When do your strings sound best?

[mmasters]

For me it's a few days after putting them on.

[FoxHound4690]

I use .10 gauge elixirs on my Les Paul and .11 gauge elixirs on my acoustic and both sets of strings sounded best after about a week. I love how bright they sound when first strung up but after about a week of thoroughly setting in properly they gain that nice bit of warmth that I love to hear. so for Elixirs it's about a week, at least to my ears anyway.

[raysachs]

When they're vibratin'

Seriously, there's a way too bright and jangly period when you first put 'em on which can last a day or several, depending on the strings. And then there's a way too dead period after they're dead, which can be just a couple of weeks for some strings, up to many months for others. The ones I like enough to buy more than once, I like 'em from once they get over the early jangliness right up until I have to sign the death certificate. Most of 'em sound real good that whole time, and some of 'em barely give you any warning when they're fixin' to die.

-Ray

[Mark Stone]

When strummed or fingerpicked.

[Rosewood99]

All of the above. Depends on the brand of strings and guitar.

[donlyn]

I voted a week after. Give 'em time for a shake down cruise. I use Elixirs most of the time, with my favorite 6 string gauge being PB HD Lights. I don't have acidic skin and mostly fingerpick with my nails, so I don't beat up the strings. These Elixirs tend to stay in the 'nice' groove for quite a while.

Don
.

[Steadfastly]

I picked "Other".

They sound best when they are vibrating.

[hubcapsc]

I also picked "other"... there's a good guitar player who
works at a shop I frequent. He played my guitar for 10 or
15 minutes last time I was there, the strings sounded
pretty good then ...

-Mike

[FoxHound4690]

Originally Posted by hubcapsc

I also picked "other"... there's a good guitar player who
works at a shop I frequent. He played my guitar for 10 or
15 minutes last time I was there, the strings sounded
pretty good then ...

-Mike

Hearing your guitar being played from the other side of the sound hole can have a big impact for sure =)

[vw1300]

I generally use D'Addario EXP PBs - lights or bluegrass sets - they seem to take about a month to settle in but are very good sounding for a few months after that.

[mercy]

I like a lot of zing in strings so the first day they are great, the next not as much and so on.

[rokdog49]

Depends on the guitar and the strings.

[J Patrick]

...for me it’s an hour or two of playing time...after they lose the initial zing and settle in....fwiw I use PB strings almost exclusively...

[Pura Vida]

Originally Posted by paulzoom

All of the above. Depends on the brand of strings and guitar.

This. Some guitar/string combos are ready to go in a day or two, while others need a few weeks to settle down. It really depends.

[Peter Z]

That's an interesting poll because I have read so often that people like their strings after months and was wondering.
For me it's the first days they sound best.