Tag: strings

I already had the tool

On By CarynIn music

I’m a little chagrined. I have changed out the strings on nearly every musical instrument in the house, but haven’t on my husband’s Seagull acoustic guitar because I didn’t intuitively know how to deal with the bridge pins.

Photo description: Seagull acoustic guitar, ready for new strings

On classic guitars and ukuleles, I can see how the strings are twisted to attach, on my mandolin, the ends of the strings are handy loops, on a cello there are little colored cylinders (called balls?) that hook into a fork like apparatus, all very straight forward. Turns out the guitar is also straight forward, if you have the right tool (and YouTube).

Photo description: pin pulling end of a guitar string winder and cutter tool

Once the tension is released from the strings, the bridge pins pull straight up, releasing the ball (still don’t know why the little donut is called a ball) on the end of the string. I put the pins back in place so I wouldn’t loose them or forget which was the matching hole (theoretically they should be the same, but the guitar is 31 years old, and things shift). Putting the new strings in was straightforward, although I appreciated the tip from one YouTuber about bending the string at the top of the pin hole, it helps keep the pin from popping up until tension is applied.

Photo description: Seagull acoustic guitar with the frets polished, everything dusted, and new D’Addario strings installed

I tuned up the guitar, and all the the other hand-held string instruments because I like to, and played it a bit, but it hurts my left hand, not the fingertips, those are developing calluses nicely, just the position of my hand on the neck. Hm.

I did look it up, and the ends of the strings for instruments did used to be a small sphere or bead, it is just easier to manufacture and wind cylinders, but the “ball end” name stuck.

Restringing my Mandolin

On By CarynIn music

The 1895 era American Conservatory bowl back mandolin I purchased a couple months ago finally has new strings.

Photo description: bottom of the bowl of the American Conservatory Mandolin with aged strings and the wrist cover removed

I was nervous about restringing her, but she was quite supportive for the whole procedure. Mandolin strings have a loop at one end of that hooks onto raised metal tabs. I changed out pairs of strings, one set at a time, so that I didn’t move the bridge. I used cheesecloth to wipe away the dust, but did not do a deep clean or try anything aggressive.

Photo description: end of the mandolin with the wrist cover removed, showing the string loops and metal tabs

I am also experimenting with alternative tuning. I tuned to DGBE, as the top four strings of a guitar are tuned. These notes are lower than typical mandolin GDAE tuning and make the strings softer to press. Plus, it might make learning chords transferable to guitar. So far the mandolin is accepting the new tuning, and when all the strings are tuned, she still resonates with my voice. New strings take a long time to settle in and require frequent tuning. I will also keep a close eye on her construction to make sure the new tuning doesn’t cause stress damage.