It's a fear I just can't go over...when I hear that metal tightening sound I always imagine the string breaking and hitting in me in the eye. It scares the friggin hell out of me....especially on the EGB strings on my electric. Anyone else have this or am I just a freak? Or is it a little form column a and a little from column b?
Guitarin' isn't a job, so don't make it one.
It's a fear I just can't go over...when I hear that metal tightening sound I always imagine the string breaking and hitting in me in the eye. It scares the friggin hell out of me....especially on the EGB strings on my electric. Anyone else have this or am I just a freak? Or is it a little form column a and a little from column b?
I used to but just keep your guitar the same as if you were playing it and you'll be fine...my big problem is the damn high E and B strings spearing me EVERYTIME I change strings...I must have lost 2 pints of blood already :twisted: !
ye....i get afraid when im coming out of drop D....one way to reduce the breaking....is by not just bringing it straight to the note....bring it up a little then back down...then up a little more then back down a little...take steps like this untill you are finally there...
$MAX$
I used to but just keep your guitar the same as if you were playing it and you'll be fine...my big problem is the darn high E and B strings spearing me EVERYTIME I change strings...I must have lost 2 pints of blood already :twisted: !
lol, yea I pretty much just look right at the strings when I'm tightening them...probably not the best idea :D
Guitarin' isn't a job, so don't make it one.
Yeah, I still get nervous tuning 'em up. And I try to keep all my important parts out of the "line of fire."
Of course, it doesn't help any that I made up a custom set gauged .017-.070" for my Johnson Tricone resonator, using the largest individual gauges I thought I could get away with for the higher of the pitches they'd be tuned to in Open D or Open G. Haven't broken one yet, but the first time cranking 'em up there I was really gunshy. Break a string on a reso, and it sounds like a gunshot anyway.
If I'm seeing that the pitch isn't going up while I'm tightening the tuner, I stop and pull up on the string just above the nut to disengage it from the slot and let the tension adjust. If the string's binding in the nut slot (which is where you get those "pings" from), and you just keep cranking on the tuner, it can overtighten above the nut and break. That's how I've broken several strings in the past. The nut slots may need lubrication (graphite's usually recommended, but I've had better luck with plain old automotive wheel bearing and chassis grease), or they may need to be opened up a little, especially if you're using bigger strings. Easiest way to do that is to "saw" the string back and forth in the nut slot a bit before you install it.
And if I'm going to tune a string higher, I first tune it lower to break the "stiction" of the string in the slot.
8)
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
Break a string on a reso, and it sounds like a gunshot anyway.
haha. Imagining that actually made me laugh out loud.
Guitarin' isn't a job, so don't make it one.
And if I'm going to tune a string higher, I first tune it lower to break the "stiction" of the string in the slot.
that is the key to not breaking them
$MAX$
Nah, you're a freak. :D
Just kidding.
It doesn't make me nervous, and I've never had a string break while tuning, but I have had strings break when bending. Once a string snapped and stuck into my cheek. Ouch!
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
It doesn't make me nervous either. Though I never have tuned up above the notes in standard tuning, I usually go down.
Oooo...I don't think the cheek thing made him feel any better :wink:
Graphite's good like Ricochet mentioned, or widening the nut slots. I never had one break on an electric but I'm always a bit worried when stringing up an acoustic though - having the ball ends 'crick' a bit under the pins. I always press the pin down while yanking on the string to get it locked under the bridge.
I HAVE stuck my finger though with the trimmed string ends though. I remember getting the puncture years ago and then squeezing the finger like they say you should do with cuts, and then getting a thin little jet of red all over my glasses; like a red hair. It was a perfectly formed little jet of blood.
Okay, that probably didn't make him feel too much better either. :oops:
But...that's why I love the Fender style slotted tuner posts; you clip it, stick it down the hole, bend it, and the pointy end is safely buried in metal instead of skin.
Sometimes I'm glad I wear glasses, though you can't count on them to really protect your eyes. I usually have my free hand holding the string in the nut slot as I'm winding it up to pitch anyway, so if the thing snaps, it'll just 'thunk' under my hand.
Watch...now that I've stated all this, I'll probably break a string next time I change them. :roll:
I've never broke a string while tuning, but a couple of times I've had a string snap on me while taking them off....one time a string whipped back, hit me just above the eyebrow, ever since then I've worn safety glasses (got them with the strimmer) while changing strings....
And if I can't put my hands on them, I'll put my reading glasses on...it's a damn sight cheaper to replace a pair of glasses than an eyeball.....
About a year ago, I broke a bridge pin while changing strings....had to drill into it to get it out, the drill bit snapped and pinged straight up towards my eye...again, lucky I was wearing glasses....
Moral of the story is, wear glasses....safety glasses are cheap, a new eye isn't....I've been lucky twice....or maybe not lucky......
:D :D :D
Vic
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
i generally restring a guitar with it in my lap perpendicular to me so at most it'll hit me in the hand.
Safety goggles... They're in this year
Geoo
“The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn” - David Russell (Scottish classical Guitarist. b.1942)
Hi,
When I was a student I worked for a while as a tyre fitter. When we inflated new tyres on the rim for the first time we had a safety cage that we were supposed to put them in, in case they blew. :shock:
So I now have a safety cage for tuning my guitar........nah, not really. :twisted:
When I first put a new string on though I do hold the guitar with the strings facing away from me when I get to the exciting part. I also wear glasses for that kind of work anyway.
I did come across this guitar stringer's safety kit if you're still a bit nervous about it:
I think this version is mostly for heavy metal players, but it could be adapted to suit...
Cheers, Chris
Not when I'm tuning my guitar, but when putting on new strings I get nervous. I also hate that creeking sound the strings make too. Makes me want to toss my guitar, like it's a grenade about to go off. Been snapped in the face a few times by the B and E string too.
Great idea Chris! :lol:
"If I had a time machine, I'd go back and tell me to practise that bloody guitar!" -Vic Lewis
Everything is 42..... again.
