Practice Advice: Get More Life Out of Your Guitar Strings

Different guitar players have different body chemistries.  The chemistry of our hands reacts with the strings, and that is bad because it causes corrosion, which shortens the life of strings.

I used to know a guitar player whose hands were so acidic that he could only used his strings a few times before they sounded terrible.  I learned from him that it is a good idea to wipe a guitar down after use.

I, myself, do not have hands that cause much corrosion, and as I said, people’s body chemistry varies.  However, it is always a good idea to wipe down your strings after use with a clean cloth.

Always wash your hands before playing too.  Often times, our hands have oil on them.  The body chemistries that shorten string life can be countered by washing your hands.  Not only will your guitar sound better, but you will also save money while you are at it.  You may even want to wet the rag with a cleaner to help get off that extra grit, but consult your local guitar store before doing that, as you don’t want to use a solvent that might damage your guitar (in addition to cleaning it).