Restringing Slotted Heads (Verical Capistan?)

With the slotted type, I pull the string through the slot the same amount I would with a regular hole type tuner - about the distance to the next tuner post (or about an inch to an inch and a half) - cut it there, then come back and put the clipped end all the way down into the hole, bend the string down through the slot so it's now "L" shaped, and then start winding from the where it comes out, downward, so the last wind is nearest the grommet of the post to get a good angle over the nut.

That's how I do it anyway. Hope this helps.

Hey there,

I've had my telecaster for over a year and I've never had to restring it, because I have never broken a string. Around a month ago, I tried to restring it, but with the bigsby, it was really difficult and so I brought it to the shop and they did a tune up.

Anyways, I'm just wondering how to restring this particular guitar (with the vintage tuners?)

If there's any confusion, I found a tutorial on the Elixir Strings website: http://www.elixirstrings.com/products/howtostring_electricslotted.html

..but the problem is, it's really ambiguous and I can't see what the tutorial is trying to demonstrate!!

So if you guys could please tell me how to restring this type of guitar, that'd be great!! (and other tricks, too...like should I wrap around several times first? or does the string just fit through the vertical hole?)

Thanks a lot.

I recently put a Bigsby on my Rickenbacker and had a horrible time putting strings on it... until I learned the trick.

If you take the ball end of the string and wrap it around something like a screwdriver (so that you're left with something that resembles a fish hook) you'll find that the string stays on the Bibsby while you thread it through the tuning peg much better than a straight string does.

Thanks for the tips.

For the tuners on the head, is the first step to put the tip of the string inside the vertical hole in the middle, and then wind? Will I be able to pull the string out after I put it in? (what's keeping the string in place?)

Or should I do a few winds around the tuning peg with the string, before putting the tip into the vertical hole?

I have a hole through the capstan rather than a slot, but the principle is the same. I aim to get about 2 winds around the capstan.
Put the string into the slot/hole and pull to the point where you can lift the string (at around the 12th fret) a good couple of inches off the fretboard (exactly how far will be determined by the radius of the capstan). Now, holding the string in place, start winding. As you get round to the point where the tail of the string comes out of the slot/hole, wind the string above the tail. Keep winding until you come round to the tail again, this time winding below the tail. Now keep winding until you reach tune. The tension of the string will pull the two winds together, clamping the tail between them.
Allow the strings to bed in for a few hours - you'll find that they drop tune, for a while, due to both a small amount of slippage as the winds bed tightly together and also stretch in the string itself.