Printable Version of Topic
Click here to view this topic in its original format
GMC Forum _ PRACTICE ROOM _ How Do You Put On New Strings?
Posted by: Iluha Nov 29 2008, 11:57 AM
Hey guys, I'm just getting ready here to change the strings on my guitar, which is long overdue..
The reason I'm intimidated by changing the strings is because I'm never sure on how to put them on.
Do you first wrap them around the tuning pegs a few times and only than insert them through the hole, or do you just insert the string through the hole and that's it?
What's the best way to put on new strings in you'r opinion?
Posted by: Jesse Nov 29 2008, 11:59 AM
I struggled with this way too long, imma send yuo the perfect youtube vid, its the perfect way and its fast.
Posted by: Nighthawk1 Nov 29 2008, 12:06 PM
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/misc-lessons/restringing-the-guitar-step-by-step-guide/ 
Posted by: Matt23 Nov 29 2008, 12:23 PM
Those 2 replies should help you but just incase they don't I'll describe it as well.
1. Straighten out your new string.
2. Put it through the hole in the back of the guitar and pull it through from the other side until the ball at the end is stuck in place.
3. Wrap the string around the tuning peg 2 or 3 times then thread it through the hole.
4. Turn the tuning peg until the new string is in tune.
Posted by: Marcus Siepen Nov 29 2008, 01:06 PM
And after doing this make sure to stretch the strings for some minutes, otherwise your guitar will get out of tune in a rather short time.
Posted by: Darfuria Nov 29 2008, 01:25 PM
Take the strings out of your guitar and give it a good clean, etc. etc.
Turn all the tuning pegs so that the holes are pointing downwards.
Thread a string through the bridge and up through the tuning peg and pull it tight.
Pull the string back through the tuning peg about 2-3cm and push your finger or thumb down on it.
Begin tuning the string and the string will wind round the peg and then get tighter.
That's the easiest way I've found of doing it 
Posted by: Gus Nov 29 2008, 01:57 PM
The way Jesse sent is very good, I think. The way I do is different but has the same effect.
The most important thing on it is actually to have one turn on the upper side of the string, and other turns down. That makes the string "self lock" it in place.
Posted by: Iluha Nov 29 2008, 02:07 PM
Thanks man, that was extremely helpful!
But now I ran into another issue.. I tried searching about this on google.. but came up with nothing
My guitar has a Floyd Rose bridge, so after all the tunning, it was WWAAAYYYY up, so I tried tightening the springs, but even if I tight them up to the maximum I can, the bridge is still high... anyone has any idea what should I do?
Posted by: Marcus Siepen Nov 29 2008, 02:56 PM
Thats one of the reasons why I don't like tremolo systems Unfortunately changing strings on such a guitar can be a bit of more work, you will have to do a basic setup of your guitar. You have to put on the strings that you want to play and tune the guitar in the desired tuning. After you did this you have to adjust the Floyd Rose, depending on how it looks like now. If the Floyd is going up too much you can try tightening the springs, if this doesn't help you might have to add more springs to get it into the right position. Keep in mind that while adjusting the springs you will constantly have to retune your guitar because any change on the Floyd will of course affect your tuning. But don't worry, this is something you will only have to do once, if you stick to the same strings and tunings the setting of the Floyd Rose should not have to be changed anymore.
A way to work around this is to not have the tremolo in a floating position. This means you set the tremolo in a way that it is not possible to bend up the strings anymore, you can only release them and do dive bombs or stuff like that. But this would of course limit your options with the Floyd.
Posted by: Iluha Nov 29 2008, 03:04 PM
Unfortunately changing strings on such a guitar can be a bit of more work, you will have to do a basic setup of your guitar. You have to put on the strings that you want to play and tune the guitar in the desired tuning. After you did this you have to adjust the Floyd Rose, depending on how it looks like now. If the Floyd is going up too much you can try tightening the springs, if this doesn't help you might have to add more springs to get it into the right position. Keep in mind that while adjusting the springs you will constantly have to retune your guitar because any change on the Floyd will of course affect your tuning. But don't worry, this is something you will only have to do once, if you stick to the same strings and tunings the setting of the Floyd Rose should not have to be changed anymore.A way to work around this is to not have the tremolo in a floating position. This means you set the tremolo in a way that it is not possible to bend up the strings anymore, you can only release them and do dive bombs or stuff like that. But this would of course limit your options with the Floyd.
Well that's the wierd part, Iv'e used 10 gauge strings for almost two years now and I never had this problem before, I didn't change the strings on my own, I trusted the guy at a local guitar shop to do it, and he never ran into this problem..
I kinda "smartly" overcame the problem, I tightend the springs as much as I could, and than I pushed it gently till it got into place.. it's still not perfect.. but It's playable now
Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Nov 29 2008, 04:00 PM
The best way is to put them into hole and then slowly turn the pegs so you wound the string nicely and evenly.
About the Floyd Rose thing, did you use the same gauge of strings as before mate ?
Posted by: Iluha Nov 29 2008, 06:45 PM
About the Floyd Rose thing, did you use the same gauge of strings as before mate ?
Yup..
Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Nov 30 2008, 01:55 AM
hmm, that's a bit strange indeed. I don't know the answer to that problem unless I take a look at a guitar, but perhaps you should consult with the guy who did all setups before, he probably used a slightly different method of changing strings, so maybe this is why this happens.
Posted by: skennington Nov 30 2008, 02:09 AM
Put a 9v battery under the bridge to keep it level when the strings are off. install the new strings and tune it to the tunning it was in. Make sure the fine tuners are set about halfway, remove the battery. This should get you close. Then, you can fine tune it with the bridge tuners. Remember, if you start with the low E, tune it a up a bit. And so on with the rest dropping back a little each time. This way, by the time you get to your high E, it brings all the others within range. Hope this made sense man, it's kinda hard to explain. 
Here's another couple of good links....
For set-up
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=7476
For upgrades
http://floydupgrades.com/index.php
Posted by: Gus Nov 30 2008, 02:52 AM
Well that's the wierd part, Iv'e used 10 gauge strings for almost two years now and I never had this problem before, I didn't change the strings on my own, I trusted the guy at a local guitar shop to do it, and he never ran into this problem..
I kinda "smartly" overcame the problem, I tightend the springs as much as I could, and than I pushed it gently till it got into place.. it's still not perfect.. but It's playable now
Hey Iluha. This site was the one shedding me light about tremolo systems. It contains things people owning tremolo guitars
http://www.ibanezrules.com/tech/setup/index.htm
I'd say it is no good if you have to go all the way with the strings inside the body or outside the body. Your spring configuration should balance the strings, and working on extremes mean something is probably wrong.
About the reason for only having changes now, I did notice big difference when changing a package of 010s of rotosound to elixir. So it can be the brand, but such a large change as you notice may be because of hybrid package of strings...
I suggest you to keep readjust to your guitar in Eb tuning until you figure out if you need to change your spring configuration.
Posted by: Iluha Nov 30 2008, 09:13 AM
Yeah... that's what I was thinking to do, maybe he'll know what's wrong.
Thanks for all the help guys
Posted by: Joe Kataldo Nov 30 2008, 10:12 AM
On floyd rose tremolo style change string one by one, but most important, start from the high E :-)
Posted by: Iluha Nov 30 2008, 09:01 PM
Exactly what I did.
Powered by Invision Power Board (http://www.invisionboard.com)
© Invision Power Services (http://www.invisionpower.com)