Guitar String Madness!

fretfinder

Bellycaster said:

@ICBM

Ah, sorry I did write that, I'll edit it later so save confusion.

Just to clear up your advice on avoiding slipping

On a post with a slot and a hole down the middle, you mean you insert the string in the hole first and then take the string the wrong way round the post for half a turn then back across the slot, and then wind on normally.

Just wanted to make sure that's what you meant, you know what I'm like!

Thanks again

You mean I've been doing it 'wrong' all these years?! I've never heard of that method before. I just put the string in the slot and wind it on the normal way and I've never had any problem with my Fenders going out of tune or suffering string slippage. For Gibbo tuners and the like, that have a hole in the post, I go through the hole, back the wrong way half a turn, and then trap the end under the string as you tighten. Works a treat for me.

Bellycaster

@Lew

I would have said it depends on the hours of playing time. I'm not a gigging musician.

I only play ay home and have 2 guitars, so my playing time for each gutar over 3 months is approx 80 hours. I use Elixirs and they don't sound bad at all even when I'm getting round to changing them. I wipe the strings everytime I play and don't have grubby hands when I touch the guitar.

 

Bellycaster

@fretfinder

It's the first guitar I've had with these tuner types too. My Wolfgang has the hole through the post.

ICBM

Bellycaster said:

Just to clear up your advice on avoiding slipping

On a post with a slot and a hole down the middle, you mean you insert the string in the hole first and then take the string the wrong way round the post for half a turn then back across the slot, and then wind on normally.

Yes, that's correct.

fretfinder said:

You mean I've been doing it 'wrong' all these years?! I've never heard of that method before. I just put the string in the slot and wind it on the normal way and I've never had any problem with my Fenders going out of tune or suffering string slippage.

Most of the time it works fine, yes. Just occasionally you get either a post or a string that just won't grip like that though - only ever on the top two strings, I've never even had it on a plain G. The half-back-turn-and-across-the-slot method always fixes it, and most importantly doesn't tie up the string in some nasty complicated way that makes it hard to get off again... like some of the "patent stringing methods" you see do.

Lew

Didn't realize you used Elixirs, sorry. Still seems a bit long :-p my strings last about two weeks :-( guess I'm a sweaty pig

Bellycaster

Cheers @ICBM

 

Bellycaster

@Lew

I guess it's just horses for courses. Someone who gigs twice a week would need to change them regular I guess.

Do you put in a lot of hours?

Going back years when I was in a band, our Bass player was always skint (out of a job etc) and he used to Boil or "Heat close to Boiling" his Bass strings and they did actually sound like new strings. I don't know if the nickel coating prevented rust but they never rusted from being in water. I guess as long as he only put them in a short while and dried them thouroughly, it must have made things OK. I don't know how many "Boils" per set he got though.

I suppose being a Bass player and being out of a job is not good on your purse when it comes to strings.

 

Lew

Hour or two a day. Waiting on a string order at the minute, the ones on there are wanked.

Van_Hayden

I've had this on a Floyd. Turned out to be the saddle slipping - what's your bridge?

Bellycaster

@Van_Hayden

IIRC it's a Gotoh 1996T

ThePrettyDamned

I use the same gotoh tuners on my jazzbastard.

I'd leave more than 2 inches of string. Generally, there are limits to how many winds you should have, but you have a locking nut and thin e strings slip very easily!

I use mine at full, untrimmed length. It gives me 3-4 inches of spare. Never heard of winding around the wrong way first - surely tightening it will undo this hard work and force it back the right way? Anyway, I just put it down into the post and wind like there is no tomorrow until it's at pitch, then stretch it in. Then pop the locking nut on and hey presto...

I would say it's slipping at the tuner. Try it with a few more turns of string on it, and if it still happens you've confirmed that it's a saddle issue (they do wear down over time).

Make sure, when winding the string on, it all goes on tight. Hold it with your thumb as if your thumb is a string tree!

ThePrettyDamned

Also, lots of bassists boil strings. Don't try it on guitar ones, when a 9 rusts, it becomes a 6 by the time you've washed it off!

Bass strings are much more expensive. Washing them in boiling water removes a lot of solutes from our hands and the environment, as well as removing patches of rust, so it doesn't quite get back to brand new but it is a very good alternative. My bass strings last at least a year if I play everyday, longer because a normally don't!

ICBM

ThePrettyDamned said:

I'd leave more than 2 inches of string. Generally, there are limits to how many winds you should have, but you have a locking nut and thin e strings slip very easily!

I use mine at full, untrimmed length. It gives me 3-4 inches of spare. Never heard of winding around the wrong way first - surely tightening it will undo this hard work and force it back the right way?

No, because it crosses the slot.

It doesn't really matter on a locking nut guitar, but on one without it's much better than winding on several inches because it avoids the problem of slippage. With the half back turn you can put only about one turn on the post and it won't slip. It's also much quicker .

The only string I wind anything like 3-4 inches on is the G, and only because on a Fender-type headstock with one string tree you need the extra break angle at the nut.

Van_Hayden

I'd check the saddles are bolted down firm - worth a look, if they aren't they'll slip towards the neck causing your sting to go flat.

ThePrettyDamned

Thanks icbm, I get you now! I'll do that next time I restring, I reckon that'll speed it up a lot

Still have not put string trees on the jazzbastard, I'm trying to get out of the habit of bending everything so when I play that, I can't!

One day, I'll sort it... Probably.

Bellycaster

@Van_Hayden

I did lock the saddle ok

I adjusted the bridge height slightly but def tightened those sockets up too.

That said I wasn't impressed that they only have a 1.5 mm hex socket, seems a bit flimsy for a quality trem system like Gotoh

3mm socket adjusts the height' 1.5 locks the post

ICBM

They don't need more than a 1.5mm - you don't need to crank them, they're only there to stop the posts creeping downwards so they only have to be slightly tighter than just touching the bottom of the sockets.

Fender Jazzmaster/Jaguar/Mustang bridges use two 1/16" (1.6mm) Allens for the whole bridge height adjustment, and they seem adequate.

Bellycaster

@ThePrettyDamned

Shouldn't be a saddle wear issue, it's only a 9 month old guitar.

Van_Hayden

Are you talking about the saddle string lock or the saddle intonation screw?

Bellycaster

@Van_Hayden

I see what your saying now. Yes, I'll give it a check, it's always good to check everything.

Ta!