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changing guitar strings

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gillymor	08 Jul 25 - 08:26 AM
Fred	08 Jul 25 - 08:45 AM
gillymor	08 Jul 25 - 09:31 AM
Fred	08 Jul 25 - 09:51 AM
gillymor	08 Jul 25 - 10:03 AM
Fred	08 Jul 25 - 10:16 AM
GUEST,John From Kemsing	10 Jul 25 - 12:16 PM
gillymor	10 Jul 25 - 12:33 PM
Fred	10 Jul 25 - 03:41 PM
Fred	11 Jul 25 - 11:40 AM
Pappy Fiddle	11 Jul 25 - 01:24 PM
Pappy Fiddle	11 Jul 25 - 01:35 PM
Fred	14 Jul 25 - 02:52 PM
Fred	14 Jul 25 - 06:46 PM
gillymor	15 Jul 25 - 06:25 AM
gillymor	15 Jul 25 - 07:09 AM
Fred	15 Jul 25 - 08:24 AM
gillymor	15 Jul 25 - 08:51 AM
Fred	15 Jul 25 - 09:06 AM
gillymor	15 Jul 25 - 09:08 AM
Fred	15 Jul 25 - 09:32 AM
gillymor	15 Jul 25 - 09:38 AM

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Subject: RE: changing guitar strings
From: gillymor
Date: 08 Jul 25 - 08:26 AM

I measured the bridge position and the tweaked it until it was right. Having a Moon bridge definitely helped as they stay upright.

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Subject: RE: changing guitar strings
From: Fred
Date: 08 Jul 25 - 08:45 AM

Yep, they say nut to 12th fret , double that and put your bridge there. That only gets you in the ball park, though, as it needs fine tuning from there. But patience, small adjustments and a good, accurate tuner is all it takes to get you in business.

-F

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Subject: RE: changing guitar strings
From: gillymor
Date: 08 Jul 25 - 09:31 AM

I'm sure some will disagree but I've found that applying Dr. Ducks Ax Wax to uncoated strings (and to a clean fretboard) considerably lengthens their time in the sweet spot. I used Fast Fret for a long time but this stuff beats it, IMO.

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Subject: RE: changing guitar strings
From: Fred
Date: 08 Jul 25 - 09:51 AM

I use Dr Duck's Ax Wax on my D-18's board and bridge.

A word of caution though, Gilly, don't let it come into contact with any raw wood. It will instantly darken it and it's permanent. Other than that, yep, good stuff.

-F

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Subject: RE: changing guitar strings
From: gillymor
Date: 08 Jul 25 - 10:03 AM

You know, Fred, I put in on the baked, maple fretboard of my Strat and haven't noticed any darkening. Perhaps the baking had something to do wth that.
The stuff works well on open-geared tuners as well.

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Subject: RE: changing guitar strings
From: Fred
Date: 08 Jul 25 - 10:16 AM

Oh it has many good uses for sure but my brother-in-law put some on the back of his Gibson's headstock (a lovely Rosey red) and it instantly turned it a dark brown lol. But as I told him "That's not the product's fault, it's YOUR fault for putting it on after I told you!"

-F

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Subject: RE: changing guitar strings
From: GUEST,John From Kemsing
Date: 10 Jul 25 - 12:16 PM

I swear this is true. Many years ago in a Cotswold pub Rock & Roll night we saw a young fan in front of the stage totally engrossed in his "air" guitar and he mimed changing or tuning his strings.

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Subject: RE: changing guitar strings
From: gillymor
Date: 10 Jul 25 - 12:33 PM

What brand of imaginary strings was he using? Us guitar nerds want to know.

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Subject: RE: changing guitar strings
From: Fred
Date: 10 Jul 25 - 03:41 PM

Did ya happen to notice how he had locked the strings at the posts? Any info welcome ;)

-F

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Subject: RE: changing guitar strings
From: Fred
Date: 11 Jul 25 - 11:40 AM

I never put my hand inside the sound hole to check if the ball ends are seated correctly. Here's what I do when changing strings:

String in the bridge and pin loosely in. Then I pull on the string. If the pin rises, that tells me it's snagged on the bottom of the pin. To get it off I rotate the string. You'll feel it come off and seat against the bridge plate, then I thread it through the post, pull back about an inch of slack and start to wind. No fancy locking or Boy Scout knots, and I repeat this with all 6 strings.

Ok guys, feel free to find fault with it. If you think it's wrong, say so.

Cheers
-F

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Subject: RE: changing guitar strings
From: Pappy Fiddle
Date: 11 Jul 25 - 01:24 PM

I mostly play my wife's Fender classical guitar. When I change the strings, they immediately sound wonderful. But they do not stay in tune. They go a half-tone flat in the first ten minutes. After about a day the stretching is done and they stay in tune.

After about 2 weeks they stretch out in some other dimension, or something, and lose that wonderful timbre. The guitar is a CG-5 but it sounds like a CG-7 for those 2 weeks. Then it gradually degrades to about a CG-1 if there is such a thing. So, the lesson is, when you go to sell your classical guitar, put new strings on it!

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Subject: RE: changing guitar strings
From: Pappy Fiddle
Date: 11 Jul 25 - 01:35 PM

I have another classical, which I rescued from the dumpster, because I wanted to try putting steel strings on a classical to get the wider fingerboard. So I got this almost free ax to try it on. It was made in China by someone who did not know what a guitar is supposed to do. The neck leaned back 3 degrees or more, the strings were laying flat on the frets. Adjusting the tension of the steel rod inside did nothing. So I ran it thru my table saw to separate the heel from the body - be bold! no risk :) and drilled a hole thru the heel for a bolt. So now the action is adjustable by tightening the bolt.

FYI, the sound is outstanding. The steel strings have more tension than nylon, and the top of the ax is distended like a rolling countryside, but it didn't tear itself apart (yet). I played it at the church picnic a week ago and I was impressed by the good loud sound in a big open space, largish crowd.

OK, so here's the interesting part: this configuration gives the neck a little flex. So when I'm tuning it up, say I tighten one string, the other 5 get slightly looser. I believe this happens to a microscopic degree with all guitars.

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Subject: RE: changing guitar strings
From: Fred
Date: 14 Jul 25 - 02:52 PM

By the way, Gilly, I use the Bill Palmer method of tensioning the head on my North Star. Works fine.

Imagine you're standing in front of your banjo, and that it's facing you. The bracket to the right of the neck heel we'll call 1 and the one to the left we'll call 24.

Here's the tension method:

1, 24
6, 7
18, 19
3, 4
15, 16
9, 10
21, 22
2, 5
14, 17
8, 11
20, 23

If you have a Drum Dial, try a reading of 89.

Cheers
-F

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Subject: RE: changing guitar strings
From: Fred
Date: 14 Jul 25 - 06:46 PM

Just noticed I left out brackets 12 and 13! They are after 1, 24 and before 6, 7.

Note to self: dummie

-F

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Subject: RE: changing guitar strings
From: gillymor
Date: 15 Jul 25 - 06:25 AM

That's interesting, Fred. I just go around in a star fashion, like you would when tightening lug nuts on an automobile wheel.

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Subject: RE: changing guitar strings
From: gillymor
Date: 15 Jul 25 - 07:09 AM

Looking at my Brooks banjo, which is a 16 bracket, I realize that I adjust tension in the pattern you described, Fred. For some reason I think of it as as star formation. Neither banjo has left this climate-controlled environment in years so I haven't had to mess with them much but when I was taking the Ome to outdoor old time jams I was having to tighten it fairly often.

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Subject: RE: changing guitar strings
From: Fred
Date: 15 Jul 25 - 08:24 AM

Gilly -

Yes, sort of star-like. 12 o'clock, 6 o'clock, 9 o'clock, 3 o'clock then fill in the in-betweens.

If you try it (when there's a need), you may or may not think it gives better results.

It's not necessarily any better than other methods, it's just another way of going at it.

It's a dangerous sport but, if you have a bit of daring, a bit of bravery and you go slow and don't force the brackets, changing head tension should be a breeze :)

-F

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Subject: RE: changing guitar strings
From: gillymor
Date: 15 Jul 25 - 08:51 AM

Yep, slow wins the race, in this case.

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Subject: RE: changing guitar strings
From: Fred
Date: 15 Jul 25 - 09:06 AM

It's also a good idea to put a spot of lubricant on the threads of each bracket above the hex nut, so that it can run down into it - helps reduce friction.

-F

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Subject: RE: changing guitar strings
From: gillymor
Date: 15 Jul 25 - 09:08 AM

That's where Dr. Duck's comes in.

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Subject: RE: changing guitar strings
From: Fred
Date: 15 Jul 25 - 09:32 AM

I've got a bottle of that for fretboards and bridges. But I use Martin Lifespan treated strings on my D-18 so don't put it on them cos it'd be product on product :)

-F

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Subject: RE: changing guitar strings
From: gillymor
Date: 15 Jul 25 - 09:38 AM

Yeah, I don't use it on coated strings but I swear by it on uncoated strings and metal parts, YMMV. I've probably said that 100 times here.

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