How does humidity affect strings?

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leavings

leavings

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I changed the strings on one of my guitars about three weeks ago, and then hadn't played it much since. It has been dormant on a stand in a 1st floor room of my house here in Michigan during a relatively warm and humid spell.

Today I went to play it and found that the tone was dull and the strings looked worn (what one would expect from strings that are months old). Does anyone know what might have caused this? I thought that perhaps it could be the humidity, but maybe there are other possibilities. The strings are made by D'addario...a cheap 7 or 8 dollar set.

Let me know if you have any clues.

Thanks!
Peter
 
I did shows outside in Florida before, the strings were rusted in hours. Humidity is moisture in the air. Moisture + metal = rust.
 
High humidity

Living in Michigan I can assure you your guitar is lightly water logged.
And your strings are rusting. Was it in its case? If not after they week
we just had you can be expecting you action to be a little higher as well.

You could try a little dunlop string conditioner maybe it will break the rust off then you can wipe them clean and reapply.

I would recommend a dehumidifer for spring and summer and a humidifier for late fall to early spring in this neck of the woods.

And leave it in the case to buffer drastic changes.
 
gbondo9 said:
.... :eek: ....

What do you consider 'expensive'?
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12-15 for a set of strings is on the high end in my opinion. I suppose 4-5 is cheap and 7-8 is moderate; my intent was to clarify that they weren't expensive.
 
leavings said:
12-15 for a set of strings is on the high end in my opinion. I suppose 4-5 is cheap and 7-8 is moderate; my intent was to clarify that they weren't expensive.
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My last set of cello strings was about $80 (Pirastro Aricore) and those were relatively cheap compared to most of the Thomastik sets.

A couple of weeks ago, I was blown away when I bought a set of Thomastik electric guitar strings at a local store for only about $12. You should be so lucky....
 
do houses not have air-conditioners in michigan? A/C units dry the air. any room thats climate controlled will be relatively dry. i live in houston - one of the hottest and most humid cities in the universe - and my strings never rust or get shitty just from sitting around the house.
 
Maybe you could try some Elixir strings, they have a coating on them that might prevent that from happening, at least while they're new...They also last a lot longer.
 
solo.guitar said:
Maybe you could try some Elixir strings, they have a coating on them that might prevent that from happening, at least while they're new...They also last a lot longer.
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Oh shit! I hope Light doesn't see this! :eek:
 
ez_willis said:
Oh shit! I hope Light doesn't see this! :eek:
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Pheh!


I make no bones about the fact that I personally HATE Elixirs, but I do sell them, and I have no problem with people using whatever they want. And yes, if my customers ask me about them, I tell them exactly what I think.


As for humidity, yes, it will rust strings. Any exposure to air will kill strings. Weither I play a guitar or not, I have to change the strings at least once a month, because I simply can't stand the sound of old strings (I also don't like getting lock jaw when they break and dig two inches into the flesh of my hand - ouch!) New strings don't stay new once they are taken out of the package. Hell, the way some companies package them, they don't stay new IN the package, at least not forever. (For instance, I always need to make sure I put the old GHS strings in the front of my displays because other wise some of the less popular strings will be dead by the time anyone buys them). Putting them on the guitar, adding the tension of being tuned to pitch, just acelerates the process.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
gbondo9 said:
.... :eek: ....

What do you consider 'expensive'?
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amen to that lol mine only cost a measley 4 bux, ernie ball super slinky
 
Light said:
Pheh!

As for humidity, yes, it will rust strings. Any exposure to air will kill strings. Weither I play a guitar or not, I have to change the strings at least once a month, because I simply can't stand the sound of old strings
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Don't you usually recommend 35-45% humidity as a standard and how does that translate to what leavings issue is?... just wondering.

TRD
 
Light said:
I make no bones about the fact that I personally HATE Elixirs, but I do sell them, and I have no problem with people using whatever they want. And yes, if my customers ask me about them, I tell them exactly what I think.
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It sounds as if I'm steppin into it here...but here goes regardless....

....why the animosity towards Elixir?

I've never used them personally, but Ive only heard good things about them thus far.
 
gbondo9 said:
It sounds as if I'm steppin into it here...but here goes regardless....

....why the animosity towards Elixir?

I've never used them personally, but Ive only heard good things about them thus far.
Click to expand...

I like 'em but Light jumped all over my ass one day for recommending them. :)
 
I used them once. The coating sheds into these tiny strands, like spiders web strings. Eventually, you have all this 'hair' hanging off your strings. It's just stupid.
 
Farview said:
I used them once. The coating sheds into these tiny strands, like spiders web strings. Eventually, you have all this 'hair' hanging off your strings. It's just stupid.
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You must be a shredder. :)
 
dgatwood said:
My last set of cello strings was about $80 (Pirastro Aricore) and those were relatively cheap compared to most of the Thomastik sets.
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my last bass strings were $150+

4 strings (more like cables)

and that was 5 years ago

i take very good care of them

and wipe out the keratin and other funk from my fingers

regularly with alcohol
 
gbondo9 said:
It sounds as if I'm steppin into it here...but here goes regardless....

....why the animosity towards Elixir?
Click to expand...



Well, first of all, I'm not at all convinced that they last twice as long, and seeing as how they are more than twice as expensive, I don't see much point. Second; I don't really care how long they last if they sound like they are three months old the first time I put them on a guitar (and they do).



Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
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