I love the my mando and always will. There's absolutley nothing that I can find wrong with it. But there's one thing that I dread every few months. I hate re-srtinging mandolin. IT's something I just don't do well. It takes me a long time and the whole time I'm doing it, I am complaining because I should've just payed the $5 at Guitar Center to get it done for me......urg!
ANyone else feel my pain?
The only pain I get restringing is when I stick myself with a sharp string end.
Just take your time and enjoy the process. Perhaps a better question to you is: what part of the process do you dread and why? Maybe you are not doing it right or efficiently.
Jim
Jim
My Stream on Soundcloud
Playing lately:
Brentrup A4C -- 1915 Frank Merwin Ashley violin -- 1904 Embergher Type 3 -- 1937 Gibson L-Century -- 1939 Gibson L-00 -- ca. 1890s Celebrated Benary Banjo -- 1985 Monteleone Grand Artist Mandola
The part of restringing I hate hate is the sound of new strings for a few days... Besides that it's fine.
I hate it too, but it comes with the territory. I've been trying harder to make it look nicer. A String winder really helped.
Biggest pain is how much string to leave out before winding, especially those E's and A's I can end up with a lotta cranks!
Go Vandals!
To anyone who hates restringing, thinks it takes too long, etc, I would recommend looking at Frank Ford's Frets.com site. He gives a detailed method for changing strings (with pictures) that should save you a lot of time and make the process much less painful.
www.frets.com
DrP
Another vote for Frank Ford. After following his examples, I can change strings relatively smoothly now. The crummy sound is annoying until the new strings warm up, but it then is a while before they start decaying again.
I used to hate restringing. I still kind of dread it, because it takes free time away from playing. But some time ago I started taking a view that it is part of the entire experience of playing an instrument. It's a time when you coddle, caress and care for your beloved instrument. It's the mandolin's time, not yours, and the mandolin deserves some time of its own. I try to approach it philosophically, and with care and deliberation. I used to try to do it fast fast fast. That's the wrong way to approach it.
Also, I do agree, knowing how to do it "right" is important. I've been amazed to see how many "luthiers" for example don't know how to string a damned instrument. Frank Ford's site is good. Also, get a peg winder. I can't believe I spent all those years without one. They are advertised on the Cafe often, and are well worth the money.
Mark
J. Mark Lane
Stanley #10 F5
Pomeroy #72 F4
Brian Dean #30 Bowlback
Re-stringing my mandolin has always been a stressful occasion for me. Especially when an E has decided to leave this cruel world. I have found that cursing and weeping just makes it harder for me to successfully proceed with this operation as my hands sweat profusely; thus making it difficult to keep a grip in the string - as you can well imagine. I am very gentle with my instrument and its respective parts as a rule.
You are only young once, but you can be immature forever.
I used to hate it until I bought one of these:
Guitar Bench Rest
Piece of cake now. BTW, I try to change every two weeks.
I hate to restring under pressure, meaning at a gig or even at a jam. I take a spare mando to gigs just in case.
Cabin Fever String Band, National Pike Pickers
..after 25 years of playing and restringing Ive grown quite proficient at it....using one of them cool wooden winders from Greg Boyds...10 minutes or less.....restringing is just like anything else..the more you do it the easier it becomes...
I used to have that problem. Now I use a pair of needle nose pliers to grip the string. It helps tremendously. No more bloody fingers, and you can pull on the string to get the tension in place before turning the tuning key. Invest two or three bucks in a pair of pliers, and you'll never curse your mandolin again.Originally Posted by (mandodebbie @ Sep. 01 2004, 17:28)
--Prof PT
Don't hate me because I know how to spell and punctuate!
I enjoy restringing much more after finding that frets.com site. I always left way too much string to wind up on my guitar and now I do a much neater job on both my guitar and mandolin. Luckily, I found that site just prior to getting a mando, so no problem.
I love hearing my Gstring ring out more after a fresh string change. I don't change them often, so I notice a difference when I do. I like the silver look of my SamBush Monel wound strings too, but that's just a minor point.
Alan
looked at frets.com, and i'm far better than i was. i am still slow, but more efficient and faster than i used to be. however, i still loathe doing it.
OKay, I'll check out that frets.com method. pdlstl -- every 2 weeks? It's taking me 2 weeks to restring once!
I get tiny moments to play, stolen from busy days. It seemed like I was never going to get those new strings on. Then a friend told me her guitarist husband changes them one at a time, and what a liberating idea that was. I put on a new G a week ago, yesterday I changed an E and today I put on another E and an A. This way, I can change a string or two and play a little, too. Only problem is, I'm so disorganized, what with picking things up and putting them away, stringing in the park, stringing back at home, I lost a string. Yes, a quicker method would be a great help.
earlier today I recieved the worst restringing injury in 22 years of playing stringed instruments. the bent part of the a string dug in and when I jerked, I knocked my mandolin out of my lap.
Well, you could try putting on Thomastik-Infeld strings the next time you restring. They last for months and months, in my experience. The only problem with them is you get out of practice at restringing.
I do one string at a time, starting from the center and working out. That way the bridge stays where it was.
I also use a different approach than most. I put the loop in the tailpiece hook, run the string throught respective bridge and nut grooves then I wind the string neatly 3 times around the machine post. After putting the string through the post holes I pull it snug and then fetch it up to tension with the machine head. The neat wraps come up and hold the string end against the top of the whole.
When I do the G string I only give 2 wraps around the post. This works for me and ends guesswork as to how much string to leave when putting the end in the hole and winding with a device. I will admit that it is a bit slower than some, but I always end up with neat windings on the machine post.
Works for me.
No problems stringing here, I change strings sometime as often as once a week when my instrument gets a lot of heavy play. Therefore with all that unstringing and restringing, I became real quick at it. 10 minutes for a full set without any winder. I notice that the folks who have the most difficulty don't change strings too often, maybe once every six months. It gets easier with practice...
Philip Halcomb
Since I bought the guitar bench rest, I can usually re-string my mando in 20-25 minutes.
Of course I played pedal steel for 27 years and got to where I could re-string both necks (20 strings total) in about 30 minutes using a string winder on a cordless screwdriver. If I broke a string during a song, many times I would have it replaced before the song was over!
*raises hand* I DO!!!!
"A mando is a terrible thing to waste."
Glen, I do it the same as you except G = 1 wrap, D = 2 wraps, A&E = 3 wraps...... Looks neat & clean plus it's easier to get the old ones off to!
Very well said, Mark. Thank you.
Caring for your instrument is all part of being a musician.
There was an interesting story told at the Mandolin Symposium about an English gentleman who wound his own strings. It took him 8 hours to make a set of strings. Talk about devotion to your instrument!
Peg winders aren't for everybody, though. Many F style mandolin pegheads have unequal lengths of tuning peg shafts sticking out. When peg winders are not-too-carefully applied to shorter tuners you can damage the side of the peghead, or even snap a tuner shaft, too. My mandolin has a battle wound from a luthier who obviously used a winder poorly. Just thought I'd share.
Joy to all,
Ken
Less talk, more pick.
I am not bad at restringing ever since I read the little explanation at the back of Jack Tottle's book. That said, I hardly ever change strings-maybe twice a year if I'm lucky. I don't like the sound of new strings as much as old ones. With my guitars, once I see a good amount of rust or corrosion I will change them, and not a minute before.
-John.
Ah! must --
Designer Infinite --
Ah! must thou char the wood 'ere thou canst limn with it ?
--Francis Thompson
Ok.. I'll fess up -- I pay to have it done. With family responsibilites (we home school our 8 and 10 yr olds and we also have a 7-month old in the house) I am lucky if I even get to play every day, and I do not want to spend a single second of that precious practice time messing with strings.
Some day I will do it myself, but for now its $10 well spent.
Cheers,
Rob
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