Streetching Strings!! jezzazzzzz

[Sebastian]

I just tell my strings to bend over... 8)
They shan't go flat afterwards.

 

[MM-Chris]

I stretch them out when I put new strings on. I pull up on the middle of the string and then tune up, then do a lot of excessive bending and that pretty much locks them in.

This. Slap new strings on, bust out your most atrocious Vai impersonation for half an hour (you know you love it) and then tune back up. Good to go.

 

[hussamd]

I do stretch them away from the fretboard around the middle of the string, probably an inch or two. I have on occasions broke the low E string though and added a few words to my kids' vocabulary :

 

[Roland]

In my book strings need changing at least every two weeks. They come off together, quick rub of the fretboard, and a new set goes on. When all six are up to concert pitch I put all four fingers under each string, and pull it away from the guitar, working my fingers along the whole length of the string from bridge to head. The strength of pull feels to me like a three semitone bend, but that's not a scientific measurement. Then I tune back up to pitch and play for a few minutes. If I haven't pulled hard enough then I have to tune up a bit. If I've pulled too hard then I have to tune down, and I remind myself not to pull quite as hard next time. After that my guitar stays pretty much in tune until the temperature changes.

 

[GaryRichie]

When did you get a dog?

An old joke comes to mind. "How many guitar players does it take to change a light bulb?"

While I'm here.....

I clip each string just exactly center of the end of the fret board and where the string rests on the saddle. So yes each cut will follow the contour of the intonation. The real magic comes from a handcrafted wire cutter hand made from hand forged hand picked #666 steel. I found a monk in Tibet who uses an ancient scroll to summon this rare gauge metal straight from the depths of hell (or so he claims).

I find that snapping the strings in such a manner jostles the moleculer structure of the wood and really opens up the tone. And only, I do mean ONLY, do those snips cut the string fast enough to release every ounce of the string's tension to give it the whiplash effect strong enough to open the neck's true tonal potential. It really does work. Really. My dog howls after every string change. And you know dogs can hear things humans can't. Really, they can.

You guys can see the rest of my stringing techniques in this months "Stringer's Digest". :lol

 

[guitarded]

stretch

 

[levipeto]

When you stretch, you actually break the strings inside.
Soo not too much!

 

[DrewA]

I stretch the hell outta my strings when I change them; haven't had any intonation issues. I string it up, tune to pitch, grab the string with both of my thumbs on the bass side/fingers on treble and bend. I do that in a couple spots, tune, bend, ect...

That's pretty much exactly what I do. I have a hard tail bridge and locking tuners on my main guitar, but must stretch the string out thoroughly when they are first put on. I think a lot of depends on your playing style, and how aggressively you bend. Have never noticed any negative consequences of doing this - it essentially just expediting the process of breaking the strings in.

 

[Rex]

- clean and oil the fingerboards [not the ebony or ziracote one's cos they're self oiling]

Clark, give those ebony fretboards some love, too. Ebony isn't self-oiling. Rosewood is oilier than ebony, and even rosewood needs a little oil now and then.

A lot of the ebony on guitars is dried out because folks think they don't need oil.

 

[Rex]

I make sure to clean the fretboard up with some naptha afterwards and then treat it with some lemon oil...

If you're gonna strip that oil out with naphtha, you gotta put some back in.