My first re-stringing job....

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Knit-wit
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Well, I finally did it. I restrung my soprano. I've been meaning to do this for months, but for whatever reason, I found it to be intimidating. I worried that I would screw it up somehow; maybe even damage the uke. It went well, if I must say so myself.

The original strings were black GHS, and I disliked them right from the beginning. They seemed to have very low tension, the string guages seemed almost identical across the instrument and the strings felt like plastic. That being said, I did like one thing about them (on this instrument)....the color. I really liked the black strings with the ebony fretboard, based purely on looks.

Both of my other ukes, both concerts, have Aquilla Nylguts installed; one high G and one low G with a wound G. I really like them in both cases, so I purchased a set for the soprano.

My biggest question once I got started on the job was how to determine how tight to pull each string through the tuner before beginning winding. This uke has friction tuners, unlike my other two. I had read enough about the process to know how to orient each string to it's tuner, and to allow the first wrap to go over the free end of the string before making the remaining wraps go down toward the peghead. But how do you determine how much slack to allow starting out to avoid having the wraps double-up on themselves? So far it looks okay, but who knows how much they'll eventually stretch? The G, E & A strings are wound down the tuner posts almost to the bases, while the C string only took about one wrap to come up to pitch.

Should I loosen the C string and allow for more wraps around the tuner post?

My knots at the bridge came out good (actually better than the originals), although I did pull the first knot in the A string through the hole in the bridge....I thought I had broken the string!

I wish I had taken the time to inspect the installation of the nut and saddle, although thinking back on it, I never had all of the strings loose at once. My hope is that these new strings will have a positive impact on the intonation of the uke; it was never right up until now. I've read that a string change can improve intonation....I'm guessing in this case it can't make it any worse. Already I think the strings have improved the uke's volume, so that's a plus.

Anyone else hesitant to do their first string change, or was it just me? Now to tune, and re-tune, and re-tune....
 
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I really need to restring both of mine, tenor and cocert, but it scares me to death.
 
It is simple...

 
Yeah- I'd say I'm hesitant about it. I bought a set of concert Aquila's from MGM before xmas and still haven't taken the plunge...
A bit worried I'll mess it up an get stuck with an unplayable uke- and with only one uke, that'd be bad news. Maybe I'll give it a go after reading your post... thanks for sharing your experence.
 
Thanks for sharing, glad it went well. And thanks to AC Baltimore for the video.
Happy tuning and strumming!
 
I prefer the look of black strings myself...I hate ghs and not a fan of hilo, but I'm sold out on Worth Browns. I know I know, they're brown...but only if you hold them up to the light. otherwise they look black.

I love the browns...but I am originally from Cleveland area
 
OK, I'll admit it, when I first started playing, I was worried that I would screw things up when I changed my first set of strings. However, after I took the plunge I was annoyed with myself that I had waited a while and it was such an easy operation.

As far as intonation, on a couple vintage uke's I bought, which had very old strings, the intonation was terrible even when tuned to pitch. I thought that I really screwed things up and bought bad uke's, however, after I changed the strings everything was solved.....so I know very old strings can intonate very badly and it isn't the uke at all.
 
the intimidation factor is definitely true. and it's also true that new strings can completely change an instrument. i needed a new saddle for my soprano and took it to the shop. they repaired the saddle and replaced the 10yr old strings with some new strings. this inspired me to change the strings from the strings that were on my tenor. i watched as many videos as i could find and tried it myself. the first string was probably the most intimidating. after that, it was cake. and man am i glad i changed the strings on my tenor!! and i'm not afraid to change the strings anymore.
 
I don't change strings. When my strings get old-sounding, I just buy a new ukulele!
 
I've changed my strings once, but it was on my Mahalo and I spent the whole time freaking out anyway! It wasn't too hard, but then I had a family member (who's a guitar player) helping me.
My Fluke looks like it might be harder to change, but haven't tried yet.
 
I've changed my strings once, but it was on my Mahalo and I spent the whole time freaking out anyway! It wasn't too hard, but then I had a family member (who's a guitar player) helping me.
My Fluke looks like it might be harder to change, but haven't tried yet.

Fleas and Flukes are surprisingly easy to change the strings on. Just tie a knot in one end and thread the other end through the tuners. I'm more intimidated by the ukes that have the elaborate winding and interweaving of the strings around the bridge, like on my Lanikai and my Kala.
 
LOL! I wonder if you can change strings on a wife?
Welll....yeeesss, but VERY carefully! And, man watch that G-string...get that too tight and the eyes cross! In that case...RUN!!:uhoh:
 
The first time I restrung one of my ukes I watched a video Nukedoc made and it was pretty easy. The one thing I did not know was the G string was a low g (Kala Red) and I was tring to get it up to a high g. Snapped that thing, luckly no damage to my uke though.
 
What a difference a day (and a new set of strings) makes! I had no idea this little uke could be this loud. The tone is also improved, although the jury's still out on the intonation....the strings are still stretching.

I've been tuning it regularly, and the correction needed seems to be diminishing (unless that's my imagination). I'm gaining much-needed practice with my friction tuners, although I won't claim to like them yet. If this keeps up, this little uke may actually get some playing time!

Again, to my earlier question. Is it necessary (or advisable) to go back and adjust the length of the string at the tuner end to achieve the desired number of wraps around the post? The G, E & A strings are nearing the bottom of their tuner posts, and if they stretch much more they'll start to "double wrap". The C string, on the other hand, although still stretching, has only one and a half wraps around the post. Leave them alone, or try to adjust the length?
 
Personally, I would trim the strings down. If you do follow my advice, don't trim too much since the strings have already been stretched out for the past couple of days.

The C or low g strings have very little tension so you don't have to wind them much. In fact, I try to leave some slack in them before winding, unlike the other higher tension strings. I was just informed from a guitar player that set up peeps pride themselves on having as few winds as possible. The theory is that the strings hold their tune better with less winding. Myself, I prefer three winds to secure the string in its post.
 
Yep I was scared the first time, really the only thing that you can mess up is if you somehow manage to put a cut in one of the strings or something, But once you restring your uke the first time and learn how much different other strings sound, you'll probably start changin em a lot till you find something you really really like. Oh and I always make sure I start with my a string, because I like my bridge to look neat and I string em together a certain way that they layer on top of each other and don't stick out.

It's really easy, just do it! =) plenty of videos on how to do it. If you're nervous just go slow, won't hurt nothin
 
Thanks, Ronnie. I think maybe I'll undo the G, E & A strings and pull a little more string through the tuner (3/4"?) and bring them back up to pitch. I don't want the windings wrapping back over themselves. I'm thinking I'll leave the C string as is for now. I have not trimmed the excess length yet (although it bugs me), so adjusting length should be easy enough still....
 
I know it isn't right for me to share such negative information, but! I changed the strings on my baritone, and I didn't know how hard to pull or tighten it, so I pulled too hard and ripped the bridge right off of my 'ukulele.
 
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