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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | So based on this comment in another thread Jonmark Stone - 2016-02-16 6:19 PM
Amazing someone owns a "holy grail" slothead and doesn't know what they have. Amazing. I wondered if anyone else has noticed the trend of people paying to have their strings changed or have some deal with their local Guitar Center or if they are lucky music store, to change strings?I'm not talking setups, just string changes. I have run into several people of late, who while they seem to play well enough, have no idea how to change strings. I've even known people who play a little and keep their guitar in tune, but if it gets knocked out of tune more than a step, they take to the store to get tuned or ask someone else to tune it. If you ask them what type of guitar, they'll respond with acoustic or electric... and maybe know the brand, likely not know the model. Personally I'm not sure how I feel about this. Just like I believe everyone should be able to change a tire on their car, and they should know how to change oil and spark plugs too even if they have someone else do it, they should still know how. But, I'm finding more and more that people don't know how, and don't care to know how. Some of those that I have talked to... it's not that they don't want to know, or can't. It just isn't in their thought process. Someone I met not long ago was mentioning how she was taking her guitar to get new strings and I hit the trifecta. I asked why she didn't just do it herself and she looked at my like I had three heads. I asked her what kind of strings she used.. "whatever they put on". So... what kind of guitar do you have... "I think it's a Martin something.." This is someone that plays often, writes songs, posts vids of herself playing on youtube etc and she's pretty good. I was just stunned. This of course spills over into ebay/craislist/reverb ads where people are selling guitars... We think their lack of detail or misinformation is an attempt at a scam, when I find in most cases... they could care less and they can't understand why anyone else would care. Discuss.... |
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Location: Always beautiful canyon country of Utah | Changing strings is the easiest thing in the world and why anyone would not change or tune their strings baffles me beyond belief!! We as a society are becoming way too "specialized"!! |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | "This of course spills over into ebay/craislist/reverb ads where people are selling guitars... "
I am always amazed by people selling a guitar and saying that it "has the Original Factory Strings" like it is a Good Thing. 
As far as Tuning a guitar... I am so blessed that someone invented the Snark tuner!
Cuz I surely cannot tune by ear.
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Location: Thredbo, NSW, Australia | A friend of mine who has been playing guitar for 30+ years pays $35 to have a new set of strings fitted.
Isn't there a saying about a fool and their money ... ?
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Location: Sunshine State, Australia | Old Man Arthur - 2016-02-17 5:15 PM As far as Tuning a guitar... I am so blessed that someone invented the Snark tuner! Cuz I surely cannot tune by ear. I used to pride myself on being able to tune a guitar tby ear o concert pitch, but thought I'd lost it, what with my age and all.
But... at the Brisbane OFC I re-strung Jim's 2080? (shiny black Darth Vader looking thing) and had a crack at tuning it by ear again. I've still got it. I was within 3-4 cents of concert pitch. TAFKAR, Beal and Jim are my withnesses.
(Pity I can't play the dang things anywhere near as good as I'd like to...) |
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Location: Taxed To Death State | I'm with you Miles. If you play guitar and are somewhat serious about it, you should know how to change your strings. It's not even a debate. |
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Location: Flahdaw | I can get my guitar in tune by ear, even alternate tunings. But I'm not sure whether I'm good enough to be able to play my 1st string and say "that's a E note"...I usually use a keyboard to get precise (although I probably could get real close). What drives me a little nuts is when you are playing with someone and their G string is a little flat (for example), and they CAN'T get it back in tune without a Snark! C'mon...you can't hear when it sounds like MY G string!!???
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Location: Phoenix AZ | I think it's just personal preference some things people like to dabble in themselves and other things are more than happy to leave to someone more experienced. I can rebuild a pool pump and have fun doing it. But I know nothing about cars, if the oil or tire pressure light comes on I go to the dealer. I think just a matter of what different people choose to spend their time on.
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Location: Upper Left USA | Reminded me of this:
"The Bottom Feeders Luthiery Guild is a group of like minded dreamers and tinkerers whose desire to create, re-create and advance the level of their skills is out measured only by their frugality."
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Location: Sunshine State, Australia | Darkbar - 2016-02-17 9:43 PM I can get my guitar in tune by ear, even alternate tunings. I just want to clarify that I didn't use another guitar or any instrument or pitch pipe or tone generator or tuner of any description. I just put the strings on and tightened them until I got it sounding right to my ear, THEN I checked with an electronic tuner to see how close I was. |
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Location: Frozen Tundra of Minnesota | It is nothing compared to our Master BFLG's bench's, but it is a start!
I love being able to change my own strings, polish, oil necks, clean frets, do what I can on my own!
So of course I needed a work table down in the cave too (in the Tool Room). It is at a nice height, so I don't have to bend over so much, and has good lighting. (The Clock is a project from a friend!  )
My dad always said if you are going to drive a car, you had better be able to fix it, so we all knew how to change tires, plugs, air cleaners, belts, oil, thermostats, etc. The only thing we actually took them in for was transmission fluid changes.
I think we live in a somewhat *disposable* world now, everything is made of plastic, and the young generation just throws things away and buys another one. Or the things are so technical you need an advanced engineering degree to work on things, so you take them to a Pro now. Look those new fangled phones, and tiny computers, UGH!
I used to LOVE to take things apart and see what made them tick, and work. I didn't always get them back together without some spare parts, but if it was my Dad's, you had better get it back together and working before he got home, or throw it out in the middle of the lake where he would never find it! LOL!!!
I applaud you Muzza, I used to be able to tune by ear, but can't any longer, I do love my Snark! But once I get the E tuned, I usually do the rest myself, then just check them with the Snark.
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Location: Boise, Idaho | The car analogy doesn't quite work. Most people drive cars because they need them to get anywhere. I worked on cars because I had to in order to keep them running. I couldn't afford to take it in. I still do some minor maintenance because it's cheaper and often takes less time than taking it in.
Nobody I know needs to play a guitar. Tuning it and changing the strings should be part of learning to play it.
I'm with you on the Craigslist ads. I really love when they tell you something irrelevant, like it is missing one string, but plays fine. |
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Location: Jet City | I don't think that most people know how to string a guitar properly. I've seen some long time players with horribly strung instruments. |
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| Mark in Boise - 2016-02-17 10:10 AM
I really love when they tell you something irrelevant, like it is missing one string, but plays fine.
My favorite, current CL posting reads:
"OVATION Serial Numbered 6 string Acoustic-Electric Guitar"
At the end of the ad, it is identified as an Ultra but that info was only recently added. |
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Location: Hot Springs, S.D. | My nearest competitor charges 35 bucks to put your new strings on too. That's why MY policy is, if you buy the strings from me, I'll put them on for free. It's amazing how much business, not to mention good will, that generates. (And I have to admit, if it's a nice guitar, and particularly an O, I usually give it the full spa treatment. Not for the customer's sake, but for the guitar's.)
Yes, it's also amazing what a pain in the butt it is to get the old strings off on some of these guitars. People who DON'T know how to string a guitar should let someone else do it instead of literally tying knots in the strings. Grrr....
And a lot of folks don't know what kind of guitar they have. They come in without the guitar sometimes and ask how much I will give them for it. "What kind of guitar is it?" They'll walk over to the acoustic wall and point at a dreadnought and say, "I don't know. It looks sort of like this one. What'll you give me for it?"
Tuning? Yeah, I get a lot of folks bringing in guitars just to be tuned. It takes maybe all of one minute to do it so I don't charge them, but I DO suggest they buy a snark. If they do, I teach them how to use it.
I don't have perfect pitch. I mean I can't hear a note and tell you what it is. But I can hear a guitar chord and not only tell you if one or two strings is out, but even if it's in tune with itself, I can tell you if it's up to pitch. I love doing that in front of the regulars on a Saturday. I'll take a horribly out of tune guitar, tune it by ear, and when I check it with the snark it is almost always dead on. Does that make me a better musician? No way. It just means I have tuned so many guitars in my life I could do it in my sleep.
Cars? I can diagnose some problems because I used to hang out with my Dad when he was working on cars. But I can't FIX them. I did learn how to change a tire but don't have the strength anymore. I call a friend. Stuff around the house? I can usually cobble some kind of fix together. But guitars and banjo's and other stringed instruments are what I really care about and it's a good thing for me other people don't because that's how I make my living. |
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Location: Frozen Tundra of Minnesota | I would give my eye teeth for a nice place like yours in my Hometown Canterbury Strings! 
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Location: New Hartford CT | All I know is when I see the ball ends are not neatly lined up on the bridge...I shudder. My OCD kicks in on the tuning pegs too...I admire a neat wind and tidy cutoff around the pegs. It's easy, even a drummer can do it...says the drummer. |
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Location: Sunshine State, Australia | CanterburyStrings - 2016-02-18 4:09 AM I'll take a horribly out of tune guitar, tune it by ear, and when I check it with the snark it is almost always dead on. Does that make me a better musician? No way. Snap! Actually, sometimes it's an bit of a curse. When I hear that a guitar is slightly out of tune at a jam, rehearsal, concert, whatever... I can't just go with the flow. All I can hear is the out of tune component. Youtube is full of accomplished musicians who are waaaay better than me, but they're playing an out of tune instrument. Even worse is if they're giving a lesson. |
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Location: moline,illinois | I changed my first set of strings on a an ovation 12 string,I figured if I was going to own it I'd better figure out how to change strings,I'm always one to dive into the deep end.It is disappointing that people don't know how to care for there musical instruments or know the details about it.
I love snark tuners,I'm ok by ear but just love how easy they are to use and for the price everyone should own one.
I grew up working on my own car as much to save money as anything,nowadays its a whole different world so my car goes to a mechanic but I'll still work on my motorcycle.It is a different generation out there with everything being made in china and considered disposable but I'll stick to being old school and fix it myself whenever possible. |
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Location: Jet City | I can usually come real close to concert pitch by ear. I hear the first note of Stairway To Heaven in my brain pretty well and tune the A string accordingly. I still remember my first tuner... 
Edited by Damon67 2016-02-17 7:48 PM
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Location: undisclosed | MWoody - 2016-02-17 6:14 AM
Reminded me of this:
"The Bottom Feeders Luthiery Guild is a group of like minded dreamers and tinkerers whose desire to create, re-create and advance the level of their skills is out measured only by their frugality."
" We're not cheap, just inexpensive."
"Broken in is a nice box of pieces."
"A skill set is the time it takes to patch together your worn out and broken gear before the gig."
"Are you done with those strings?" |
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Location: Always beautiful canyon country of Utah | If you use it then you should be able to keep it running and in shape. That's why everyone should keep a cherry picker in their driveway/garage just in case they need to pull their engine and overhaul it!! |
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| Plus, we're environmentally friendly. |
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Location: Muenster/Germany | I often met people who were able to play their intruments but had absolultely no skills or knowledge to maintain it. In my eyes it is a great advantage for everyone to have little skills about their instrument. A guitar player should have a MINIMUM of these abilities, sometimes I have to adjust my guitar tuning while I play, I guess most of you had this problem before, too.
Of course I cannot expect any guitar player to be able to build (for instance) a perfect matching brass nut for a 12 string guitar, but time after time you should come to little abilities that will make you more familiar with your intrument.
Or your car. But my first car (a battered 1974 Mercedes 220 Diesel..) was built so simple that I could fix nearly everything myself. Today I´m not even able to repair the gearshift of my bicycle, all parts are pressed and not bolt together.
When I first changed strings on my first 12string guitar it took me an afternoon and I did not know that changing string gauge would cause change in everything, string action, neck relief...the guitar was unplayable. So I removed the (bolt-on)neck, looked how everything was built and today I know that this was my first neck-reset. It took me half a year until it was perfect, but I learned a lot. Today I can change strings on a 12string in 20 minutes and I can make a neckreset on a guitar with a bolt-on neck in 2 hours.
I think that is the problem: People are afraid to try (or too lazy to learn) something new. But we who have all the skills must understand that. For me all this is easy because I have years of experience and besides that I have professional skills and tools, too. But every experience begins with the first try.
Years ago I was teaching guitar for a while and one of the main topics for the very beginners always was tuning, string secrets, in one word basic maintenance of the guitar, and my students highly appreciated that. I rarely met a music teacher who had this on his agenda, some of them weren´t even able to do these things themselves!
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | I'm sorry, but I giggle when people talk about tuning. Tuning in relationship to what? Now tuning to ones self, that's kinda important. Tuning to the others you are playing with... also kinda important.. but tuning to 440hz... somewhere between 330 and 450 is just fine. Back when we had to learn songs off of albums thank g-d for the invention of the adjustable speed turntable... cause it seems everyone in the 90's was down or up some amount like 440 was off limits for the whole decade. On the other side of the coin... playing ragtime on a piano that's in tune... is just wrong. |
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... and I can change a flat tire too.
