How do you play in new strings to get to concerts pitch?

[Kyle215]

Yeah, not sure that it’s necessary to reiterate at this point, but the purpose of “stretching” a string is to tighten up the wraps and maybe get the ball end seated if it wasn’t already. I find it’s most effective to get up close to the nut and pull on the string there, if the ball end was seated properly to begin with. If I had to do a lot of string changes in one day, I’d buy the StewMac gizmo… but my fingers work fine for my purposes.

The MusicNomad winder is well worth it though, IMO. Way better than the D’Addario one.

[thefsb]

Originally Posted by Slothead56

After re-stringing I always brought the strings up a few notches above pitch (using a headstock tuner) knowing they’d stretch out and I ultimately would fine tune to get to the correct note.

It occurred to me that I should only ever tune to pitch and tune up as needed....never going above correct pitch.

Or doesn’t it matter?

It doesn't matter that much. You can tune sharp a bit initially but since you have to do it over a few times as the strings stretch it won't make much difference.

I get all strings roughly up to pitch with the electronic tuner, then stretch them all, then re-tune them all. Next, one string at a time, I repeatedly stretch and re-tune that string as many times as necessary until the tuning stabilizes.

Works for me. This applies to steel-core strings. Nylon is different.

[ewalling]

Originally Posted by Kyle215

Yeah, not sure that it’s necessary to reiterate at this point, but the purpose of “stretching” a string is to tighten up the wraps and maybe get the ball end seated if it wasn’t already.

Tighten up the wraps? This happens naturally as the string is tuned up to pitch, surely. I can't remember a string remain loose on the tuning post, but if it were to happen, I would use a finger to get the wraps together - I would not pull on the string to do it.

Yes, the ball end has to 'click,' but once again I personally would not tug on the string to make this happen. That's something to fix when the pin is placed on the string at the bridge. If it doesn't happen, I reposition it until it does.

[Bluenose]

Originally Posted by Slothead56

After re-stringing I always brought the strings up a few notches above pitch (using a headstock tuner) knowing they’d stretch out and I ultimately would fine tune to get to the correct note.

It occurred to me that I should only ever tune to pitch and tune up as needed....never going above correct pitch.

Or doesn’t it matter?

If you do it enough times you'll figure it out on your own.

[nickv6]

Originally Posted by RustyAxe

Careful installation of both ends of the string (proper winding on the pegs, ball end seated on bridge plate), tune to pitch, a single little stretch to fully seat the ball ends, retune to pitch. Good to go. Steel strings don't stretch in length in any appreciable way, I'd have to see some empirical proof to buy that argument.

I think you are right about strings at the sort of tensions they have on a guitar. When i had a steinberger guitar, headless with ball ends at both ends, no stretching or seating required at all. Just put them on and tuned to pitch. There they stayed, seemingly forever. I once tuned a new set at home, went and did a whole afternoon gig in hot sun in a field, used the vibrato arm alot and it just stayed in tune. Amazing guitar it was.
Nick

[Kyle215]

Originally Posted by ewalling

Tighten up the wraps? This happens naturally as the string is tuned up to pitch, surely. I can't remember a string remain loose on the tuning post, but if it were to happen, I would use a finger to get the wraps together - I would not pull on the string to do it.

Yes, the ball end has to 'click,' but once again I personally would not tug on the string to make this happen. That's something to fix when the pin is placed on the string at the bridge. If it doesn't happen, I reposition it until it does.

The wraps will tighten on their own with enough playing and re-tuning, sure. I like to speed up the process, and it doesn’t hurt anything to pull on the sting a bit. Certainty if you don’t want to, that’s fine as well.

I was also suggesting that the ball end should not need any readjustment if installed properly.

[Inyo]

An undeaded thread from 2019, of course.

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

Four to five days before a gig:

1. Install one at a time (without removing other strings), leaving enough excess at the headstock to allow multiple windings around the string post (I prefer more than most)
2. Maintain slight tension on the string while winding, to insure no overlapping on the string post
3. Stretch by running two fingers underneath the length of the string, once the string is within 2-3 semitones of pitch
4. Tune to pitch, stretch again, repeat until string holds tune (usually within 1-2 attempts)
5. Wait 24 hours, fine-tune, play for 45-60 minutes, retune as necessary and return to case until performance date

Adopted this method about 40 years ago - IME strings hold their tone/intonation longer, and I haven't broken a string on stage (even on my 12-strings) since...

Excellent points.

Originally Posted by zeeway

Here’s another three cents worth…when you bring a string up to pitch, you have applied a force to it, and it will stretch based on the force, the string gauge, the material, etc…but it is a tiny amount. And since this is well within the ‘elastic limit’ of the material, if you unwind the string…removing the force on it, it goes back to its original length (like a rubber band).

If you keep winding up the string, especially skinny ones, e.g., the high e, eventually you have applied enough force to exceed the string’s plastic limit, and it permanently elongates, and likely breaks, with the dread ‘ping’ we have all heard at one time or another.

In restringing a guitar, the ‘stretching’ exercise some of us go through, may elongate the string a minuscule amount when we are tugging on it, but again since we are within the elastic limit of the string, it bounces back when we let go. Most of that effort only seats the string on the tuner, and perhaps the ball-end, but as for any permanent stretching from this activity, it will not happen unless you are Superman, or maybe the Hulk.

There, I feel better now, and old Professor McCannachay would be proud to know that I did listen some in his class many years ago.

More excellent points.

Originally Posted by EZYPIKINS

My ritual is.

Tune to pitch. Stretch, tune, stretch, tune, stretch tune, till string stops going flat.

I use a combo, string winder/stretcher.

My hands.

And more excellent points.

Originally Posted by nickv6

Thoughts from a piano technician...
Music wire certainly stretches. On pianos all the tensions etc. are on a massive scale compared to guitar. When I'm destringing a piano I micrometer up the different parts. Hitch pin to bridge bridge to nut ( speaking length), nut to tuning pin and lastly the coil around the tuner. It's this last one which shows where most of the tension exerts itself. The wire from the coil is invariably thinner, i.e. has stretched well beyond elastic range and has deformed. I imagine it's the same ratio on a guitar but much less of an effect. It would be worth micing the discarded strings to test what I'm saying.
Also, if the string doesn't stretch what is happening when we strum? How can the deflection be explained?

Huh? Irrelevancies from the poster.

[FourT6and2]

As I string up the guitar, I stretch string, pulling at 12th fret with my other hand. Then once at pitch, I again stretch each string at 12th fret and retune. Rinse/repeat until the string no longer goes flat. Done. Takes all of 5 minutes.

I would never buy a novel gizmo to do that when my hands are already free.