hi all, i'm using an accoustic steel string guitar and the strings tend to get fairly rusty after about a month of usage and causes pain to my fingertips. the rusty part is across the fretboard, esp the thinnest first 3 strings. is this normal as in i need to change all the 6 strings every 1-2 months of usage?

btw my palm sometimes gets a little sweaty after a while of playing... is there any way to prevent the strings from going rusty (so fast)? i forgot the brand of the strings, it's not Taylor but the seller told me it's branded and it's fairly okay for a beginner like me...

any comment is appreciated. =)

u need to buy special grease or oil that i once use for guitar string, try look for it in midvalley guitar shop.. if not, local guitar shop.. such as DUNLOP string cleaner. (^__^)

This post has been edited by m2n-e: Dec 5 2007, 12:40 AM

Use a cloth to clean the strings before and after you play. It should helps. Or else get the Fast Fret.

Well why they rust? Simple chemistry


Anyway, go to any guitar store and ask for Fast Fret.

1-2 months is a LONG time compared to my strings which rust in 3-4 days. until i bought fast fret
it lasts much longer now before rusting. amazing how much RM20 can save you in the long run

It's because of sweat..lol

ooo... so the grease is called Fast Fret... thanks a lot for recommending me this =)

it doesn't affect the playing does it? worried my fingers will get too "greasy" =)

its a bit oily, but you'll get used to it too. plus, it makes sliding a lot easier
what i do is apply some on my strings and wipe it away thoroughly before i play. not all the oil will be removed though. you can still feel it. after i play, i wipe my strings and apply a whole lot of fast fret and leave it that way

You can do what a person in the Bass Thread does... (well most people do)

See below

copied! thanks a lot for all the help =)

Well, but bear in mind that Fast Fret only Extends the lifespan of the strings...

The strings will sound stale after a few months and still needs to be changed

I use mr brasso on my strings.

My electric guitar strings have still not been changed even once since I bought the guitar.

Thank you mr brasso. hahahahaha.

No rusty strings, but shiny and clean after using mr brasso on it.

I think the string has been on my guitar for more than 1 year already, and still sounding good.


This post has been edited by bman: Dec 5 2007, 03:34 AM

I use the Dunlop String Conditioner.

Meh,don't use that,it's crap.Whenever I wipe it off,the greasy feel goes away into the kain too.

Or, you could always switch to Elixir anti-rust strings.

but the price is like.....

double the price but triple-quadruple the lifespan
i used to use elixir strings. lasted for 3 months + before i snapped one due to over-tuning some people use elixirs for like 6 months and its still bright sounding add that with fast fret....
now i've switched to d addario cuz i cant find 10-52's in any other brand besides d addario near my place

i wipe it off when i play and leave it on when i put the bass in the bag
those were my words haha

anyway
use a fast fret for gud
but i've substitute mine wit organic oil, which is olive oil
sum might say nose oil (rub ur nose before playing lol)

anyway u might wana try a different brand string
i have a fren's sweat which kill daddario's in a week
but survive longer with earnie balls


however u can oso try out elixir
though they cause a boom
the nanoweb/polyweb coating shud ease off the sweat

.... All of the above

Just for the sake of posting. In a spamming mood today

3-4 days old strings rust???
your fingers must be shredding and running up-down the neck like a marathon athlete to be sweating like that j/k ...

I do not seem to be having much problem with rusty strings (I use D'Addario & Ernie Ball and they last several months and I do not use fast-frets etc). Maybe I just dont have the sweaty fingers problem. However, I play my guitar under a fan. So maybe the air blowing from the fan dries my sweat.

This post has been edited by Banzai_san: Dec 6 2007, 12:57 PM

Nah, that's what they want you to believe. It's actually caused by rust monsters.

Damn, 3-4 days? That's a pretty severe rust monster infestation you've got there...



...ok, back to topic.

Fast Fret FTW! Yeah, it doesn't make dead strings sound lively, but it helps when you just wanna play and don't wanna go through the hassle of changing strings, especially for floating trem guitars. It helps make the strings physically playable, but it'll sound like dead strings no matter what...

yeah, my strings rust THAT fast. on d addario anyway, havent tried ernie balls

but now with fast fret, it makes a whole world of difference

dude, do you like, take showers with your guitar? (think skwisgaar of dethklok)
I've been on the same strings for about 5 months, nearing 6. No rust, and they havent gone stale yet.
And I' an alternate tuning whore, so you can imagine all the tension changes they go through

keep it in the case?

and some ppl have sweaty palms ( i do) so tend to rust faster. . .

and your 5 months no changing string is a classical i assume?

no. electric. I'm being dead serious. I havent changed strings in 5 months and they havent rusted/gone stale yet.

and u r not using any fast fret or sumthing???

nope. I just play and leave it sitting until the next time i play. Miraculously it hasn't rusted. All my friends say it should have by now.

Well I bet you don't have sweaty palms.

What strings you use?

Do you guys, after playing with your guitar, immediately store them in a bag? Just curious how the strings get rusty so quicky. Maybe if store in a bag, due to the humidity and sweat from the fingers, make the strings rust so fast.

I do not store my guitar in a bag. I dont really know if this has any relation to rusty strings, but just trying to figure out what may be the culprit.

1 month is a long time...thats like mine with silica gel in the case, and wiped down every time after use. Normally it rusts in 1-2 weeks.

Till recently I switched to Elixir..one month so far and its still like new! Its a miracle

i don't put my guitar in the bag, i leave it on my stand
that might be a factor... condensation ?

d'addario XLs. Super bright though...considering a swap to mellower strings when these suckers rust/go stale.

But I always keep a random hand towel around to dry my hands every now and then, usually between songs or something.

I leave mine lying on a rug after playing. Thing is, i keep my room very, very dry, and cool all the time. Basically i turn my room into a cave when I'm not in.... windows closed, door latched shut with the padding on the bottom to stop cold air from escaping, and I have the a/c on whenever possible.
A little sunlight every now and then might do those strings some good though.

i always play with sweaty hands yet nothing rust xD

maybe my strings is too oily lol.

may b ur sweat has ANTI-OXIDE chemicals
we shud take sum sample of ur sweat for the brighter future of gitar players

lol i mean it la k xD
after play it for sometimes, my left hand fingers can see obvious greenish color dirt on it, its the anti-rusting oil i think

that greenish colored thing is probably your sweat that has been "engraved" into the fretboard...time to do some cleaning...

greenish dirt...how thick does it cake on ur fretboard
may b the green dirt was from the rusted strings?

it appears on my fingers too..
but i didn't put any oil on my strings.... =_="

Might be... dont really know. Just curious how strings rust so quickly. Mine last several months (my last D'Addario last iirc for more than 3 months) with no fast fret nor wiping dry the strings with cloth.

Or maybe some people sweats are more 'acidic'?
Or maybe some play their guitars whilst hands/fingers are polluted with food's particles, etc.
hehe.. adding more to the sweaty finger theory.