At 12:02 AM 08/04/2001 -0400, you wrote: >I am terrible with strings. I don't know what it is, but I can't seem to >figure out how to back the pin out enough to get the string off and restrung >so the coil is nice and tight, also, I always bust three knuckles and slice >a finger open during the process of fixing one string. Do you make a coil first with a crank and a dummy tuning pin, and then transfer it to the real (backed off) pin? Do you have a good coil lifter in place as you bring up the pitch? Do you take the time to squeeze the becket a couple of times as the string starts to take on tension? Do you tap the coil down as well as pull it up? etc. I've found that wire has memory: the very first experience of bending that you give it should be a good tight initial becket bend, followed by a good tight three turns, with the wire lying neatly on the dummy pin. If it starts life messy, it will resist your efforts to make it a good citizen. Well, that's what I've found ... Susan P.S. My favorite is holding the dummy pin as I try to wedge the needlenose pliers in to take off the fresh coil I've just made ... I push the pliers, they slip, and hit my left hand, sometimes giving me a blood blister. It happens the worst with big thick bass strings.
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