Forum - Banjo Ben Clark

When String Snapping Goes Wrong

Um… a lot :joy:

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:joy: I’ve found that Banjo Ben has much better deals on most strings than Amazon.

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No, we don’t need to see the Bluegrass Album band video, we’ve all seen a hundred times… :slightly_smiling_face:

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Sorry! I wasn’t thinking. Try this link - https://store.banjobenclark.com/products/daddario-ej17-phosphor-bronze-guitar-strings-medium-13-56

Sold out though, and no 25 packs. :confused:

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Actually I was thinking of Brandon Rickman of LRB doing it. But Tony did similarly too, seems like he’d usually step off stage though.

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Well, guess I’m gonna stock up on strings, not sure why I haven’t before now. I mostly play banjo, mandolin, and guitar, and I can get three sets of each for about $55. Strings usually stay pretty comfortable to me for 2-3 months so $55 twice a year really isn’t that bad. Plus I can buy them from the general store and get free shipping since it’s over $49 :joy:

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If you can get that much life out of a set of strings kudos to you!:joy:
I have to change mine every 2 weeks and it’s hard not to change them every week

Thankfully(ish) I’m not changing strings 3 instruments at a time though! That would be rough on the billfold haha

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Every two weeks!?!? Mine are still practically new at two weeks! Good thing you don’t play banjo, mandolin strings last me a lot longer than banjo strings. You’d be changing banjo strings every other day :joy:

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My banjo strings last much longer than guitar strings. Since I don’t play guitar hardly ever more than around the house I don’t change them as much as I would like to but if I were playing it live it would be about every week or two. No reason for that if you are just playing around the house like I do.

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I’m usually around every 2 weeks too but that’s because I only play one instrument. I do notice that during time periods when I’m playing both of my guitars a lot, I keep the same strings on each of them for sometimes months, since I’m going back and forth. For someone who’s been used to keeping strings on for a year, I think every 2-3 months is a good start. :slight_smile:

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I always change my banjo strings every couple months at least, because when they get too much rust on them playing up the neck becomes nearly impossible :joy: I just don’t play guitar enough to justify changing them super often. I have been playing more lately so I might start changing them more often. I’m pretty sure I last changed them in January, so I’m long overdue haha. And mandolin strings sound good for me for a long time, I honestly like the tone when they lose their initial brightness. I change them after they get uncomfortable to play, which is usually every couple months.

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I like the feel of older banjo strings. I agree they aren’t as bright and snappy when they’re not brand new but I don’t mind the tone. Sometimes on the banjo a set of strings break in and start to feel smooth. The guitar is totally different though. I would change my guitar strings once a week if I played more.

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This is why I don’t practice mandolin :joy: Mando strings would be junky after a week of consistent practice. Same with banjo strings. Guitar strings, 3 days if they’re anything but Elixirs, which I can stretch for a month or more. If Elixirs went out of production I don’t know what I’d do… and seriously, no other coated string has made any difference for me. They all last the same amount of time except Elixirs which will take anything I throw at them.

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Either y’all are way pickier about strings than I am or I just have unbelievably dry hands :joy:

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Plus they rust on their own. I can put new strings on the banjo, play the banjo for 5 minutes, and it’ll need a string change after a few weeks

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Yeah, I’ve found that strings last longer on an instrument if you keep it in the case vs leaving it out. Kinda weird. I always have my mandolin in it’s case when not in use, my banjo is on a stand but I would keep it in the case if I wasn’t too lazy to get it out every time :joy:

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I kinda feel bad about demoing instruments because I can wipe out a decent amount of the string lifespan in a playing session :joy:

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Me too but snapping them brings them right back to their state of newness, so my 5-minute string-killing ability doesn’t bother me anymore.

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It’s the unwound strings that I really wreak havoc on. As far as the wound strings, snapping helped for about 90 seconds the time I tried it :joy:

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Fiddle strings on the other hand have lasted me a good long while but I’m no good at fiddle so it doesn’t make much of a difference either way. :laughing:

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