# Strings. How Long ...



## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

How long did it take you to change your last set of strings? Did you draw blood? If yes was it once, or more than once.

For me, lets just say it was under a hour and I drew blood,... twice.


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## Ripper (Jul 1, 2006)

20 minutes and no blood here.


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## james on bass (Feb 4, 2006)

10 minutes, no blood.


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## Lester B. Flat (Feb 21, 2006)

15 minutes. Unscathed.


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## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

15 minutes. Rarely blood. One eye poke many years ago.


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## GuitaristZ (Jan 26, 2007)

15 minutes and no blood. The only times I draw blood are when I try and reach for my electric without looking, and grab the headstock accidentally haha. Oh well.


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## Geek (Jun 5, 2007)

Bass - 10 to 15 minutes, including tensilizing and tuning. No grief.
Guitar - double that. Bandaids are always nearby


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## Hamm Guitars (Jan 12, 2007)

I can string an HLS 2 (because of the locking tuners) in about three minutes. Most other guitars around four or five minutes, if it has a floyd add a couple of minutes.

There has been the ocasional bit of blood, but not too often.


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## adamthemute (Jun 18, 2007)

I suck at changing strings. I probably take about 20 minutes, but I just do it casually while I watch TV or something. I haven't drawn blood yet...so I must be doing something wrong.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Fifteen minutes last night.

blood?

No


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## Tarbender (Apr 7, 2006)

10-12 minutes if I clean and hydrate the fretboard, otherwise 4 maybe 5 minutes. You guys that are taking 20 minutes, what are you doing that takes so long?


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## Michelle (Aug 21, 2006)

Geek said:


> Bass - 10 to 15 minutes, including tensilizing and tuning. No grief.
> Guitar - double that. Bandaids are always nearby


Hey Geek; What do you mean, "tensilizing"? Stretching them?


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Tarbender said:


> 10-12 minutes if I clean and hydrate the fretboard, otherwise 4 maybe 5 minutes. You guys that are taking 20 minutes, what are you doing that takes so long?


Relaxing?

If I thought it was a race I could probably do a Strat in less than ten minutes.

In fifteen minutes the strings are on, stretched and tuned ready for a final tuning and stage.


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

...never timed myself, but i have had many nightmares about poking myself in the eye!

-dh


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## Ripper (Jul 1, 2006)

Tarbender said:


> 10-12 minutes if I clean and hydrate the fretboard, otherwise 4 maybe 5 minutes. You guys that are taking 20 minutes, what are you doing that takes so long?


Watching tv, or chatting with someone, probably having a beer, cleaning the bridge, lubing the saddles, cleaning and lubing the nut, sometimes giving the fretboard a quick oil, cleaning the top of the guitar while the strings are off, checking to make sure any screws are tight (pickguard, screws and nut on input jack etc).


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## The Kicker Of Elves (Jul 20, 2006)

A little over 5 minutes (I've had a lot of practice since I have changed pickups so often).

The new Valor has rear mounted pickups so I can change pickups to my heart's content without having to take the strings off. However its wraparound bridge caused the first string-change-breakage I've experienced (while stretching the high E). Damn, why can't you buy single strings in lots of a dozen or so??


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## axestronomer (Mar 1, 2007)

20 minutes or so giving the neck and guitar a good cleaning and close inspection plus lubing up the nut with nut sauce and the saddles also if it's on a guitar with a trem. I avoid bloodletting as much as possible but sometimes shit happens.


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## kat_ (Jan 11, 2007)

Classical guitar - 10 to 15 minutes.
Electric guitar - 8 to 10 minutes.

http://www.spin-doctor.com/ helps if I'm doing a lot at once.


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## Starbuck (Jun 15, 2007)

Tarbender said:


> 10-12 minutes if I clean and hydrate the fretboard, otherwise 4 maybe 5 minutes.



No more than 10 and that includes cleaning and polishing.


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## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

Tarbender said:


> 10-12 minutes if I clean and hydrate the fretboard, otherwise 4 maybe 5 minutes. You guys that are taking 20 minutes, what are you doing that takes so long?


Cursing and swearing and drawing more blood when I wasn't watching what I was doing because I was cursing and swearing to begin with.


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## noobcake (Mar 8, 2006)

I have to change strings quite often, since I have very acidic sweat, I've got it down to a science now, 5 minutes tops and no blood:smile:.


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## Agata0023 (Mar 15, 2007)

About 15 min with me, no blood (although I have drawn blood in the past), no cleaning either, and thats properly stretched and tuned. I've got it down to a fine science


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## kinggeoff (Jul 14, 2007)

Anywhere between 5 and 20 minutes depending on what else needs to be adjusted/cleaned during the process :wave:


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## I_cant_play (Jun 26, 2006)

takes me at least 20 minutes. It's not the actual string changing but the cleaning of the fretboard while the strings are off. My hands seem to sweat a whole lot and I play quite often so as a result I have all this icky stuff that builds up on my fretboard after some time. When the strings are off I have to get the fretboard cleaner a soft rag and put some muscle into removing that stuff. That takes far longer than actually changing the strings. Then I also check intonation, clean the rest of the guitar etc.. 

If I were to just change the strings as quick as I can it would take between 5 and 10 minutes. It used to be a lot longer though cause I used to follow instructions on websites on how to change them. I always found it really awkward for the longest time and I had quite some trouble with it. However, a while ago I got a book about guitar and they explained how to change strings a diffferent way from what I used and now it takes much less time than it used to. I'm still kind of baffled as to why I didn't find this method that I use now anywhere on the web.

and I do believe I drew blood one time..


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## zinga (Apr 22, 2007)

changed in 15 min no blood


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## NewGuitarGuru (Oct 14, 2006)

2 hours, no blood.


I changed my gauge from .010's to .011's and I had to adjust my tremolo springs and my action. Mind you, I had never done these things before and I was learning from my Fender booklet that came with my guitar.


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## esp_dsp (Feb 27, 2007)

depends on if the fretboard needs a good cleaning or just a light wipe down... but mostly 15 mins after i give the guitar a good wipe and all

drew blood twice on the same job... 

a buddy of mine has some cheap nova from sears and when he broke his high e and b strings they got stuck in the bridge somehow and i thought id just give it a good poke and the string went right into my finger... so i finally got that one out then i was trying to get the high e out and i guess i didnt learn my lesson but that one pricked me too damn awkward feeling it is having a string go into your finger but oh well


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