It's not just about the strings staying in tune, or not breaking. It's how they SOUND as well.
As you play, the acid in your hands eats away at the coating on the strings. Thats why you'll start to see black marks, and over time, the whole string will turn black and feel rough to the touch.
When this happens, the strings do not vibrate and resonate as well, meaning they don't sound very good. When you change your strings (ideally, one at a time), pull up on the string around the pickups, and let it snap back down. Listen to the sound it makes, and compare that to an old string and a brand new string. You should be able to hear a huge difference. Even playing for a couple hours will affect the strings.
So to answer your question, change the strings as often as you have a show. If you have a gig 5 nights a week, change your strings 5 nights a week. After all, you want to sound your best when playing live, don't you?
If you're just practicing, then who cares how it really sounds, and if you break a string it's no big deal, because you're not performing. Content provided by Yahoo Answers.
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