A Day in the Life of Guitar Strings

This is a Guest Post by Milwaukee Jazz Guitarist Jack Grassel

There have always been inconsistent opinions regarding how long strings should stay in service. A certain “star” has an instrument with new strings given to him before each song. Another guitarist’s finger tips and strings turn black resulting in weekly string changes. Some players never have to change their strings.

Early in my career, my strings wore out weekly. Now they last 5 to10 years. I save a lot of money and time by not changing them. There are a lot of guitarists in the world and their experiences vary greatly.

If you pay attention, anyone can be your teacher, and a teacher will appear when you need him. In my case, my dentist who is not a guitarist became my teacher. 30 years ago I was in his chair, getting yet another cavity filled. Allan proceeded to measure the acidity of my saliva with strips of PH paper. The results indicated an unhealthy acidic state in my body.

Apparently, the acid in my saliva was eating away at weak areas of my teeth. If this was happening in my mouth, it also meant that my perspiration was acidic and was corroding my guitar strings. Why? My brilliant dentist informed me that my junk food diet was putting my body into an unhealthy acidic condition.

Jack Grassel and His Dan Smocke Guitar

After months of getting acquainted with fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds, my strings stopped wearing out but I got more cavities. Upon returning to the dentist, it was determined that I had over done it, forcing my PH level so far to the alkaline side that my body wasn’t absorbing the calcium in food, making my tooth enamel weak in another way.

I began measuring my PH daily with PH tape purchased at a pharmacy. I started adding a few ounces of apple cider vinegar to my blender drinks to acidify my PH. The PH entered the normal area of 4 ½ to 5 within three months. This was the answer. By monitoring my PH, I could eat a healthy diet and keep my PH in the best range with apple cider vinegar. Learn which foods are acidic and which are alkaline.

My guitar strings don’t wear out anymore. I seldom get a cold or a cavity. With a balanced PH, the human body’s countless chemical reactions take place as they should, encouraging a higher level of health.

There is an important book with relatively new information: Eat Right For Your Blood Type. The author has determined through experimentation which foods produce the best health in each blood type. This would help explain why a certain food might cause health in one person but disease in another.

And what about exercise? There are five dynamic exercises that take a total of 15 minutes to perform. No equipment needed. They stimulate balance, unblock the energy centers, and optimize the entire organism. Do them once or twice daily for strength and energy. I’ve been doing them since 1992 and they really work. Learn them at the www.lifeevents.org.

Do these three things which will result in excellent health and more energy to play music. (You and your guitar strings will last longer):

1. Measure your PH weekly and keep it in the healthiest range by eating accordingly.
2. Learn your blood type and eat the foods your body wants.
3. Perform the “Five Tibetan Fountain of Youth Exercises”

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Do you have a tip on extending the life of yours strings? Share it in the comments section below.

Copyright 2011 Jack Grassel

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