frustrating restring problem

my guitar is a 72 deluxe which has the old slotted type tuners. i was restringing it without any problems until my high e string popped out of the tuning peg; it didn't break, it just completely shot out just as it was reaching correct pitch.

i bought another pack of strings and tried the new high e, only to have it pop off as well. this is frustrating because i have a show on thursday and need the guitar working well (not to mention paying $5 dollars for new strings over and over when i only need the high e majoryly sucks). is this a common problem with slotted pegheads? is there any method to restringing that prevents this?

(just to eliminate some obvious questions- i strung it with 9's the way i learned from ol fuzzy on this forum; i'm certain i'm doing everything right as far as the pegheads are concerned. before this i had my guitar strung the same way with 10's, and had no problems. the bridge saddle had to be moved farther back for the 10's to intonate, but that was the only change made to the guitar's setup. could it be that the saddle is too far back for the 9's and is pulling the string off?)

...Missing String tree?


...If knott noe weigh Jose!!

...Hold down on it until it reaches tension (under the tree) and don't rap it round over 4 or 5 turns.

no string tree trouble, i held it pretty tight and wrapped the string under itself as i tuned up, and it only gets up to about 1 and 1/2 windings before it shoots off. one thing that was strange was that as i was tuning i played to check the pitch and the note would sink lower in tune just after tuning up; i could see needle falling lower and lower on my tuner's display right before my eyes. it just wouldn't remain at any pitch i tuned it to. is this indication of any recognizable problem?

...This iss tew weird!

...Yew are sticking it down inna hole and putting a sharp bend as yew leaf the slot aren't yew?

...It jes cannot jump out if yew are using the string tree and your finger tew hold it down and tite as yew turn the tuner.

...Could haff a bad tuner but I ain't never ceen that and I dunn thousands upon thousands of them.


MMMMMMMMM


http://www.thomaskinkadechico.com/stringchange.gif

I bet it slipped some as you were tensioning the string so that there wasn't enough left in the hole. My trick is to stick a small jewelers screwdriver in the hole next to the string. This will keep it from slipping or popping out of the hole as you tighten the string.

Put a bend in the end of the string before you stick it in the tuner slot.Also most stores should stock and sell single strings,never hurts to have a few plain replacements around.

What Clarkster & everybody else said. It ain't the saddle. You're probably seeing a bit more of a "problem" cuz the wire's just a bit stiffer w. the 10s vs. 9s. When you get enough in the hole & tighten properly, it just can't slip out. And if it does, you don't need a new string, just get the existing one in right.

When I do mine I hold the string tight to the post while winding, cutting a sharp angle until good & snug. Keeps the string in the hole. Then I get 'er under the string tree & in the nut slot if it's not there already.

I love the vintage tuners cuz you can whip the strings off & on to yer hearts content if you want to work on the guitar, then just pop it back in the hole & tighten. Once you figure this out, you'll be fine.

I always carry a spare set of strings with every guitar that leaves the house with me.

is this indication of any recognizable problem?

It could be a problem with the High E tuner if, as you say, the pitch gradually goes down.

That's a head scratcher.

It sounds like you may need to put a little more string around the post, though I've played guitars with not much more than one wrap on a string that stayed put.

What I do, even though it seems like a bad idea at first, is stick the string in the hole, bend it over, and then give it a wrap around the post by hand. This introduces a twist in the string, so I do it before I pull it taut at the bridge and body holes. This lets me run my hand down the string and undo the twist before I pull the string to tension, and gives me a solid wrap on the post to start with. Honestly, it's harder to do with my Tele than with my other guitars, but it works.

The other thing you'll want to do is make sure that the first wrap is above the string end that you have (or will soon) cut off. The following wraps should be underneath, but the first wrap being above will keep that sucker snug.

Lastly, it's always possible that your tuner slots are somehow worn or mishapen. I'll assume that there's a narrower zong around the middle of the shaft too right? This isn't some sort of mutant Tele that I'm not familiar with, is it?

I've got some homebrew staggered tuners on my guitar to avoid using a string tree. To avoid the problem you're having try this: Once you've got the string down in the hole and bent over poke a round toothpick down in the hole to wedge the string, this will hold it until it's wound tight and then just remove the toothpick. Works every time.

it turns out i wasn't wrapping enough string onto the post. apparently no less than 3 will do, and i had been averaging two. i'm glad i got that lesson out of the way now....

i was unaware that the first wrap could go above the string, i'll have to try that next time. it probably could have fixed my problem without requiring new strings... thanks to all for the advice