, a heavier string, or a string under more tension will get the top vibrating more easily. Conversely, while a limp, down-tuned string might have weight and motion, the momentum will dissipate quicker because there is less tension.

Answer by Wayne Rogers (Irv agrees):

Very simple .. the strings tuned down produce less energy when strummed as they are not as tight as normal tuning if you stay in that tuning (always).  Using a slightly heavier gauge string will increase your volume.

Answer by Anders Wahlberg (Irv disagrees):

I tune my two 12 strings down on pitch. Whether I capo it or not I notice no loss of volume at all. I cannot say whether yours does or does not.  Not intending to question you but perhaps it is your perception of the bass treble balance?

Answer by Irv Nelson (Response to Anders Wahlberg’s comment):

Whether or not it is noticeable is a matter of perception, but whether or not there is a volume change is a matter of physics. The question being asked, re-phrased, is: “If two identical diameter strings are tuned to the same pitch, with one longer and tighter and the other looser and shorter, and they are played with exactly the same plectrum and strumming technique, why is there a difference in volume (and tone)?” The answer is: “The tighter string will always produce more kinetic energy vibrating the bridge and therefore the sound board, than the looser string.” On any acoustic guitar, 12 string or not, played acoustically, not plugged into an amp, I absolutely guarantee it will be louder (with better tone) when tuned normally without a capo than when tuned down and capo’d to up to the normal pitch.

If you don’t believe me, try an experiment. On a six string guitar, put two identical “A” strings in positions 5 and 6. Tune one to A and the other to G. Then fret the looser string with your finger on fret two, and pluck them and compare the tone and volume between the two. The open tighter string will always sound louder (and better) than the fretted looser string. On any unplugged acoustic guitar. Period.

It’s the same concept as changing gauges of strings. If you are strung with 13s and you switch to 12s, there is always a loss of volume (and tone). Whether the improvement in finger and wrist comfort is worth the tradeoff of loss of volume and tone is a matter of personal preference. Tuning down and using a capo to bring the pitch up has a very similar effect as switching to lighter strings, because less mass or less tension both result in less kinetic energy to vibrate the sound board.

IMHO, if you want to make a guitar less painful to play for fingers and wrists, it’s far better to get a professional setup to lower your nut slot depths down to the bare minimum needed than to tune down or switch to lighter strings.