String Changing - How Often?

I change them when they feel nasty and don't bend well anymore.

Ric, what do you thing about mineral oil? Doesn't spoil as far as I know. You've been in the game much longer than me so I'll trust your oil...

Mineral oil's fine, if you're very sparing with it. I have a theoretical concern about it deteriorating wood, as I've taken apart many old guns that have been liberally doused with mineral oil over many decades. The wood around the action turns soft and punky, as mineral oil is a (poor) solvent for the lignin that binds the cellulose fiber bundles together in the wood and eventually softens it. Might not ever be an issue in a well cared for guitar, but I think it could. Fatty oils won't attack lignin. Most will eventually gum up, though. Olive oil does that the least of any I know of. Anyway, I've been using it on things like the valve key of my tenor recorder since about 1990, and as a conditioner and moisture repeller on leather nearly that long. I have on a belt right now that I made 6-7 years ago from raw vegetable tanned leather and soaked with olive oil. Just smells like leather. I've used it on guitar strings and fretboards for 7 1/2 years. No problems so far. There are a zillion products sold by guitar and accessory companies "just for guitars." I guarantee every one of them is a common oil mixture of some sort bought "off the shelf" from wholesalers and repackaged for the guitar market. And they'll all work as advertised if used as directed. I've just been satisfied well enough with the olive oil I happened to have around that I've never needed to try anything else.

One possible issue to be aware of if you think you might ever refinish your guitar is to stay away from string and fretboard lubes and polishes that contain silicone. A tiny trace of silicone in wood can cause a nasty condition called "fisheye" when film finishes such as lacquers are applied.

One possible issue to be aware of if you think you might ever refinish your guitar is to stay away from string and fretboard lubes and polishes that contain silicone. A tiny trace of silicone in wood can cause a nasty condition called "fisheye" when film finishes such as lacquers are applied.

We may be speaking of the same thing, but there are some lubricants and polishes that actually suck up moisture from the objects they are applied too. Some commercial tire cleaning and shining products will cause tires to dry-rot quicker.

I just tried putting some olive oil on my strings, and I'm impressed. After the excess came off, they feel really nice and smooth. I can slide my fingers much faster, and my right hand nails seem to have stopped getting caught on some of the strings. I'll definitely keep doing this.

I've just been satisfied well enough with the olive oil I happened to have around that I've never needed to try anything else.

Extra virgin? Spanish, Italian, or Greek? Can you use the cheap stuff you'd fry with or does it have to be the good "salad / bread dipping" quality stuff? :wink:

I started with extra virgin because that's what I had, but I'd rather use the light stuff.

I change them about once a month.

Sadly, and maybe uninformed, I can't see anything other than Mineral Oil. Nuff said.

That's fine. It's worked well for a lot of guitarists.

Thanks for all of the replies.
I guess the thing I find is I'm afraid I get used to them sounding bad and don't realize how bad they sounded until I put new ones on.
Ricochet, I am going to try your olive oil thing. I have extra virgin so I will use that. Perhaps I can fix a salad and cut some dipping bread to eat while I'm oiling my strings.

Wipe it off well. Don't leave it dripping.

I wiped it off after application, leaving just a thin film. What a difference. It actually helped clean some crud off and made sliding parts play much easier.
I'm going to pass this on to my guitar playing friends.

It's nice stuff.

I'll have to put up a video I shot the other day of Mrs. R polishing up our daughter's baby tortoise with it. She loves it! :lol: