Changing strings

[stratpurist]

How long does it take to change your strings?
Now that most of my shows are outdoors, I'm changing strings every other week and probably should do it every week. The last 2 weeks included shows just off the beach - i.e. salt air.
Today, it took me 45 minutes including a light fret polish and general cleaning. If I'm just changing strings on a strat with locking tuners it takes about 15 minutes.

[GuitarAttack Forum]

That is one of those "it depends" questions! I change strings on my guitars a great deal - probably more than I need to - but it really makes the guitars sound and play better. Also, that salt air will age your hardware if you don't keep it wiped down.

I worked at Guitar Center in Nashville for several years, and I did more string changes that I ever thought possible.

You build some strategies to speed up the process when you do that many changes. Mine had to do with using the right tools and doing an assessment on the guitar from the time I open the case.

I use a little Ryobi drill/driver with a peg winder, use synthetic steel wool to hit the frets, have some very stout wire cutters to cut the strings, and use a little bit of lemon oil on rosewood and ebony fingerboards.

I do not twist the strings on the tuner...not required and makes the next change much easier. Also, doing a neck relief adjustment is not only an upcharge, but something every guitarist should learn to do.

John

[Cuz]

I like to give myself plenty of time because it can be confusing.

One of my guitars has a Floyd Rose and it takes all day!

[antares]

This varies quite a bit between really quickly (as previously noted) with the guitars that have locking tuners (Sperzel in my case) to a labour of love with slot heads like my resonator. In addition, I've never made any secret of the fact that I never "stretch" strings, and I can't remember the last time that I needed to retune up to pitch more than twice with a new set before they're ready to roll.

I guess a related question might be "how often?" and I frequently keep strings on for ages- years in some cases, dependent upon how much action the instrument sees (it's inevitable to have favourites.) This is a pragmatic choice dictated by the cost of strings multiplied by the number of guitars that I own.

[dnic]

Because I do repairs I change a lot of strings. There are lots of ways to speed the process.

A lot of people think taking all the strings off can somehow damage the neck and or truss rod. I would ask those people "how do you do a neck re-set with the strings till on?" Or "how do you shim a bolt on neck without loosening all the strings?". Or oil a fretboard one string width at a time?

I also use a very light duty cordless drill with a peg winder. Acoustic guitars I put all the strings in at once then all the pegs. Same with electrics like Strats or Teles. Flip the guitar over in my lap and stick all the strings through at once.

I like the slot tuners a lot, Just cut the string a couple of posts long and poke it down the hole and wind it up. Perfection really. On regular tuners I wrap the stings around the post then pull it through the hole, then wind it up. More wraps on non wound strings.

5 to 10 minutes tops not counting letting the fretboard oil soak in..

I should have linked a video.

[antares]

I'm with Dane on removing all the strings, but definitely not with a resonator if you can help it. The cone beds down into the conewell and never really benefits from all the strings being removed at once, well at the least it greatly prolongs a settling in period for the cone if you do need to "go inside". It's advisable to maintain some downward pressure on the cone, at the very least to stop it from rotating which throws out the "intonation" (such as it is.) If you DO need to rotate the biscuit, then you absolutely must loosen all the strings because a spun cone (or at least my cone) is only 0.008" thick duralumin. That said- (and just as Dane said), if you're going to oil the fretboard (or whatever), you don't really have any choice.

It takes me a good while to re-string my resonator but I reckon I've only done it about three times in around fifteen years. I have a set of Newtone Monel strings with a 0.015" top string on there at the minute, and I guess a swap out is overdue right now!

[GuitarAttack Forum]

I think the toughest is changing strings on a guitar with a Bigsby tremolo. I struggled for years getting the string's ball end on the trem, then snaking it through the contraption to finally wind it on the tuner.

A colleague showed me the ultimate trick - use a capo to clamp the string at about the 5th fret to maintain tension while you wind it on the tuner. It makes the job so much easier.

John

[antares]

Maybe a tad OT in the context of guitars per-se, but my worst re-stringing experience crown goes to the violin. That said, I reckon with all the drone strings a Mohan Veena really does take some beating for raw awkwardness.

[GuitarAttack Forum]

I remember my first day working in a shop and the guy who thought he was in charge told me to get a sitar playable. It had been in the corner for a while and this was not a 60's Vinnie Bell sitar; this was a real deal Ravi Shankar sitar.

I knew it was hazing, and I gladly accepted even though I had no idea what to do.

I still don't think I could reproduce the solid work I did on that sitar, including trying to figure out which string went where.

John

[antares]

A sitar must be a baptism of fire? Don't they have some form of twine or cord for frets which are movable? Still, with all the microtones they deploy it probably isn't that critical.

Has anyone seen a Mohan Veena?

youtu.be/x1lUO5WgQ6I?feature=shared

youtu.be/UE2KgG6s6Io?feature=shared

[GuitarAttack Forum]

That second video was helpful…couldn’t figure out where the “other” strings were!

Thanks for sharing that…really inspiring.

John