Aging New Strings

[James Freeman]

I hate the sound of new strings, particularly nickel wound strings (E,A,D), I can hear harmonics when I palm mute with high gain that should not be there.
Searching the web I was not surprised to discover that I am not alone, some people don't like the sound of new strings either and suggested a few way to age them quickly.
I'll skip the journey and tell you what works the best; fresh lemon juice from a lemon, this is 100% acid, it eats the nickel coating in minutes.
Dip two fingers in lemon juice, apply by garbing each string individually and rub across its length, the string should be wet with lemon juice, let sit for an hour.
After an hour the string will be sticky and lose its shine, now dip a cloth in water and wipe the sticky string till its smooth.
The next day the strings will be dead as disco and ready for metal, very nice!

 

[PLX]

No need for all that, Jimmy.

Just play a lot.

 

[CM_X5]

Have we really gotten to the point of string relics now?

 

[sleewell]

whats the point of changing them if you are just going to kill em?

 

[James Freeman]

whats the point of changing them if you are just going to kill em?

Doing major setup like fret leveling or changing pickups (which I've done several times on this guitar this month).
Locking tuners helped a lot with removing the strings without throwing them away but they do have a weak point where the locking mechanism grabs the string if your remove and install the string several times they break at that point.
I change only the broken string which requires the aging treatment to eliminate the ugly 'zing' sound.

 

[JiveTurkey]

I like new strings

 

[sleewell]

I like new strings

me too. i change them before every show or before going to record.

 

[JiveTurkey]

me too. i change them before every show or before going to record.

I let them ride for a while. But before recording; absolutely. And once they start really going dead or slipping out of tune; they go bye-bye. I am sweaty af and the summer is brutal on my guitar strings.

 

[metropolis_4]

I’m in the new string camp too. I can’t stand when they start to go dead.

But sounds like great advice for people who like them dead!

 

[Eagle]

You could play Elixir, they are dead out of the pack.
The most dead string I ever played new is Maxima gold but this may be down to the fact that they have been sat in a warehouse for at least a decade when you buy them. The even stay coiled up when you unpack them.

 

[JasonE]

If you need to age some of the strings to get them to sound dead because you don't like the harmonics of a new string, I am going to say you are using the wrong strings for your tastes. I like new strings and the harmonics they bring with them. This must be a high gain player thing. Purposefully damaging strings to get rid of the things many like about new strings just seems strange to me.

 

[James Freeman]

I am going to say you are using the wrong strings for your tastes.

Probably, but I've been using EB regular slinky nickel wound for as long as I play guitar.
There are the Slinky Classic Rock N Roll Pure Nickel strings which are supposed to be slightly less bright but I didn't try them yet.
This only affects the wound strings (E,A,D) the unwound high strings are the same.

I do agree that when playing clean the wound strings sound better new or rather not dead, but for tight metal palm mutes the 'zing' is no good.

EDIT:
Interestingly, in the 50s and 60s all they has is Pure Nickel for the wound strings.

 

[newholland]

i like a new set of DR nickels- definitely cuts the kank- but gads man.. just roll off your tone knob a bit its usually that one behind the volume knob on your guitar (i keed i keed!)

 

[James Freeman]

tone knob

 

[norminal]

Lend me your guitar for a one hour set. I guarantee your strings will be aged by the last song.

 

[newholland]

i mean.. its easier than parboiling and seasoning your strings :ducks:

 

[AFKAEjay(retired)]

Elixers sound like a week old from the get go….and stay like that for ages…love those!

 

[Stone]

I also don't like the toanz of brand new strings, a day or two of playing and I get to where I like them, I know after 70 hours or so I notice they are becoming dull and time to change
And yes I also like Elixirs

 

[la szum]

I’m in the new string camp too. I can’t stand when they start to go dead.

But sounds like great advice for people who like them dead!

Not to mention the wonky intonation and tuning that inevitably sets in,
which maybe some people call built-in "vibrato" or "chorus."

 

[James Freeman]

Here's some acoustic samples recorded with a small diaphragm condenser from 10cm off the neck joint.

Ibanez RG5121 new strings


Gibson Les Paul new-ish strings


Ibanez GRG121DX new-lemon-aged strings



Aside from the string difference, it is interesting to hear that each guitar sounds completely different acoustically.
The lemon aged strings have zero harmonics, almost sound like rubber bands which is perfect with distortion.