Members pinkvoid Posted June 7, 2012 Members Share Posted June 7, 2012 How long does it take you do change strings? it always takes me longer that i think it would.. usually about 10-15 mins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bluesnapper Posted June 7, 2012 Members Share Posted June 7, 2012 How long does it take you do change strings? it always takes me longer that i think it would.. usually about 10-15 mins. Not too long... 5 minutes, then a couple more to stretch them in. I've got pretty quick at it - I've taken the back plate off my Strat for easy access. I can easily change a broken string mid-set as long as someone else in the band has got a good joke to fill the space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lz4005 Posted June 7, 2012 Members Share Posted June 7, 2012 Works great if you still like dull sounding strings that are now clean. It can help old strings intonate a little better by cleaning out the finger grunge from between the windings. But not really enough to bother with. Won't do a damn thing for plain strings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members caveman Posted June 7, 2012 Members Share Posted June 7, 2012 Loosen the tension a bit and undo the thumb wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ExiledCrow Posted June 7, 2012 Members Share Posted June 7, 2012 Unwind a bit and then snip, snip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members J-E-M Posted June 7, 2012 Members Share Posted June 7, 2012 My wife hates when I leave the remains of guitar strings laying around the house. She especially hates it when they are embedded in the carpet waiting to puncture a bare foot. I personally loosen, then cut them near the end where they are all bent from the post. I throw out the "ends", and then coil the rest of the string tightly so they don't come unwound in the trash can and stick through the side of the bag. It's a skill only a guitar player could appreciate. This. Also, I change one string at a time, with the guitar still tuned. I feel this keeps the tuning, intonation, relief, etc relatively unaffected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members noisebloom Posted June 7, 2012 Members Share Posted June 7, 2012 I unwind the strings, then cut the coiled ends after I remove them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Help!I'maRock! Posted June 7, 2012 Members Share Posted June 7, 2012 One of these is a must... why not just use the pair of wire cutters you've had for 20 years and buy the $2 winder instead? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members brandass Posted June 8, 2012 Members Share Posted June 8, 2012 I cut one at a time, with safety glasses on to save my corneas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaveAronow Posted June 8, 2012 Members Share Posted June 8, 2012 I usually just keep tuning up till they finally break. Am I doing it wrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bubkus_jones Posted June 8, 2012 Members Share Posted June 8, 2012 why not just use the pair of wire cutters you've had for 20 years and buy the $2 winder instead? Those cheap $2 winders always fell apart on me quite quickly, and wire cutters might be needed elsewhere. One of these will last you quite a while and can be kept either in your case or with the rest of your guitar-specific tools. As far as the original question, I detune to take the tension off, then snip close to the nut. Leaves a long enough length to tie up and make it neat when you toss them, and leaves a long enough piece that you can easily take it out of the machine head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Weiner_Bomb Posted June 8, 2012 Members Share Posted June 8, 2012 ^^ when I was working at an auto shop installing hitches I had asked if I could get a pair of side cutters to aid in some wire snipping. Not one person out of probably ten knew what side cutters were..In my upbringing, they were always referred to as 'dykes', 'wire cutters' etc. I never heard the term 'side cutters' until I took a tech class.I guess our 'tech' in question never had enough eye injuries to make a lasting impression.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Canadian Jeff Posted June 8, 2012 Members Share Posted June 8, 2012 I give my strings last rights and a final meal before cutting them off. No, wait, I just cut them with my right hand, above the neck pickup, while my left hand holds the strings down (to keep them from flying about) near the 15th fret. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jimash Posted June 8, 2012 Members Share Posted June 8, 2012 I take them off in one piece. Either one at a time, or for deep cleaning , all get loosened and then removed after they are all loose . Cutting them so they snap is mildly dangerous and makes for too fast a tension change. And as hard as it is to disengage the G-String from the machine head, the way I lock them, it is better to fight with it than have string ends all over the place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BeanoBoy Posted June 8, 2012 Members Share Posted June 8, 2012 Unwind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Belva Posted June 8, 2012 Members Share Posted June 8, 2012 i use a diabetic toe nail clipper a.k.a. small dikes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mnewb1 Posted June 8, 2012 Members Share Posted June 8, 2012 I loosen and cut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Snappy Hat Posted June 8, 2012 Members Share Posted June 8, 2012 Unwind then cut. I always cut up by the headstock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dparr Posted June 8, 2012 Members Share Posted June 8, 2012 In my 44 years of playing I have never cut a string off. What's the point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jonnie_Neutron Posted June 8, 2012 Members Share Posted June 8, 2012 Unwind 'till the tension has gone then side cutters 1" from the machine-head post, chuck the old strings in the bin, no point in keeping them as if they were any use I wouldn't be changing 'em. CheersJ_N. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DarkHorseJ27 Posted June 8, 2012 Members Share Posted June 8, 2012 On my acoustics I unwind, but on my electrics I have to cut (TOM with trapeze tailpiece and a wrap-around LP Jr type bridge). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Fenderman1991 Posted June 8, 2012 Members Share Posted June 8, 2012 My wife hates when I leave the remains of guitar strings laying around the house. She especially hates it when they are embedded in the carpet waiting to puncture a bare foot.I've gotten numerous lectures from the lady about making sure to clean up when I'm changing strings. Even when I think I'm careful! She has hawk eyes...I guess I'm a minority here who fully unwinds the strings and pulls them through the bridge...I've never even thought of cutting them, though I might start because they ALWAYS get caught where they've been wrapped around the pole and are all coiled...Anyway, I'm left with entire strings, I gather them all up and tie them in a knot before disposing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members =JL= Posted June 8, 2012 Members Share Posted June 8, 2012 That sudden drop in string tension has got to be bad for the neck, I always unwind them. I loosen them to make them safer to cut. Don't worry about the neck, it's no worse than doing dive bombs on a whammy bar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ludashoeless Posted June 8, 2012 Members Share Posted June 8, 2012 loosen then cut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bluesnapper Posted June 8, 2012 Members Share Posted June 8, 2012 why not just use the pair of wire cutters you've had for 20 years and buy the $2 winder instead? The Planet Waves winder is great - the 'socket' fits both large and small tuning pegs - fits Strat tuners perfectly. The cheap ones rattle around and get loose quickly. Having a wire-cutter attached is a bonus - I need one to cut strings to length for my vintage Strat tuners and I find it more convenient to have one tool instead of two. And it was only Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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