Playing out in hot weather; change strings or no?

[Winston Psmith]

Tomorrow afternoon, Novparolo has our first gig in front of a real, live audience since November 2019! It's an outdoor show, mid-afternoon, on what promises to be the hottest day of the year, so far, mid-90's at mid-day.

 

Here's my question: Should I put on a fresh set of strings for that nice "zing", and run the risk of them stre-e-etching in the heat, or leave the current set, on the theory that they've already stretched out, even if they don't sound as fresh? Bear in mind that part of my live sound comes from a Guitar Synth, which doesn't much care if my strings are new or not, but I also blend in the Guitar sound, so it's really a mix of tones.

 

I know some of you have to have had some brutal outdoor gigs, so any opinions, advice, or amusing anecdotes, would be greatly appreciated.

[Caevan O’Shite]

IMHO, =IF= you stretch and re-stretch a new set of strings enough today, one at a time, from 1st/High-E to 6th/Low-E, until they practically will not go perceptively flat when you stretch them, that would be the best- and, of course, getting the guitars out first when setting-up, letting them sit out at temperature on stage, and then checking and tuning before performing.

 

When I put a new set of strings on, I usually tune up a whole or half step above the desired pitch, stretch away as described above, re-tune to actual desired pitch, and repeat; always tune UP, if you're sharp, tug on the string, lower the pitch below the target pitch, then up to pitch. This prevents stored-slack getting sutck behind the nut, bridge-saddles, etc.

 

=IF.= If not, still doing all of the above with the veteran strings, snapping them back against the fretboard to dislodge accumulated crud, wiping 'em down 'n' all that. Have "Egyptian Shumba" by the Tammys cranking away as you do so; it has nothing to do with any of that, but it's a good time.

 

=IF= you already knew most or all of that, forgive me, I'm just being thorough.

 

I may not have played a lot of gigs, but plenty of them were in hot Summer weather, and a number of outdoor hotly sunlit gigs among those. I managed to have very little in the way of tuning-issues all-around.

[KuruPrionz]

If the strings that are on it are not too old, I'd leave them on it.

I agree with Mr. O'Shite that getting the guitars warmed up in the sun is a good idea. Metal and wood do not expand and contract the same in heat and even if they did, expanding (which is usually what heat causes, will stretch the strings tighter (sharper).

 

It is likely there will be some minor tuning discrepancies here and there anyway, that always happens.

 

Last but not least, do you have a tuner that can be seen in bright sunlight? My go to tuners are now the Boss TU-10 clip on tuners, they are very easy to see in bright sunlight and also very easy to see in a darker interior space.Plus they are more than accurate enough for gig work.

 

Have fun!!!!!

[Winston Psmith]

Thank you, gentlemen!

 

In general, I don't wait for my strings to crap out, and I do a regular seasonal string change, intonation, polishing and fretboard cleaning on all my Guitars, so again, no ancient zombie strings lurking. Part of my thought is that I'm going to want to give the Guitar a good cleaning after playing with hot, possibly sweaty hands, in which case I'd just wind up trashing a new set of strings for one, short live set. I think I'll stick with what I've got.

 

We're due on site at Noon, so there's plenty of time for set-up and sound check beforehand. My Guitar will be sitting in a nice secure On-Stage stand, so it'll warm up to ambient temperature, but I did think of throwing a sheet over it if we're in direct sunlight. I'm more concerned for some of our fellow performers with purely Electronic rigs. The sound of one circuit frying . . .

 

My Guitar Synth has a decent Tuner, and it's easily visible in bright daylight, so that's covered. Our sets are just under half an hour, and there's some shade from trees nearby, so it's not like playing in an asphalt parking lot.

 

I'll have my fresh dress shirt & vest on a hanger, to put on right before we go on. Yes, I really believe in dressing up for one's audience, even at the risk of some discomfort from the heat. It shows respect for the audience, for the material being presented, and for oneself, as well. One of the greatest compliments I ever got in that regard was from a woman checking out the crowd, before the show was due to start, who turned to me and said, "You must be a Musician; you're the only one here who's dressed."

[Larryz]

+1 Brother Winston, on using the strings that are on it if they are in decent shape (clean the guitar and change the strings when you get home). Pack the new strings to the gig with you and if one breaks you can replace it and put the rest on later...I would keep the guitar in sight and in the shade if possible. You can also just leave the guitar in the case open and a towel tent to cover it...nice to keep the finish out of the sun too. Have fun at the gig and glad to hear things are starting to open back up for you! Break a leg!

[CEB]

This 2020 and the year is slow. But usually from Memorial Day till mid or end September most gigs are outdoor events.

 

I"m your typical Tele picker. That sound needs zing. I ran new strings every week. To prestretch them my tech would simply tune the guitar a step and a half sharp. Then back to standard for the show. I personally used to stretch them by wanking on them sometimes using a dowel to rod. My tech about had a stroke. Evidently I was creating core micro fractures and the string didn"t oscillate correctly. He was right. He showed my how the strings vibrated. Not sure if I heard a difference. I just play them. But if you want a even stretch just tune the guitars sharp.

 

Because of cost I would use webstrings. They felt like D"Addarios and were cheap by the case. My tech didn"t like them either but fresh steel cost money. They sort of felt broke in out of the package but they were new and had the zing. I just sweat like a pig. I"ve play some Chinese Fender stuff and after one season my sweat destroys that hardware. The plating is terrible. My old Fender stuff still holds up but I have to replace saddles.

 

Sorry for rambling about stupid stuff.

[CEB]

This 2020 and the year is slow. But usually from Memorial Day till mid or end September most gigs are outdoor events.

 

I"m your typical Tele picker. That sound needs zing. I ran new strings every week. To prestretch them my tech would simply tune the guitar a step and a half sharp. Then back to standard for the show. I personally used to stretch them by wanking on them sometimes using a dowel to rod. My tech about had a stroke. Evidently I was creating core micro fractures and the string didn"t oscillate correctly. He was right. He showed my how the strings vibrated. Not sure if I heard a difference. I just play them. But if you want a even stretch just tune the guitars sharp.

 

Because of cost I would use webstrings. They felt like D"Addarios and were cheap by the case. My tech didn"t like them either but fresh steel cost money. They sort of felt broke in out of the package but they were new and had the zing. I just sweat like a pig. I"ve play some Chinese Fender stuff and after one season my sweat destroys that hardware. The plating is terrible. My old Fender stuff still holds up but I have to replace saddles.

 

Sorry for rambling about stupid stuff.

[KuruPrionz]

So, Sir Winston - how did your gig go?

 

I'm on the sidelines for now, the weekend of July 31st, August 1st we are booked for 3 gigs and I am going to try and play all of them. The band are all great friends and can deal with my gear. I'll probably have to sit, my foot won't be healed enough to put weight on it yet.

 

It'll be great to just get out there and twang a bit!!!!

[Winston Psmith]

@CEB - No apologies, your response was right in line with what I was asking about. Definitely get your remarks about sweating through string sets; I have a buddy who can rust out a new set of strings in one evening, doesn't matter if it's an Acoustic or Electric Guitar.

 

FWIW, our gigs are generally indoors, so this is the first time we've really had to deal with the issues surrounding an outdoor gig, especially with record-breaking heat.

 

As to how it went: It was interesting. We got there on time, had a good sound check, then powered down our gear. I brought a cloth cover for everything, so our gear was safe from direct sunlight, but the heat was another matter.

 

When it was time for our set, my bandmate's iPad had overheated, and refused to work. All her Soft-Synths & Sequencers live in the iPad, so . . . I played a short solo piece, while she tried to recover the iPad, but it wasn't coming back anytime soon, so we cut our set short, rather than waste time.

 

Not long after our truncated set, I heard someone exclaim "IT MELTED!" One of our fellow performers uses real vinyl LP's as part of his sound rig, and sure enough, one of the LP's he'd brought had warped into a near-perfect Sine Wave shape, like a ribbon of hard candy. Like I said, it was interesting . . .

 

Still, we all got to get out and see a bunch of friends we hadn't seen in far too long. Other than that one LP, there was no permanent damage, no one got heatstroke, no complaints. If that's the worst thing that ever happens to us on a gig, I'll take it.

[Dannyalcatraz]

Dang! I"m surprised the heat was THAT bad!

[KuruPrionz]

Dang! I"m surprised the heat was THAT bad!

 

I'm not, but then I am from Fresno CA. 116 degrees one day and it didn't cool off enough to be pleasant all night.

 

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