changing strings - am I just thick???

Iulia

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This is only my second attempt at changing strings, and the first with my new Ohana. My previous was a uke with peg tuners and the kind of bridge that you just tie a knot (sorry don't know technical name)

decided to put Living Water strings on my ohana - tie bar bridge and geared tuners.

one hour later.

multiple watching of various youtube videos

and the end result still looks like a five year old did it. And I'm not convinced they aren't going to pop off ...

Seriously? All the technology available, is that the best way strings could be attached to a musical instrument?

Or is it just me????? :mad:
 
It is not you. My Opio has a fancy bridge and the twisted guitar type stringing. I, too, bought some Living Waters for its upcoming string change. My local music store charges $15 labor to change strings, and I think I am going to go for it. Rationale is that I know how to change my oil in my car, but I still take it in for an oil change. This way, I will have it done correctly and without stress to me. I have trouble tying the strings anyyway with my limited hand strength. So, life is too short to worry about handing off a basic aspect of ukulele playing.
 
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If I were you I would persist in learning to change strings confidently. When you have the strings off your ukulele, it's a great time to inspect and clean it. Now I have a lot of experience tying knots so I don't find the tie bridge intimidating. In fact I kind of find joy in spending some time caring for my ukuleles.
 
It is not you. My Opio has a fancy bridge and the twisted guitar type stringing. I, too, bought some Living Waters for its upcoming string change. My local music store charges $15 labor to change strings, and I think I am going to go for it. Rationale is that I know how to change my oil in my car, but I still take it in for an oil change. This way, I will have it done correctly and without stress to me. I have trouble tying the strings anyyway with my limited hand strength. So, life is too short to worry about handing off a basic aspect of ukulele playing.

Well I'm glad its not me at least :) I did think at one point I was just going to have to call this set of strings a learning curve and order another - I'm still not certain I haven't bggered them beyond use - I'll keep on tuning it today and see how it goes ....
 
There are some knacks to tying strings. ;)

Slotted bridges & through body need big knots so that they won't pull through, so you need to create 2 loops before poking the end through & pulling it tight.

For tie bridges the knack is to ensure the tail is being held behind the bridge & not on top.

A good video is, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfONxF00cIU
 
It does take some practice to tie on your strings. I've learned how to tuck the tag end back up the hole so the ends are hidden. Makes it look neat and tidy. But occasionally the string slips if I don't wrap three times.
 
First time changing strings for everyone is intimidating.

If you can share a close-up photo of the end result, i.e. the bridge, maybe we can offer some suggestions.

What exactly do you feel went wrong? What trouble were you having?

I'm not going to just say 'it's easy, anyone can do it' because I think that would be insulting, but to get detailed and specific advice on any issues that are apparent, one might need to swallow some pride and 'share' the result in a photo here.

Not kidding here, some of us have OCD about the APPEARANCE of the strings when installed, which has nothing to do with their ability to HOLD onto the bridge and not slip off...and I had to train myself to get over it otherwise I'd never have time to play since I'd be trying over and again to obsessively 'fix it'.....

Either way, no judgements, and no worries - just trying to help...
 
Well I'm glad its not me at least :) I did think at one point I was just going to have to call this set of strings a learning curve and order another - I'm still not certain I haven't bggered them beyond use - I'll keep on tuning it today and see how it goes ....

Keep in mind that it takes about 20 HOURS of string vibration, yes play-time, for NEW strings to stretch enough and settle to pitch such that constant retuning every 5 mins is not needed.

Also, if you play for 1 hour, and strum VIGOROUSLY right after you install new strings, and yes constantly retuning every 5 mins, you will greatly decrease the time it takes later on to get them to settle.

But if you only pick it up and tune and then play for 2 mins, and then put it down for 2 hrs, and then rinse and repeat, or expand that to 10 mins every other day, it will take WEEKS for the strings to settle to pitch.

IMHO despite the Hive MIND of UU saying that it's ok to manually stretch strings, I have found that doing so causes DEAD spots and intonation problems and I personally do NOT tug at or pinch the strings. Instead I PLAY and constantly retune every song or every other song and after about 10 hrs of PLAY (string vibration), the retuning is required infrequently, and after about 20 hrs they dont really need retuning.

This is the nature of strings for ukulele, classical guitar and similar instruments...
 
where to start - the strings kept slipping out of my fingers, I couldn't get the knot to go where I wanted, the knots wouldn't tighten, the string kept slipping out of the tuner .... I'll try to post a pic, might not come out in which case I'll have to wait for better light in the morning and a better camera. Thanks everyone
 
Its roughly holding tune at the moment - at one point as I was turning the tuner key the pitch was going up and then down, up and then down, which obviously wasn't right - then the string popped out and I started again. Sigh. They seem to be staying in place at the moment. Think I need to order another set of strings just in case ;)
 
Keep in mind that it takes about 20 HOURS of string vibration, yes play-time, for NEW strings to stretch enough and settle to pitch such that constant retuning every 5 mins is not needed.

It takes 20 hours of play time for the strings to settle to the point where they don't need constant tuning?!! I can't say that I would agree with that, at least not in my experience.

When I put on new strings I know they are going to stretch and will need to be tuned again so what I'll do is tune the uke, then play a song. Once I'm done playing the song, I'll tune it again and play another song. Once I'm done with that song, I'll tune the uke again and play another song and continue the play a song and tune process for as long as I choose to play. It's pretty easy to kill an hour or more doing this. Before putting the uke back in the case until the next session I will tune it 1/2 step sharp to stretch the strings some more the first couple of times. I just continue this process for however long it takes. I find that the strings settle in a matter of days (or playing sessions) - less than a week and certainly less than 20 hours of play.
 

It looks functional but not especially pretty. ;) I like to cut the tails a bit shorter and then tuck them back into the corresponding string holes on the bridge.

IMG_2165.jpgIMG_2166.jpg

You can see where some of the ends come back through the string holes/bridge but it still looks pretty neat and tidy.
 
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It comes easier the more you do it. If you've never done it before, maybe practice with something that isn't the strings, like.. wire. Don't like... tighten it because the wire will have the wrong tension, but just to work out the knotting, it would probably work.

As for the tuner side... you can use a locking knot. I usually do this, especially on the thin strings, which can slip.
 
This is one of those things that the more you do it, the easier it is. It's like riding a bike - super hairy at first, but piece of cake later.

This video is great - because it uses giant rope to clearly show how to loop it around. I thought it was immensely helpful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyv7uOiXsbM

Take your time and enjoy the ride - including changing the strings - trying to get the best tone out of the instrument is part of the fun.

Good luck!
Rich
 
It takes 20 hours of play time for the strings to settle to the point where they don't need constant tuning?!! I can't say that I would agree with that, at least not in my experience.....

I find that the strings settle in a matter of days (or playing sessions) - less than a week and certainly less than 20 hours of play.

Yes, less than 20 hrs, I usually use this as hyperbole to offset the malformed/misinformed expectations that most beginners have, that all ukuleles and classical guitar can 'never stay in tune' as per tons of complaints and bad reviews on this forum, other forums and sites like Amazon, where folks complain about constant retuning.

I usually play (both practice and songwriting) at least an hour per day (on average, often even more), so yes, for ME, also, in about a week they hold tune, but for newbies, they always say the strings never hold the tuning due to lack of experience with string changes.

Sorry for the confusion.
 
where to start - the strings kept slipping out of my fingers, I couldn't get the knot to go where I wanted, the knots wouldn't tighten, the string kept slipping out of the tuner .... I'll try to post a pic, might not come out in which case I'll have to wait for better light in the morning and a better camera. Thanks everyone

if the string is slipping out of the tuner hole, then you can pass it through the tuner hole a second time, i.e.,
just go around the tuner, and into the hole a second time and pull the new LOOP tight (from the loose end) leaving some slack towards the bridge. Then hold the loose end while you turn the tuner button, and after a wrap or two around the post, string tension and friction should hold the string from slipping.
 
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That is what I was talking about - you may not have the tail end of the strings far enough down the back side of the bridge. ;)

(One looks perfectly placed, two look a bit iffy, & the other one appears to be the wrong side.)

I use my thumbnail to hold it in place down as close to the hole as possible, whilst I tighten the knot.

At the other end where the tuners are, make sure to put the string through the hole, pull up the slack, then wrap around the post & put the string back through the hole a second time, that is usually sufficient to hold it whilst you bring it up to tension. :)

Edit: This will show how in pictures, https://ukuguides.com/how-to/how-to-change-ukulele-strings/
 
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