arrg tuning problems driving me mad!

[_tom_]

I always wash my hands before picking up the guitar (although some of the venues I play it's questionable whether they come out any cleaner). I also use GHS fast fret after playing. Surprisingly it doesn't make you play any faster(!) but it definately extends the usable life of your strings - by usable I mean home practice and rehearsals. For gigs and recording I put on a new set each time without fail. Other than that, probably once a month. I buy them in bulk (ten at a time) which works out about £3.60 a set.

where do you get your strings from? thats pretty cheap!

[Gary]

where do you get your strings from? thats pretty cheap!

http://www.stringbusters.com/

Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys £3.60 per pack for orders of 10 or more, GHS Boomers £3.50 for an equivalent amount. Wouldn't recommend their leads (got some once) but the prices on strings are good.

[Bob Johnson]

Guys; you can't wait 'till strings break before you change them. If you play regularly, bend 'em, hit 'em hard, they fatigue. It's a well known feature of metals that they fatigue or "work harden" with vibration or shock. This hardening process makes them sound dull and changes their response to the tension:pitch relationship; making them harder to tune and increasing the effect of small tension changes over pitch variability.
Another major factor in tuning stability is the way the string is wrapped onto the machine head. One winding should never overlap another, this creates a spring like effect that is dependant on the friction between one winding an another rather than the linear (tangential) pull you get from a one layer winding.
From reading all the good stuff on this forum I can tell that you are all into getting the best out of your gear. Don't let shagged out, badly loaded strings let it down. Even budget guitars have reasonable machine heads these days so there's really no excuse for poor tunig stability.

Sorry about the rant but we old gits do have our uses. :D

[_tom_]

hmm I do try to wrap around my strings as neatly as possible. I dont really have the money to buy a new set of strings every few weeks though. But I'll order a few new sets soon because I'm ordering new leads aswell.. Cheers! I'm also probably gonna get a fret dress and proper setup done sometime I think, maybe get him to have a look at the nut. Hopefully this will keep it all nicely in tune  :lol:

[big steve]

www.stringsdirect.co.uk is worth a look too - free 1st class postage which is nice, and cheap prices too.

i use them sometimes, but ethically i'm concerned that smaller/player owned/local shops and companies are in danger of being pushed out of a market by big businesses. (our beloved BKP fits the former description...)

i know it's not a perfect argument but it does concern me

[HJM]

I can understand that...but then again I'm sure my local shop keeps 'em in the cellar, they smell and they're almost rusty!

[_tom_]

www.stringsdirect.co.uk is worth a look too - free 1st class postage which is nice, and cheap prices too.

i use them sometimes, but ethically i'm concerned that smaller/player owned/local shops and companies are in danger of being pushed out of a market by big businesses. (our beloved BKP fits the former description...)

i know it's not a perfect argument but it does concern me

hmm yeh they do charge alot in shops though, Stringsdirect are like £3-4 a pack whereas my local shops are around £6-7 a pack I think.

[PhilKing]

I hate to tell you how much strings are here.  D'Addario's have a 25 set box which Musicians Friend sells for about $60.  That makes them £1.30 a set.  Even with duty and the PO rip off charge, they should still be a good buy.  If you get together with a few friends you could save a lot.

[Bob Johnson]

I know Tony at Strings Direct personally; he plays guitar and has a keen interest in what's going on, they're not some megalythic faceless outfit chasing down the fastest buck and they have a nice retail outfit offering good deals to one and all. Believe me you can use them with a clear conscience. You could also take a look at www.newstrings.co.uk their US made (basically unbranded) strings are worth trying. They obviously come out of some factory that makes loads of branded strings for for god knows who.

[HJM]

Norman at Stringbusters is a top bloke too - and they sell BKPs! ANd they have nice girls working on their stand at LGS.....

[Drac]

-I'm one of these "little shops"-
-I still say anyone that knows his craft will always have a livelihood...
-
-Lunge for the bargain, & buy a year or more worth of strings at a time-

buy in bulk, or single strings, too-skip over all the packaging and advertising-If yer local won't help you with that,  what good are they to you anyway?-shaker eggs, tele-tubby tamborines, kazoos, and  probably nothing in the way of  shred machines (or 'what you want' )

-My local music shops are doing fine-I don't worry about door-to-door salesmen, either-

curious note- significant difference between music malls and cottage industry boutiques : the malls burn longer!-

-I'm going to go change my strings right now on principle...
-JOIN ME...
-yer feisty pal Drac

[_tom_]

Norman at Stringbusters is a top bloke too - and they sell BKPs! ANd they have nice girls working on their stand at LGS.....

Well, I'll have to go to LGS next time :lol: I think for my birthday I'm just gonna ask my mum to buy me a big bulk pack of strings or something, like 20 packs or something  :D Cheers for all the help guys, and Drac I know what you mean about the stores that sell tambourines etc, the one I go to for my lessons sell "Pennywhistles" hahahahahahaha

[rinse_master]

I have used stringsdirect.co.uk a few times, great prices and a massive selection of guages too (same at stringbusters).

I liek the sounds of those D'Addario 25 packs, I might order one of those...

[_tom_]

I have used stringsdirect.co.uk a few times, great prices and a massive selection of guages too (same at stringbusters).

I liek the sounds of those D'Addario 25 packs, I might order one of those...

yeah, I've used stringsdirect before a few times. I think I'll get a 25 pack of D'addarios for my bday then, the same for xmas aswell  :lol:

[big steve]

there's nothing wrong with pennywhistles! i made £9 in an hour in august bank holiday busking with a tine whistle!