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Can't anyone wind strings correctly?

#61
hover said:
Know what's a great way to keep pretty close to that new string zing? Wash your hands before you play and wipe them down when you are done. Do you bleed acid? I change my strings maybe two-three times a year, tops, and they always sound great. Such a waste of good money.

Boil them or soak them in alcohol if you kill them quick, let em dry, slap 'em back on. sheesh.

I simply could not imagine why in the world you'd be comelled to change 8 sets of strings every month and hit OCD levels of stress and anal retentiveness on windings, just about the silliest thing I have ever heard...but hey, you do what you do, you put it out there.
Click to expand...

The only problem with taking strings off to clean them and putting them back on is after a few bends the ends break off rendering the string useless. I mean it's a good idea but it only works 3-4 times depending on the string material. I prefer to use alcohol and wipe the strings down on the bass
 
#62
Yes, a thorough alcohol wipedown after play is mandatory, imo, as is the hand wash... if your skin pH is so high as to corrode them real quick I'd understand the need for a more frequent change regimen, but 8 basses worth every month? I like to play all my basses too, but I'd yet to see anyone truly burn out a set of strings that quick...

Which ends fail on you, the ball end? I snip the bend portion at the tuner post end (I always start off with +3 winds around first time they're installed), and re-bend upon a re-install. Never had a ball end fail.
 
#63
Post end. I'm not sure why but when I reuse strings they break at the beginning of the wrap on the peg. I too do about 3 wraps. But I think it all has to do with straightening the string to take it out of the bridge. (mostly for my guitars because warwicks don't have that issue). It's happened too me about 3 times now with random strings.
 
#67
Fishheadjoe said:
Some of you guys need to visit the Roscoe forum, where you absolutely must match up your ball ends, so that they all point the same way!;)
Adds an additional step in the re-stringing process!!! LOL
Fishheadjoe
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On my bass, you have to. The ball end clips into the bridge through the hole in it. :)
 
#68
tabdog said:
I'm embarrassed to admit this, but
I played bass for over 28 years
before I figured out I was supposed
to put the ends of the strings down
those little holes,

5-18-1-1.jpg


I feel like such a slug,
4-12-1.jpg


Tabdog
Click to expand...

Yo Tabby, that is okay!

Yours in this picture are actually the neatest version I've ever seen. Most of the time it looks like a rat's nest.

I love though how in the ads its always the "expert guitar tech" who does this. If he was an expert, he'd know better!

Glad to see I'm not the only one who cringes when they see an ad with pictures like this....
 
#70
Fishheadjoe said:
Some of you guys need to visit the Roscoe forum, where you absolutely must match up your ball ends, so that they all point the same way!;)
Adds an additional step in the re-stringing process!!! LOL
Fishheadjoe
Click to expand...
oh, i totally do that when faced with quick-release type bridges that allow for the ball ends to sit either parallel or perpendicular with the top.

this brings up the other important detail, not letting the string get twisted in the process!

after bending the string 45° and cutting just past the bend (to keep the wraps tight), sticking the string in the post and then winding a few wraps on the post, before the string gets tight you want to push the ball end back out of the bridge, at which point it will usually spin around at least once.

now you can re-seat the ball and finish winding, confident you haven't put a tone-killing twist in your brand-new string.
 
#71
No one has mentioned to make the 90 degree bend BEFORE you
cut the string. This helps insure the windings don't come loose
when you cut the string. It locks them in place.

I make a 90 degree bend, then a second bend about 1/8" away
in the direction the string will wind around the post. THEN I cut
the string about 1/2" to 5/8" long at the end that's going into the
hole.

These two bends keep the string winding from unravelling when I
cut, thereby preventing a dead string. This works great on
guitar strings as well. I've done it this way for 40 years and
never had a dead new string.

:cool:
 
#75
THORRR said:
No one has mentioned to make the 90 degree bend BEFORE you
cut the string. This helps insure the windings don't come loose
when you cut the string. It locks them in place.

I make a 90 degree bend, then a second bend about 1/8" away
in the direction the string will wind around the post. THEN I cut
the string about 1/2" to 5/8" long at the end that's going into the
hole.

These two bends keep the string winding from unravelling when I
cut, thereby preventing a dead string. This works great on
guitar strings as well. I've done it this way for 40 years and
never had a dead new string.

:cool:
Click to expand...

Hmmm. In 35 years, I've never had a string unravel when I cut it. Of course, I've changed strings only twice in that much time.
 
#76
Geroi Asfalta said:
This is my issue as well (also as to why I spend so much time restringing my stuff)



8 basses, each gets a new set of strings the first saturday of the month.

As I said, I'm a bit messed up in the head. I won't play any bass of mine until the strings are perfectly wound on the posts, and the bridge is setup so the action is as low as it could possible get, and intonation is set (I also check intonation twice a week...why, I'm not sure, just a severe ocd/insanity thing)

I make sure the strings look like this at the end before I do anything else

Link Removed

The main reason I spend so much time putting on my strings is to make sure they're not twisted or kinked as they get wound on the pegs...one of the first few times I restrung a bass myself, the string was twisted. It snapped and would've taken out my eye had I not been wearing a hat. I'm also hate dead strings.
Click to expand...

TB has made you tone-paranoid.


I would also not worry about a string taking out an eye. Unless you're 4 inches away from it when it breaks, it's not gonna even come close.
 
#77
That's crazy how many people on here say they play for years and years before changing strings, of course I don't play flatwound though, but I change the strings when they start breaking in, yeah I like brand new zing on my strings lol. I guess that's why I have been using Elixir so much lately, if I used any other I probably couldn't even afford to play, lol.
 
#79
They don't call Clapton slow hand because he's a slow player!

If you want a job done right (setups included) do it yourself!

On a used bass - crappy windings would mean I would probably not be a buyer - who knows what else was handled poorly.

;)
 
#80
Geroi Asfalta said:
This is my issue as well (also as to why I spend so much time restringing my stuff)



8 basses, each gets a new set of strings the first saturday of the month.

As I said, I'm a bit messed up in the head. I won't play any bass of mine until the strings are perfectly wound on the posts, and the bridge is setup so the action is as low as it could possible get, and intonation is set (I also check intonation twice a week...why, I'm not sure, just a severe ocd/insanity thing)

I make sure the strings look like this at the end before I do anything else

Link Removed

The main reason I spend so much time putting on my strings is to make sure they're not twisted or kinked as they get wound on the pegs...one of the first few times I restrung a bass myself, the string was twisted. It snapped and would've taken out my eye had I not been wearing a hat. I'm also hate dead strings.
Click to expand...

Those wraps look fine.

But that post nut looks loose. Loose posts will do more harm to your sound than poor wraps.
 

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