Topic: stringing a slot head guitar

[unezrider]

hello friend,
i've owned a slot head guitar for awhile now, but i still feel i may have some bad habits when it comes to restringing it. i'm good about judging the amount of string to slide through the hole before i start winding up, so thats not an issue. but what i notice always happens is on my low E, high E & a few others, the strings tend to gravitate toward the far side of the slot, up against the wood. i've seen on the little brother blues site, how he has a way of stringing slot heads so they wind around the center, over the string hole. but i've never been able to get a grasp on that.
i should say, i've never noticed anything bad about the strings touching or not touching the wood on the side of the headstock. then again, i'm fairly consistant about it happening. is there a trick to avoiding this? or is it nothing to really be concerned over?
thanks
chris

[Richard]

It's a bit basic but if I see them heading for the sides of the slots I simply carry on winding and push them towards the centre with a screwdriver blade, knife or whatever.

[waxwing]

I let them go over to the sides because that gives the least angle going through the nut. I don't know why one would want to keep it over the hole as it is pulling at angle and I think could slip sideways, slacking the string and flatting the note. I think it is better to let it go to the point where it is just touching the wood, giving the least sideways stress at both points.

With the bass string I try to leave enough so that I can go one wrap in (towards the centerline of the neck/head) and then about two raps out and that lines up pretty well. Too many wraps forces the string way past the corner of the wood. (You know, if that happens, I don't usually change it.-G-) On the treble side three or four wraps out allows the string to set where it wants to be with the least sideways stress. On the other strings I also try to make sure that the angle coming off the post, and particularly the angle off the nut, are as close to straight as possible.

However, I don't think it really matters and we all just have our little fetishes that we justify one way or another.-G-

While we're on the subject of restringing slot heads, I've found it really saves a lot of time to take all the strings off at once. First I uncrank and remove all the strings from the head, with the guitar between my legs, tail resting on the carpet. Then I switch it to my lap to remove all the pins and old strings and I can put all the new strings on the bridge and put my hand inside and make sure all the beads are seated correctly on the pins. Then back between my legs to put them on the head, starting with the outside and progressing back and forth (1-6-2-5-3-4) which gives unimpeded access as you attach, lightly tension and then snip each string. Then tune it up. A whole lot less moving the guitar around than one string at a time, plus you can clean the fretboard, etc.

Wax

[Kokomo O]

At the suggestion of a friend who's smarter than I am, I snip before winding. That way the string ends don't chew up the wood. Not a big deal on the two old slotheads that I have, but the new one is, well, new. The builder bothered to finish and polish the wood, so I try not to scratch it up.

With regard to the string position on the pegs, I generally try to have them arranged such that the string is pulling against the wound portion on the peg. So, for the first and sixth strings, that means they wind to the inside of the holes, while the four other strings wind to the outside. Empirically, I've found that they maintain tension better that way. So I don't really consider it a fetish, but rather a practical solution to something that's otherwise a problem. Hope that makes sense.

[uncle bud]

While we're on the subject of restringing slot heads, I've found it really saves a lot of time to take all the strings off at once. First I uncrank and remove all the strings from the head, with the guitar between my legs, tail resting on the carpet. Then I switch it to my lap to remove all the pins and old strings and I can put all the new strings on the bridge and put my hand inside and make sure all the beads are seated correctly on the pins.

Ever end up with your arm stuck inside a guitar?

[waxwing]

I'll let ya know when it happens. You?

So I don't really consider it a fetish, but rather a practical solution to something that's otherwise a problem. Hope that makes sense.

Right, KO, I'm just not sure there's a problem?-G- Probably you can just put then on willy-nilly, as many seem to do, and come up with the same empirical data.

Wax

[Lyndvs]

"At the suggestion of a friend who's smarter than I am, I snip before winding."
you gotta be careful doing it this way though-some string`s will go dead if you snip them before any tension has been applied-it varies from brand to brand-i know the Newtone strings i use on my old parlor guitars need to be"tensioned up" before they`re cut etc..Best to check before you snip.
lyndvs.

[blueshome]

There's a good how too here:
http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Musician/Guitar/Setup/SteelStrings/Stringing/slotheadstr1.html

[TX_Songster]

Unezrider,
Blueshome beat me to it.  That frets.com link is a good step-by-step guide.  I'll just add that he recommends having the low E, high E wind to the outside.  Sounds like you're already doing it right!

[Rivers]

Notice also the Frets advice about only having a single turn, or less, around the shaft. It's all you need and there's less to move around and it'll stay in tune better, sorry for reiterating if you know all this.

[Kokomo O]

Lyndvs, why would strings go dead if you cut them while they're slack?

[blueshome]

If they have a round core (Newtone & j.Pearse) the windings can unwind slightly from the core when cut causing the deadening. Modern style strings are wound on a hex core which prevents this (also speeds manufacture so lowers cost, doesn't sound better).

[Lyndvs]

Kokomo,Blueshome explains perfectly why certain brands do this.The Newtones i use actually warn you on the packet not to snip before they`re tensioned up.As i say it`s not all brands-best to be sure though before you snip!
lyndvs.

[unezrider]

hello friend,
thanks for the info guys! it seems i didn't really have an issue, after all.

[unezrider]

hello friend,
while this isn't specifically a slot head guitar thing, i thought i'd just mention it here anyway. a little while back i came across somebody who said when he strings his guitars he pulls the string all the way through the hole on the tuner, then pulls back from the nut to the 2nd fret, then proceeds to tune. i was restringing my stella tonight & gave this method a try. it really worked out very nicely. very clean & consistant. it sure beat the "eye-ball it" method i have been using all these years.
chris