My G strings are just so dead and lifeless. I decided tonight I'm going to change my strings. For the very first time.
Light a candle, say a prayer to St. Jude, and wish me luck.
My G strings are just so dead and lifeless. I decided tonight I'm going to change my strings. For the very first time.
Light a candle, say a prayer to St. Jude, and wish me luck.
Eastman MD-514 (F body, Sitka & maple, oval hole)
Klos Carbon Fiber (on order)
And still saving my nickels & dimes & bottle caps & breakfast cereal box tops for my lifetime mandolin.
One tip that helped me after years of changing strings is to take a piece of masking tape and put it over the new string loop and hook so that it will not come off when tuning up the new string.
Last edited by Charles E.; Aug-24-2022 at 8:25pm.
Charley
A bunch of stuff with four strings
Watch this...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nwMRwbXyXc
Best of luck!
Last edited by Charles E.; Aug-24-2022 at 8:29pm.
Charley
A bunch of stuff with four strings
So the Great Spirit was with me, and I survived.
A few thoughts:
I took off the G and the E strings and put those new strings on. Then I removed the D and the A strings. I tuned up the G & E strings then I checked my intonation. I was a little sharp, which I guess is to be expected since I rest my palm behind the bridge when I pick. I moved the bridge back a little (easy since it was only being held their with 4 strings) and with a little more tuning & moving I got the intonation spot on.
I bought my KM-250 from Elderly Instruments since I read from several places on the internet that Elderly Instruments is the place where new players are suppose to buy their first mandolins. Once I had my KM-250 in my shopping cart I added extra strings, an arm rest, a Tone-Gard, my favorite electronic tuner, a mandolin capo (that I have never ONCE used), and on I lark I threw in the special $32 mini peg head winder, because why not, right?
Well that mini peg head winder turned out to be worth its weight in gold. I highly recommend one if you don't have one.
All in all much less arduous and disasterful than I expected.
Eastman MD-514 (F body, Sitka & maple, oval hole)
Klos Carbon Fiber (on order)
And still saving my nickels & dimes & bottle caps & breakfast cereal box tops for my lifetime mandolin.
I hate changing strings on mandolins, but once a new set of Curt Mangan's is on , I can't put it down!
I recently bought a '72 Japanese made Harmony Batwing mandolin as a beater I could leave at the office, I put a set of CM mediums on ( a pain as some of the tuners don't turn so easy- side note -a winder is great friend at times!)
now I don't want to leave it at the office.....
Stormy Morning Orchestra
My YouTube Channel
"Mean Old Timer, He's got grey hair, Mean Old Timer he just don't care
Got no compassion, thinks its a sin
All he does is sit around an play the Mandolin"
If you didn’t draw blood at least once it never happened
Chuck
Assuming the old strings have at least four or more turns on the tuning peg measure them when you take them off.
If you use a similar length you wont end up with hardly any turns and loose the ability to slacken off and still be able to do work on the frets/nut/bridge.
Do not ask how I know this.
I don't measure, don't use tape on the hooks, and don't use a winder.
Put the string on the hook and keeping tension on the string by pulling on it, wind it around the peg the appropriate amount for the string (wound or plain). Now poke the string thru the hole above the windings, pull tight and tune. It won't take long to tune so you don't need a winder, and you already have the correct wraps on the peg so no guesswork. It's fast and easy, been doing it for decades.
If I did it right, NO blood.
THE WORLD IS A BETTER PLACE JUST FOR YOUR SMILE!
As pops1 says. I’ve done it this way for the last couple of years and had no problems. Prior to that I did it the old way for over 50 years. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work with slotted headstocks!
Sounds like you were going to tackle this last night and I am a bit late in responding here but as someone who is fairly new to mandolin and has just successfully gotten through his first few string changes....I watched a few tutorial videos and found this one done by Banjo Ben and his setup guy to be the most helpful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV9xyVZvg8k
Well .... I have a James tail piece so it locks the loop end in place. I use a capo to keep the string stretched tight on the loop on my other instruments. R/
I love hanging out with mandolin nerds . . . . . Thanks peeps ...
You're in our thoughts and prayers.
Gibson A-Junior snakehead (Keep on pluckin'!)
WWW.THEAMATEURMANDOLINIST.COM
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I've used this method since I started ages ago. I never have drawn blood. I did add a capo to assist keeping the string on the post but that isn't needed.
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
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