Results 1 to 12 of 12

Thread: Changing Strings.

  1. #1
    Registered User Jes Woodland's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Location
    Nottingham,UK
    Posts
    38

    Default Changing Strings.

    So the time has come for me to give my Mandi a change of strings as the wound strings are starting to sound a bit dull. This isn't a problem, I've been changing guitar strings for 40 years or so but I'm not sure if there is a particular order I should change them in.
    With a guitar I would remove all the old ones first but with the Mandolin not having a fixed bridge it would make sense to change one at a time.
    Is there a recommended order to which course you start with?
    Jes Woodland
    Ozark 2001Mandolin
    Ozark 2223 Octave Mandolin

  2. #2
    Gibson F5L Gibson A5L
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Posts
    2,526
    Blog Entries
    1

    Default Re: Changing Strings.

    Well ... there are several YouTube videos on the subject. The one thing you don't want to do is remove all the strings at once as the bridge on most mandolins is floating and resetting them to the correct place takes time and patience. Personally I remove the four lowest in pitch strings , replace and tune them to pitch then do the same with the two higher pitch pairs so I am replacing then four at a time. Some folks replace them one pair at a time others one string at a time. The reason I do them in groups of four is that it gives me an opportunity to clean any dust off the headstock and face and clean the callus detritus off the fingerboard with a damp cloth. It also leaves enough tension on the bridge to keep it in place. Eventually floating bridges move and have to be adjusted from being bumped or whatever. When the intonation is "off" on your mandolin you can take that opportunity to completely and carefully clean your mandolin and then reset the bridge.
    Wrapping them around the post is another thing players do differently. I pull the string through the post leaving enough for two wraps , bend the string back and set it under the beginning of the first wrap around so the tightening of the string onto the post traps the string , then bring it up to tension. The keeps any slippage through and around the post from happening. The G and D strings don't usually slip anyway but the E and A do. R/
    I love hanging out with mandolin nerds . . . . . Thanks peeps ...

  3. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to UsuallyPickin For This Useful Post:


  4. #3

    Default Re: Changing Strings.

    I do them one at a time. No particular order. If I were cleaning the fretboard, I'd mark the bridge, take them all off, clean and polish the frets, then tweak to get the intonation set after I put the new ones on.
    Soliver arm rested and Tone-Garded Northfield Model M with D’Addario NB 11.5-41, picked with a Wegen Bluegrass 1.4

  5. #4
    Registered User Jes Woodland's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Location
    Nottingham,UK
    Posts
    38

    Default Re: Changing Strings.

    Thanks Guys!
    Jes Woodland
    Ozark 2001Mandolin
    Ozark 2223 Octave Mandolin

  6. #5

    Default Re: Changing Strings.

    Everyone does it differently, but I find the fastest and best method is to wrap the string 2 to 3 times around the peg, then insert the string thru the peghole (keeping the wraps BELOW the string going thru the hole) and then tightening the string.

    I forget who recommended this to me-- it may have been someone on this forum-- but it is fast, it insures good even non-overlapping wraps, and it keeps tension on the string so that the loops stay put under their tangs.

  7. The following members say thank you to jshane for this post:


  8. #6
    Registered User Roger Moss's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    Charlottesville Va
    Posts
    1,052

    Default Re: Changing Strings.

    I do them one at a time outside then inside. One thing you will have to do is check your bridge after you are up to pitch. I find mine tend to lean in toward the fretboard due to tightening the strings. It doesn't take much to move it back a little just be sure not to move the base of the bridge since that will alter the intonation.
    We are the music makers,
    And we are the dreamers of dreams

  9. #7
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Oct 2015
    Location
    Pacific NW, slightly outside BC
    Posts
    814

    Default Re: Changing Strings.

    I do them one pair at a time, pinch the end loop with pliers to make it narrower by half, loop long end thru tuner post. Then make it taught and pull a length from the nut to the first or second fret to set the slack, then tying the string onto tuning post: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7qxn63PB0s

    Also pencil graphite in bridge saddle slots, teflon lube in nut slots (tiny quantity, use a bit of .010 string to put in a bead)

    Most important: bring E strings up to pitch slowly (or have a big stash of spare E's, or both)
    Last edited by gtani7; Jul-09-2016 at 9:06am.
    Kentucky km900
    Yamaha piano, clarinet, violin; generic cello;
    a pedal steel (highly recommended); banjo, dobro don't get played much cause i'm considerate ;}

    Shopping/monitoring prices: vibraphone/marimbas, rhodes, synths, Yamaha brass and double reeds

  10. #8
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    S.W. Wisconsin
    Posts
    7,507

    Default Re: Changing Strings.

    Quote Originally Posted by jshane View Post
    Everyone does it differently, but I find the fastest and best method is to wrap the string 2 to 3 times around the peg, then insert the string thru the peghole (keeping the wraps BELOW the string going thru the hole) and then tightening the string.

    I forget who recommended this to me-- it may have been someone on this forum-- but it is fast, it insures good even non-overlapping wraps, and it keeps tension on the string so that the loops stay put under their tangs.
    Think that was me as that is the method I posted some time ago. By the way I never take all the strings off a guitar either unless doing other work that necessitates taking them all off.
    THE WORLD IS A BETTER PLACE JUST FOR YOUR SMILE!

  11. The following members say thank you to pops1 for this post:

    jshane 

  12. #9
    Moderator JEStanek's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Pottstown, Pennsylvania, United States
    Posts
    14,284
    Blog Entries
    2

    Default Re: Changing Strings.

    I've used this Frets.com method since the beginning. No issues with slipping strings for me. I go one at a time from G --->E.

    Jamie
    There are two things to aim at in life: first, to get what you want; and, after that, to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second. Logan Pearsall Smith, 1865 - 1946

    + Give Blood, Save a Life +

  13. #10
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Southern Maine
    Posts
    280

    Default Re: Changing Strings.

    As a newbie changing strings a few years ago, I failed to observe that the saddle wasn't quite flat to the top and I wound up with a tipped bridge. Probably less likely if you don't remove al the strings at once, but watch the alignment anyway.

  14. #11
    F5G & MD305 Astro's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    Charleston SC
    Posts
    2,494

    Default Re: Changing Strings.

    I replace the 2 middle courses first and at the same time (D and A) to help cleaning. I figure the G and E courses left on are sufficient to hold bridge. I bring the new strings to pitch and then I do the G and bring those to pitch. Then the E (order doesnt matter).

    I also bring the strings taught and wrap them twice around the post and then pull through the hole and tighten and bend up as I'm tightening the key. The E courses I wrap 3 times around first.

    When you start to wrap around the post start wraping from the center going around outward-- no matter which side of the mandolin you're working on or which string you're on. (ie counterclockwise on G and D, clockwise on A and E).

    I cut my tales short, cuss occasionally, and often draw blood.
    No matter where I go, there I am...Unless I'm running a little late.

  15. #12
    two t's and one hyphen fatt-dad's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Richmond, Virginia
    Posts
    7,635

    Default Re: Changing Strings.

    lowest and closest first. Highest and furthest last.

    I give about two or three frets of slack.
    I like the "knot" on the string post.
    I use all 12 tangs on the stamped tailpiece.

    f-d
    ¡papá gordo ain’t no madre flaca!

    '20 A3, '30 L-1, '97 914, 2012 Cohen A5, 2012 Muth A5, '14 OM28A

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •