Have any tips on stringing slotted headstocks?

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by fazool

I'll post this again and will be largely disputed.

I designed cable-on-drum hoists. The mechanism of a string on a post is the same. There are some engineering fundamentals.

you should never tie a knot, or a kink or any other silly gimmick. The strings are held in place by the friction on the post *NOT* any knots or over-under nonsense. Putting minor something there to hold it as you wind strings on is normal.

You want perfectly lain wraps on the post. You dont want any slack in your wraps. That the main place that tuning instability comes from.

I've never seen ANY cable on a drum (or guitar string on a tuner string post) that didn't have the end retained in SOME manner.

I would very much love to see anything that proves that wrong, however.

[RJVB]

Originally Posted by Rudy4

I would very much love to see anything that proves that wrong, however.

I don't want to prove you right or wrong, but I can confirm that the way I used to "fix" the tape header on my old tape deck didn't not involve any kind of retaining device other than the tape itself. You just fed in the tape, pulled enough of it through one of those large openings to hold down with a finger, and started playback. After a few revolutions you could feel the tape grabbing itself and you could let go of your finger.

That said:


There are strings that are so slippery that I have to do the loop-under-itself step shown at least twice to avoid serious tuning instability.

[Bowie]

I have at least a dozen slotted headstock guitars and here's what I do to make it easy and keep from dinging them;
-Use as short a wind as possible. Run a string through so that you will have about 1 wind when tightened, then kink it at the post. This works for all but the unwounds, which benefit from wrapping over themselves.
-Have a pair of electronics pliers, and a pair of nippers, with masing tape layered on the outer surfaces. This keeps them from dinging.

Regarding the argument about post friction, you can save yourself some winds by laying the string on top of itself. I've found fewer winds results in better tuning.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by RJVB

I don't want to prove you right or wrong, but I can confirm that the way I used to "fix" the tape header on my old tape deck didn't not involve any kind of retaining device other than the tape itself. You just fed in the tape, pulled enough of it through one of those large openings to hold down with a finger, and started playback. After a few revolutions you could feel the tape grabbing itself and you could let go of your finger.

That said:


There are strings that are so slippery that I have to do the loop-under-itself step shown at least twice to avoid serious tuning instability.

Correct on all counts!

Notice that I specified "cable on a drum (or string on a tuner string post)".

I took have started countless tape leaders on take up reels without a physical attachment. All of my reel to reels except a Weber Magic Eye had friction caps that retained the take up and feed reels and did double duty holding the tag or leader end of the tape in the real slot.

If You go back even further you may or may not be old enough to remember wire recorders, which did use a round attached leader and sometimes a toothed leader to hold the wire to the take up spool.