Why is it

IceCreamMan

that i cant ever seem to change guitar strings without drawing blood at least once, sometimes twice. ?

dayum, i aint no expert but i have done my fair share of swops and still manage to pierce a finger or 2

Neon-Gecko

Well they do say that no job is done properly unless a little blood has been donated, seems like you're doing things right then... ?

Seriously though, I think I have yet to put a new set of strings on without nicking myself in some way...

ActionArnie

What the heck are you guys doing to injure yourselves changing strings? ???

DonovanB

Is it the stab from the E? I've been lucky not to get poked but it does happen often enough.

ezietsman

Haha this is funny. Just goes to show we all do things in our own ways. I've always wondered why people keep buying string winders, until one day I saw one of my friends changing a string. The way he does it requires many turns of the peg to get the string tight where the way I've always done it requires very few. I have nicked myself with the strings before. Worst case was snipping off the thin E string badly, then applying the side cutters to the little piece that still stuck out. That little piece proceeded to fly straight into another finger where it lodged. ouch.

Kalcium

Yeah I hate that, and then everytime you're fretting a note you feel that sting where you poked yourself! I've had a string break while loosening/retightening (changed electronics and testing things) and when it broke the end of the string that was on the nut side (ie still attached at the bridge) literally somehow flew into my arm, not deep, but enough to stick, and i just wonder what on earth the chances of that happening were ?

sharonzaz

no pain no gain? ?

Bob-Dubery

IceCreamMan wrote that i cant ever seem to change guitar strings without drawing blood at least once, sometimes twice. ?

dayum, i aint no expert but i have done my fair share of swops and still manage to pierce a finger or 2

It hasn't happened to me for some time now. To me the biggest danger area is where the string exiting the hole in the machine head is cut. I tend to cut those quite short these days - so maybe that's why my finger tips are unscathed by strings.

My concern is my eyes. I'm pretty myopic. Acoustics aren't too bad, but when I'm restringing the electric and you have to get the string through the hole in the back plate, then through the block on the whammy bridge and THEN get it over the saddle and I've got my eye about 2 mm from the saddle and here comes the string .....

arjunmenon

? Very interesting thread. I haven't had it happen in quite some time. Early on though i used to get stabbed by the G trying to get the "1 over, rest under" right.

@ EZ: Lol @ the string winder comment. I use one every time i change strings ?

Manfred-Klose

yes the string winder was a big breakthrough for me, even better the attachment you put on a cordless drill to do it even faster ?

regarding the string changeing, i have never had strings cut me before, ok maby the odd one of so ? i must be doing something right i suppose

V8

Electric guitar string changes were put off until they resembled fossils, then I got a steinberger equipped hohner with the double ball end strings - what a pleasure. Eventually discovered locking tuners and stuck a set on the strat - sanity preserved!

But the steel string acoustic still results in a few nicks and close calls with lit' bits of string flying around - I actually wore a set of safety goggles last string change...:-[