Tuning frequency

[tbirdman]

I have to tune my classical daily. When I installed the strings, I did pre-stretch them. Do they ever stop stretching? My steel string guitar rarely needs tuning.

[Bax Burgess]

Nylon, carbon, etc can take days to stretch out, some faster than others. Try not to have more than two to three windings around a tuner's post when the string is initially tuned to pitch. More windings, more string to stretch is my thinking. It may be minimal, but I'll do anything to reduce the break in time.

[ssstewart]

when i string my classicals i treat them like a fine red wine and give them lots of time to breathe now for my electrics i do what joe walsh does when he changes strings and grab them around the 7th fret and pull them & stretch them away from neck to stretch them..works like a charm. ( although i find it very hard to believe that joe actually changes his own strings) and silks i find even worse for settling in time then nylons imo.
For my 12 strings when i had my first 12 string git, many moons ago ( it was a cheaper larrivee 12, since i couldnt afford the gordon lightfoot gold signature 12 hanging in the git store window-$2600.00 would of been too much for a starving student in 1986) i would spend half the time playing and other half fine tuning...finally realizing that having them a bit out of each others mate actually sounds soooo much nicer and fuller and adds to the 12 strings beauty...

sorry it appears my choo choo train got a little off track with that answer..

[btbliatout]

After a string change, the strings will stretch and fall out of tune for probably a week, maybe more if one doesn't keep retuning frequently to keep the tension up.

And even after it's done stretching, nylon strings require retuning every time the temperature changes, including from adjusting to your body heat and picking/strumming. I tune after every piece, or at least check to make sure I'm still in tune. In an hour sitting, I'll tune probably 5 to 6 times.

At least that's my experience. Others may have found a way to stabilize nylon strings better than me. I swear if my cat even rolls over on the other side of the room, my G will go sharp, or if my wife steps away my B will go flat.

My carbon fiber steel string acoustic can stay in tune for days at a time, no matter how much I play. I tune that maybe twice a week.

[Bax Burgess]

And people bungy jumping with their strings is probably a myth.

Nylon strings are one cause of retuning. Wooden guitars also flex and contract necessitating retuning. I've found that carbon fiber and Ekoa guitars require less tuning than wooden instruments.

[MThomson]

If you leave them on long enough, they definitely stop stretching. I have a rule of thumb on string changing. Change my steel strings when I can't keep them in tune. Change my nylon strings when they stop going out of tune!

Truly said Martin.

[tbirdman]

Interesting. I change my steel strings because the sound dull. Not an huge expense. It's like I play golf and a refuse to play with a ball that has a scuff on it. Will it affect my golf game. probably not, but I won't perfection with my golf balls. Mind you I buy pretty cheap Kirkland ones. LOL

[MThomson]

On my steel strings I use elixirs and I don't notice a massive drop off in tone on my guitar over a long long time. Therefore the driver to change (other than my inherent laziness) is when tuning gets frustrating.