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Thread: Amateurish string change execution - can I keep, or is it ruined?

  1. #1

    Default Amateurish string change execution - can I keep, or is it ruined?

    Last June I did my first string change. I was very skittish and it took days, and a group peptalk from forumites.

    I watched a video to refresh myself, then jumped in.

    It was much easier BUT I am trying heavier strings and didn't do a good job getting the excess tight to the peg after passing through.

    Can I get away with this, or do I need to try again with fresh strings?

    Thanks for the help Click image for larger version. 

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  2. #2
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    Default Re: Amateurish string change execution - can I keep, or is it rui

    You can probably just loosen it up and pull lightly with needle nose pliers to take out the slack. Then hold onto the string as you re-tighten. You should be fine. Good luck !!
    Eastman MD-305 Left Handed Version
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    Registered User Cobalt's Avatar
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    Default Re: Amateurish string change execution - can I keep, or is it rui

    With the wound strings (G and D) there is usually plenty of leeway for slackening off the tension, reposition or trim if required, then re-tighten the tuners. It should be ok to do this so long as you don't attempt to straighten out the sharp bends.

    The others, and particularly the thinner E string is more prone to breaking if it is slackened and re-tightened - it may be ok, but repeated attempts will increase chance of a broken string.

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    Registered User Timbofood's Avatar
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    Default Re: Amateurish string change execution - can I keep, or is it rui

    Does it hold pitch?
    If it does, don’t worry about it and do better next time, if it slips like deer guts on a door knob, make adjustments.
    Timothy F. Lewis
    "If brains was lard, that boy couldn't grease a very big skillet" J.D. Clampett

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  8. #5
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    Default Re: Amateurish string change execution - can I keep, or is it rui

    I'm with Timbofood. It's not pretty but, if it works play it.

    Adam

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    Registered User Doug Brock's Avatar
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    Default Re: Amateurish string change execution - can I keep, or is it rui

    Hang in there. String changes get easier with just a little practice. I personally enjoy my string changes, as it gives me a half hour to admire my mandolin and give it a little extra cleaning in places I can't usually reach when the strings are on.
    Doug Brock
    2018 Kimble 2 point (#259), Eastman MD315, Eastman MDA315, some guitars, banjos, and fiddles

  10. #7
    Gummy Bears and Scotch BrianWilliam's Avatar
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    Default Re: Amateurish string change execution - can I keep, or is it rui

    If you are only slightly OCD, this cannot stand. I feel itchy just looking at it

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    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: Amateurish string change execution - can I keep, or is it rui

    Quote Originally Posted by BrianWilliam View Post
    If you are only slightly OCD, this cannot stand. I feel itchy just looking at it
    Oh the humanity!

    Me too. I'm with Tim though, if it holds then just play it.
    "It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
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  12. #9
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    Default Re: Amateurish string change execution - can I keep, or is it rui

    Don Roon is correct on how to tighten the string on the post or is it capstan..... However if it stays in tune you can leave it alone. R/
    I love hanging out with mandolin nerds . . . . . Thanks peeps ...

  13. #10
    Mandolin user MontanaMatt's Avatar
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    Default Re: Amateurish string change execution - can I keep, or is it rui

    Is that a guitar?
    2007 Weber Custom Elite "old wood"
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  14. #11

    Default Re: Amateurish string change execution - can I keep, or is it rui

    Wow - so much help! Thanks everyone

  15. #12
    Innocent Bystander JeffD's Avatar
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    Default Re: Amateurish string change execution - can I keep, or is it rui

    If it holds, just play it. Nobody has ever, ever ever, come up to me at a jam or performance and commented on the neatness of my string turnings on the capstan. It never happens.

    I would never re-do a string change based only on aesthetics.
    A talent for trivializin' the momentous and complicatin' the obvious.

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  17. #13

    Default Re: Amateurish string change execution - can I keep, or is it rui

    I won't go so far as to say "fixed" but I improved the worse of the 2 and left the others.

    I probably didn't need to, I left it alone almost 20 hrs and both were spot on in tune.

    And yes, it's a mandolin, not a guitar. You're probably just not familiar with the $50 Walmart special. I'm the limiting factor. When I'm a little better, I'll upgrade. Looking into a low-end but better than this A body oval hole Kentucky. Maybe my next birthday.Click image for larger version. 

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  18. #14
    coprolite mandroid's Avatar
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    Default Re: Amateurish string change execution - can I keep, or is it rui

    Wound ones stay pretty well Without slipping, the plain ones are where you need the backwinding over itself trick..
    writing about music
    is like dancing,
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    Registered User sblock's Avatar
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    Default Re: Amateurish string change execution - can I keep, or is it rui

    This reply is pasted directly from another thread, but the OP might profit from it here. The next time you change strings, try doing it this way instead, and you won't get any of those clunky 'over-wraps,' knots, or slack loops:

    My favored approach involves placing the string loop over the peg in the tailpiece, then stretching it under light hand tension, straight over the bridge and nut, and winding it several times (2-4) around the tuning post before threading the free end of the string through the hole in the post. This approach:

    1) keeps the string under tension at all times (no slack!), so it never comes off the tailpiece peg, nor does it come come out of the slots in the bridge saddle and nut, and
    2) it involves minimal turns of the tuning peg to bring the string up to final pitch, so you don't really need a string winder.

    No capo required. No magnets required. No sticky putty. No string winder. Fewer turns. NO STRING SLIPPAGE.

    Also, it's faster then any other technique I know. Say, what's not to love?! I urge everyone to try it. I can't believe I replaced strings for so many years using other, more traditional methods, and always wondering if I had just the right amount of slack before winding.

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  22. #16
    Gummy Bears and Scotch BrianWilliam's Avatar
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    Default Re: Amateurish string change execution - can I keep, or is it rui

    +1 to faster

    My preference as well.

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