need help cleaning up my restringing technique

khrome

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I changed my strings for the first time about 3 weeks ago. At first I thought I did them wrong because it took a really long time for them to settle, and my C string was going out of tune way faster than the others. Now they are all pretty good - going out of tune at the same rate as my old ones which were done at the factory. But my problem is, my knots at the bridge are not as clean as the originals - they look pretty terrible. I'm also afraid to cut the "tails" off close to the knot because they might unravel. Will they? Do you guys have tips for cleaner knots?

Attached are my before and after shots. Thanks!
 

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Did you pull the strings tight before wrapping them around the tuner post? It looks like you had loose knots before hooking them up. You should pull the string taut to tighten the knot while holding down the knot with a finger to keep it in place. I keep the tail end on the underside of the bridge.

Don't be afraid to retie the knots. You can do it again if you have a few wraps of slack on the tuner posts.
 
Did you pull the strings tight before wrapping them around the tuner post? It looks like you had loose knots before hooking them up. You should pull the string taut to tighten the knot while holding down the knot with a finger to keep it in place. I keep the tail end on the underside of the bridge.

Don't be afraid to retie the knots. You can do it again if you have a few wraps of slack on the tuner posts.

:agree:

yeah, what he said.

looks like you didn't pull the strings tight enough. and if you are trying for that original look, you may have looped it one too many times as well.
Also, I don't like to cut the loose ends until after the strings had a chance to settle... that might minimize the chance of unraveling.
and rather than cut all those loose ends close to the knot, I also like to tuck the loose end of one string into the loop of the next so that the next string's loop holds it down... then i'll either cut it close there at the next string, or if there is room, I'll loop it together with that next string into the loop of the next next string and so on. I like to keep those pointy cut ends controlled.
 
I like to leave a long enough tail on the first knot to tuck it into the second knot next to it. Does that make sense? Loose string tails can cause buzzing when they rest on the soundboard of the instrument.
Except for the first knot, each knot is securing the tail of the the previous knot. The tail of the G string stands alone and I make sure that the knot tightens itself as I tune the string up. make sure the knots are overhanging ovet the edge of the bridge so that when they tighten, they secure themselves real good.
Also, a habit I had from my guitar days; before I ever install my strings. I pull each string gently to get the stretch out of them. This lets them settle in faster once they're on your uke. Strings will stretch up to 1/4 times their length when first put on the uke and stretching them beforehand cuts the settling-in time down to half.
Ernest
 
Sometimes I'd bend and twist the end of the strings (to what they'd look like on the uke) first before placing it in the hole - it helps a little with getting the knots to be more uniform across all the strings.
 
Don't be afraid to leave a lot of tail. I once had an A-string slip out of the knot and put a gash on the soundboard. Ever since that I always make sure I leave a long tail for the G & A strings until I'm positive that it's not slipping. Then I trim it down but the picture below is about how much tail I leave for my classical type bridges. I used to tuck the tail into the next knot down, but I stopped doing that because it would be a pain in the butt to undo a particular string if the need ever arised.

DSC03255.JPG
 
I like to keep those pointy cut ends controlled.

Don't be afraid to leave a lot of tail. I once had an A-string slip out of the knot and put a gash on the soundboard.
One thing you can do about sharp string ends that can ding the finish is "bead" them. Hold them over a flame and the end will melt into a rounded "bead." Be careful not to let a glob drip on anything and, of course, wait til it has completely cooled and solidified before attempting to install.
 
You guys are awesome!!! Thanks for all the tips. I'll redo them this weekend and hopefully they'll come out better this time. :)
 
I just did mine about an hour ago. I just copied the way MGM had done it. I'm very happy with how it turned out for my first time changing strings.
 
i've always been crap with knots - but with every stringed instrument i've ever owned that needed knots at the bridge, I have merely copied exactly the knots that were on the strings from the factory.

Change one at a time, and you cant go wrong!

(oh, and once i've done them, I snip the loose ends - I leave the spare string at the peg end of the Uke - if a string snaps at the bridge end, I at least give myself a chance of re-using the rest of the string! - makes sense!)
 
Any good scout could tell you that the knot tied on the bridge is a Timber Hitch. Here is an animated demonstration. :)
I always tuck the tails in, so I do the G string first and leave a long enough tail to reach past the opposite end of the bridge. Then when I put the C sting on, I wrap it around the tail of the G string. The E string is wrapped around the the tail of the G and C string. The A string is wrapped around all three tails, then I trim them all so they are even.
 
I like to leave a long enough tail on the first knot to tuck it into the second knot next to it. Does that make sense? Loose string tails can cause buzzing when they rest on the soundboard of the instrument.
Except for the first knot, each knot is securing the tail of the the previous knot. The tail of the G string stands alone and I make sure that the knot tightens itself as I tune the string up. make sure the knots are overhanging ovet the edge of the bridge so that when they tighten, they secure themselves real good.
Also, a habit I had from my guitar days; before I ever install my strings. I pull each string gently to get the stretch out of them. This lets them settle in faster once they're on your uke. Strings will stretch up to 1/4 times their length when first put on the uke and stretching them beforehand cuts the settling-in time down to half.
Ernest

Yup, when I'm not feeling too lazy, I'll tuck the ends of the tails into the knot of the next, because I have had buzzing problems before with the tails touching the soundboard. And if I am too lazy, I'll just snip them. As for stretching the strings, I usually stretch them after they're on the instrument, either by overshooting GCEA when tuning, or by manually puling the string up and off the fretboard.

As time went on, I also learned more tricks with how to tie the knot at the tuning peg. With ukes, now I like to loop the tail back through the tuning peg, because I guess it is supposed to help reduce slippage. But at the bridge, I just make sure that alll the tails are facing the same way at the end of the knot, and usually, it just pulls nice and tight.
 
I think you wrapped the string around itself too many times. Try 3 wraps
 
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