Vintage Tuners - Changing Strings

[Sharkie]

Greetings:

My Tele 52RI has vintage tuners and the high E string has a tendancy to slip out of the hole when winding. Anyone have any tips or suggestions?

Thanks,


Sharkie.

[bagpipe]

Are you leaving enough string length when you pre-cut them? I always follow this guide (search for "vintage keys" ) and I've never had a problem:

http://www.fender.com/support/stratocaster.php

[Tarl]

Try it this way......

http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/stringing.htm

[devnulljp]

I've always just looped the free end under the string as it winds--not a knot,just make sure it lies underneath the tightening string--and never had a problem. Years of classical guitar playing...

[zontar]

I believe you're referring to the slotted machine heads, not the ones on most guitars with the hole through the post, in that case bagpipe's link is what you want.

I have those on my Mustang, and my Iceman has machine heads with both slots & holes.

It's good to bend & precut them. The high E is still tricky, and I find it the hardest to change--it slips out sometimes. Sometimes I find an extra slight bend helps. It helps if you hold the string tight against the post with one hand, and tighten up the slack with the other at the ball end. Through body stringing may be trickier than the Mustangs wrap around tailpiece.

I can cheat a bit on my Iceman as I stick the high E in the slot and poke the tip out the hole--it helps hold it.

Mostly it's practice & patience, but bagpipe's link should help.

I prefer slotted machine heads, I find them easier to change overall, even with the tricky high E.

If you're not sure what kind of tuners I'm referring to go here (http://homepage.ntlworld.com/john.blackman4/50s.htm) and click on the headstock picture.