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String Break Angle difference - tele & Les Paul

Bartholomew3
May 28th, 2012, 01:18 PM
Have a vintage tele and a Gibson studio.

When the Gibson come from the factory & plek machine the .10 strings have between 1-1/2 or 2 turns around each tuning key. Why do they use so few winds ?

On my tele I do minimum 2 to 4 winds depending on which string/tuner. If I put on more winds on the Gibson tuners the break-angle over the nut increases.

Would the strings tend to jam in the nut with more winds since the strings go lower on the tuners causing more pressure ?

charlie chitlin
May 28th, 2012, 01:55 PM
Have a vintage tele and a Gibson studio.

When the Gibson come from the factory & plek machine the .10 strings have between 1-1/2 or 2 turns around each tuning key. Why do they use so few winds ?

On my tele I do minimum 2 to 4 winds depending on which string/tuner. If I put on more winds on the Gibson tuners the break-angle over the nut increases.

Would the strings tend to jam in the nut with more winds since the strings go lower on the tuners causing more pressure ?

Strings don't need to be wound much.
I know this is a can o' worms and everybody has their opinion, but if you use 2 winds, your strings will not slip and I think a lot of what takes new strings to break in and stay in tune is the winds settling in on the post.
Less winds, less settling.
OTOH, I use a buncha winds on Tele D and G strings to get a good break angle.
On an angles headstock, more winds (sharper break) shouldn't affect tuning if the nut is cut properly.

KokoTele
May 28th, 2012, 02:45 PM
Don't read too much into it. It's just a matter of the person who strung up your guitar. And unless you bought it new online, there's no reason to believe that you purchased it with the original strings.

If the high E and B were wound with a locking wrap that clamps down on the string, only 1 or 2 turns are necessary. Otherwise the string locks itself to the tuner through friction, and a couple of extra turns are required.

A few extra turns will not cause extra binding at the nut. The difference in pressure is not that great.

Bartholomew3
May 28th, 2012, 07:02 PM
Thanx guys - Koko I did buy it new online recently as I wasn't able to get one with an ebony fret-board in Canada. It was an exclusive to MF & GC.

Was set-up pretty well but will have to do some work on the nut - G string is jamming a bit.

I started to wonder about this since I usually use more winds on the unwound strings than they did.

Vizcaster
May 29th, 2012, 09:50 PM
The Plek machine has nothing to do with the way the strings are installed. They do the Plek treatment without strings using a jig that simulates string tension on the neck. Besides I'm pretty sure the Studio LP's have only the nut slots cut (I should say, "started") by the Plek, not a full fret dress like the Standards.

But, in general, a guitar with a slanted headstock and 3+3 tuners will have plenty of down angle behind the nut, so you don't need too many winds.