Leftover Guitar Strings

Delta-Male · 2012-01-31T10:02:26+00:00

What do you guys do with the excess strings when replacing them? Some just leave them to point wildly everywhere, and others cut them off nicely to look neat, then Ive also seen some who curl them up nicely at the end etc etc. What do you prefer and why?

Nitebob

Agree with EZ...the show must go on...

Warren

I once tried the whole "leaving the string-ends on" thing. I thought it was a bit dof, and there are all kinds of things that might go wrong if you're cruising around a stage with the rest of your band. ?

Besides, head-stock scratches! Nay!

Nitebob

The way us rockers swing those necks around, you might put out an eye...

Chris-Mason

I cut them, cannot stand Jangly bits hanging from the headstock. Saw Squonks message about having to change strings and how he hates doing that. Every year just before we hit the dry and cold season, I remove strings, oil the fretboards and change strings on all my instruments. takes several days, couple of guitars a night, costs a fortune but well worth it in the long run. By the end of that session, my hands are full of small needle like holes due to the newly cut sharpened strings. My fault I guess for having too many guitars and being a perfectionist with them.
saddle and Nut

Malkav

Nitebob wrote Point taken Chad, just use it cause it looks so purdy. ? What would you advise? Sorry about the derailment, I just need to know...

I personally use the Dunlop 65 range of guitar cleaners, to be safe I'd just say stick to things that are pre-marked as being for guitar, I'm sure there are safe alternatives but I wouldn't know how to identify them so I just play it safe and go with what I can find at the local guitar shop - having said that though, out of the the cleaning products I've tried the Dunlop stuff does tend to be my preference :-[

bottledtone

I have a friend Dexter Morgan that fetches my old strings I take off. He seems to find use for them.... ?

21Fretter

That is what thought the thread was initially about, old strings that you have left over when you restring. I personally keep them in case I snap a single string early into the life of the new set, hate having to open a fresh new pack for one string. That must be one of the best things about being a successful musicians, free strings!!!

Nitebob

To me the ideal is to have a extra set of new strings in the gig bag in case you need to re-string in the middle of a gig. I tend to use them though for routine changes and then not replace them, so I also keep the old ones in the bag...

deefstes

Nitebob wroteso I also keep the old ones in the bag...

Why? Just because there was no dustbin at hand when you took them off or because you'd actually consider putting strings back on a gutair once you've taken them off?

Nitebob

deefstes wrote
Nitebob wroteso I also keep the old ones in the bag...
Why? Just because there was no dustbin at hand when you took them off or because you'd actually consider putting strings back on a gutair once you've taken them off?

Not normally....what I meant to say was I used to keep new strings in the gig bag in case one breaks during a set, but I end up using those for routine changes and then not replacing them, so I caught without spares. So now when I do a change I keep the old ones in the gig bag 'just in case' because I know I'm not gonna use them for a routine change...

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