Acidity levels and guitar strings

I'm one of those people who blackens guitar strings really quickly. Always have been. Costs me a fortune. Anyway I've always had a vague inkling that it had something to do with my sweat's acidity levels but I've kept the thought at the back of my mind. I never thought it would be that much of a problem because I eat very healthily - loads of greens, loads of salad and fruits - and I don't drink or smoke. On the minus side, I do work out pretty hard (which is supposed to increase acidity?) and also eat quite a lot of protein to that end. I also eat a lot of beans and grains. 
 
Yesterday I was in the health section of Whole Foods and they had some pH strips on sale. I figured why not? So I tested my tinkle. Between 5.5 and 6! Not that good. Not mega-bad, but definitely way more acidic than I thought I was. Doing a little light research it seems that drinking a little baking soda in water every day helps bring your pH up. So today I mixed way too much into my daily green shake - 2 teaspoons, lol. It fizzed up and tasted gross, but a couple of hours later I tested my wizz again and the pH had shot up to 8.5! So smaller doses methinks - the general advice is to take maybe 1/2 a teaspoon in water 4 or 5 times a day. I'll monitor with the strips for a while (gotta use them up!) and see if I can strike a healthy balance. Don't want to get obsessed with it, but at the same time I'm really curious as to how this will affect the lifespan of my guitar strings. Anyone been down the same route? 

I remember you posting that Rain, and in fact I had a feeling you'd be the first to chime in! Anyway maybe try the baking soda thing for a bit to see what a difference it makes. I've had literally one dose of it tonight (albeit a large one) and it made a drastic change to my pH straight away. Not only that but my mouth feels a lot "cleaner," can't really describe it except to say that it tastes a lot more neutral, like water, and my throat feels a lot clearer because it seems to have thinned my mucous. 
 
I think when you have high acidity, your body has to work extra hard in order to maintain your blood's ideal pH level, and this can affect your health and energy levels. 
 
I can't wear white clothing either...but maybe I will this summer 

Apparently, the average pH in humans has been dropping over the centuries as our diets have changed. Specifically, the ratio of potassium to sodium has reversed: our ancient ancestors had a ratio of 10:1 potassium to sodium. Modern diets have a typical ratio of 1:3 - three times as much sodium as potassium. This, coupled with a shortfall in magnesium consumption, results in acidosis, or excessive acidity in the body.
 
Note that testing urine doesn't really tell you what you need to know, because it's the acidity of blood that matters and the two aren't directly proportional. Just the opposite: altering the acidity of urine is part of the process that keeps your serum pH consistent.  A low-carb, high-protein diet will increase acidity in urine but not necessarily in blood.
 
Acidity in urine does indicate a higher chance of kidney stones, though - and if  you haven't experienced that joy I can tell you it's most unpleasant.
 
A better test for acidity is saliva, so your test strips may be better applied there.
 
Keeping the pH slightly above neutral and eating potassium is especially important for old guys like me, because it helps slow muscle loss with aging. It's also been linked to reduction in back pain. So Bananas! Lots o' bananas! When I'm in the Philippines I eat at least 6 a day, and there's nothing like a naturally-ripened banana straight from the tree. Back here in the USA, those bland-tasting picked-green things will have to do.
 
And lay off the caffeine. Sigh. Sadly, it's one of the worst offenders. And I drink coffee constantly at gigs.
 

Unless you're intending on bleeding or peeing all over your instruments (art can be a strange thing) the only thing that matters is your sweat.
Human sweat naturally has a high salt content and it will corrode your metalwork. No PH altering snake oil will change that.
 
You can reduce your salt intake if you like, but that won't affect the salt content of your sweat by much, if at all. Your sweat is salty to act as an anti-bacterial protection for your pores and sweat glands.
 
The only viable solutions are things like gold plated hardware or plastic coatings (lacquer) and oily coatings for strings such as FastFret (tm)

How much you sweat is not the issue, it's the salt content.  You could argue that sweating profusely under hot stage lights could produce less salty sweat as the water content is replenished faster in the sweat glands..
 
Conversely, someone who sweats little could have oily sweat that sticks to everything (think fingerprints) and holds the salt, increasing corrosion.
 
 
But ultimately it's the same problem as we have with cars in winter. Salt corrosion.

paulo

sharke

Paulo: black strings would be awesome. Lead the way.

 
 
Here ya go.......
 

 
http://www.zzounds.com/item--DRSBKE10
 
 

 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rotosound-Coated-Electric-Guitar-Strings/dp/B0024RH8G6%3FSubscriptionId%3DAKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q%26tag%3Dduc08-21%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB0024RH8G6
 

On the other hand, how am I supposed to know when my strings are corroded and need replacing? With my ears? Pffft!

paulo
Is there anything Bitflipper doesn't know ?

 
Where do you think Google gets their information from? 
 

My guitar player in California sprayed WD40 on his strings after every play.

Welp...here for your informational amusement is the one, the only SCOTT GROVE on the subject at hand.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQAmtG5TzEw
 

jbow

57Gregy
My guitar player in California sprayed WD40 on his strings after every play.

Did he put fish wrapper under the strings or something? Did it help? Sound's oily... may be slick though!
 
J

No, he just sprayed it on, then wiped it down. Sorta like Finger Eze (?), but with the added benefit of Water Displacement.
I didn't like doing that because WD40 stinks, to me.

Yesterday I was in the health section of Whole Foods and they had some pH strips on sale. I figured why not? So I tested my tinkle. Between 5.5 and 6!

 
I don't know anything about the accuracy / precision of your test strips but if you really have health concerns, you should probably monitor your urine several times throughout the day to develop a 24 hour pH profile and bring that to your physician.  I am a chemist not a medical doctor (so don't quote me on this) but a 24 hour urine pH of 6 is normal.  If your 24 hour urine is truly is 5.5 or lower your looking at things like Type 2 Diabetes and the coffee house is probably not the right place for this discussion.    

FastFret is a mainly a white mineral oil for the neck and strings. Actually some people and Gibson say to use lemon oil (furniture oil for adding moisture) which is close to that for the neck and that. I doubt I will use WD40 on anything, it really is not great to use. (for anything at least to me)
People have gotten on that discussion over at the Gibson forum and also strings to use sometimes.
(been amps lately for some reason).

or just make the bridge from zinc...

Karyn
or just make the bridge from zinc...

 
The sacrificial anode is simply an antioxidant in that it is preferentially oxidized or corroded ... in other words ... it goes away.  So using a component of your instrument that has to maintain its mechanical integrity is probably not a good idea.
 
There are other issues that would make the implementation a sacrificial anode difficult.  They are most effective when the two metals are in physical contact with an electrolytic solution (fancy talk for salt water).  If there is salty sweat on the strings but the anode remains dry, its effectiveness is probably reduced (I'm guessing).
   

57Gregy
My guitar player in California sprayed WD40 on his strings after every play.

I can think of a few that should have duct tape wrapped around their strings instead...