I’ve learned the guitar on an old one I picked up for nothing which had rusty strings. The most commonly used frets are clearly visible from where my fingers have rubbed it clean. Is there a reason to change the strings, or is it just an aesthetic thing?
Rusty? Rusty? RUSTY :eek:
Guitar strings don’t last forever anyway, but if they’re rusty they’ll be carving into the frets, and will go plonk when they should go twang. They will also quite likely play out of tune.
Get a new set, and spares.
It definitely affects the sound. Not only will they sound dull compared to new strings, but if they haven’t rusted evenly the intonation will change and go out of tune as you go up and down the fretboard.
They are also much more likely to snap and break.
Yes change them, both responses upthread are correct. As strings age your finger oils seep into the winding bringing dirt, bits of skin etc with it, this changes the mass of the strings and will eventually make the guitar unplayable and untunable. New strings also happen to sound better, gigging guitar players often use new strings for every performance. If your guitar is a bit wacky after you put on the new strings PM me and I will help with intonation and set up, happily
BTW in my 26 years in and around the music business, not a single player I have ever met has learned their instrument, they are still learning. It is simply not possible to learn it all. That is not a snipe, just a verbage thing
Capt
Huge difference. The tone is duller on old strings; brand new ones are super bright but most “soften up” after about 10 hours of playing (and yes, they age faster if played, not least from corrosion from finger oils but also I believe from vibrating and who knows what else).
In addition, the intonation (accurate tuning up and down the fretborad) is worse in older strings. If it’s a cheap guitar, probably not enough to matter. But as mentioned above, even more so if pitted (ugh!).
I know quite a few bass players who insist on boiling new strings before putting them on. I confess I haven’t experimented with this, but it is pretty common (or was 20 years ago, haven’t asked any bass players lately.)
Just FYI, that’s not officially a word yet, and the definition I find online doesn’t match how you’re using it.
There is a word “verbiage” which means “excessive wordiness”.
The word you really mean here is “language” or “terminology”.
No worries … just a verbage thing. 
Oops caught me, I could not think of the word I was thinking of so I used a Motherism. What is a Motherism? Glad you asked. A Motherism is a word or phrase my Mother made up for her convenience and our general confusion. My favorite is a phrase
“Capt you are a wart on the pickle of progress”
Try that one out sometime
Capt
The sound deteriorates long before they actually get rusty…as noted above some pros might change them before every show, as a hobbyist player I change mine every 4 weeks or so.
The boiling thing takes the newness out of the string reducing the overtones. New bass strings tend to sound a little pianoesque for lack of a better word. IMHO it is a very bad idea as it shortens string life and causes rust, I know some guys that still do it, I don’t because my hands are string destroyers, all I need is a few hours on them and voila new string sound gone. I change my bass strings once a month, guitar strings once a week or so. I Tour Manage bands for part of my living and am the only person who is allowed to touch a particular clients guitar, I have mastered moving it without touching the strings. He says he can tell right away if I have touched his new strings but he is rather sensitive.
Anyhoo I am blathering
Capt
Dang, too late to post!
But +1 with all of the above. Strings are not like a car’s engine, they’re like its gasoline. Replace often to keep it running.
Having said that, I replaced the strings on my bass in 1980. Still going strong! (Though I never play it.)
Well, if you play it enough, the strings will get shiny again, on one side 
Well, you are a wart on the pickle of progress, after all.
I’m lucky. I have low-corrosion fingers. Strings used to last me a month, playing almost daily. Now I use nanowebs and they last 6 months or longer. On acoustic, that is. I play electric less often, and haven’t tried coated strings on my main guitar (jazzmaster). But I don’t think they make coated strings for electric. Whadda I know, I’m a keyboard player.
Sounds like Eric Johnson. He hears absolute phase, can tell what batteries are in his pedals, and how old his leads are. :eek:
You have no idea how close you are, EJ also moves his amps to the best power outlet, proving the he knows little about electricity. Great player though.
Capt
This article on Guitarbitz’ website should answer your question - When to Change Guitar Strings | Guitarbitz
If you have an Electric or an Acoustic Guitar
Here are a couple of questions to answer:
- Have you had the same strings on for over 2 months?
- Are your strings rusty?
- Are your strings rough?
- Do your strings sound dull?
- Had a string break recently?
If you answered yes to any of the above, its probably time to replace your electric guitar strings or acoustic guitar strings.
OK, I’ll be changing the strings then.
Smart.
To put it another way: do you think a rusty bell would sound differently than a shiny, clean bell? Same principles apply - strings are the vibrating metal involved in sound creation.
And, yeah, rusty bells sound different - that’s why bell ringers wear gloves…
Yeah, just change the strings. Fresh strings are marvelous. Old strings are so not. And it’s just a few bucks and 10 minutes’ time to take care of.