ukecantdothat
Well-known member
So there I am at our summer-long gig at the San Diego Zoo, and it happened. Between sets, and inside its case, a string breaks. I was hoping to make it thru the summer on the same set of Alvarez, but there it was. The problem here was, we were about to start the next set, always at the top of the hour, NO DELAYS. It was the A string, and I considered just muddling thru on three strings. At least there was no space between, like if it were the E string missing, and then change the string on the next break and stretch it out well.
I always carry a spare set of new strings, but then it occurred to me, hey I also have a used set, "pre-stretched" as it were. I quickly grabbed an A and tied it off at the bridge. With about one minute until the down beat, I wound it around the peg. Doh! I had no peg winder! Where was it? No time to search, so I hand-wound the geared tuner faster that anything. I nodded to Greg who counted off the tune ("In The Summertime" by Mongo Jerry... not rocket science...) It was still far from in tune but getting there, so I played the first three strings and, where I could, kept sneaking in a few cranks while holding the second chord for a measure. By the second verse I pulled back on my volume pedal to zero and quickly finished tuning. I tuned a bit sharp and stretched it down to pitch by pulling back and forth. To my amazement it stayed in perfect tune for the rest of the evening. Whew!
Sorry about the long set up to this question, but wouldn't it be nice if new strings came "pre-stretched?" And a reminder: Never toss your used strings. They could come in handy one day!
I always carry a spare set of new strings, but then it occurred to me, hey I also have a used set, "pre-stretched" as it were. I quickly grabbed an A and tied it off at the bridge. With about one minute until the down beat, I wound it around the peg. Doh! I had no peg winder! Where was it? No time to search, so I hand-wound the geared tuner faster that anything. I nodded to Greg who counted off the tune ("In The Summertime" by Mongo Jerry... not rocket science...) It was still far from in tune but getting there, so I played the first three strings and, where I could, kept sneaking in a few cranks while holding the second chord for a measure. By the second verse I pulled back on my volume pedal to zero and quickly finished tuning. I tuned a bit sharp and stretched it down to pitch by pulling back and forth. To my amazement it stayed in perfect tune for the rest of the evening. Whew!
Sorry about the long set up to this question, but wouldn't it be nice if new strings came "pre-stretched?" And a reminder: Never toss your used strings. They could come in handy one day!