Guitar Question -- please help!!

BlurOfSerenity

BlurOfSerenity

New Member
despite having a guitar since 1998, i still can't play, and i still dont know much about them.

like, i have an acoustic guitar, and i'm trying to re-string mine. but i noticed those... thingies.. (see how smart i am?) ..that you thread the ends of the strings thru, up where you tune it from... -- what are they called?? -- they're kind of loose. they jiggle a bit.


is that something i should be concerned about?
what should i do about it?

could someone, at the very least, tell me what those "thingies" are called, so that i may stop calling them "thingies"?

i dont want to put any strings on it until i find out these answers.
 
the thingies you turn are called tuner machines ... the things that turn are called truss rods .. if they're loose, you should have them tightened because, not only will the strings go flat, you may damage the machine or rods to the point where it may not be able to get fixed ..

what kind of guitar is it?

*edited because I'm stoopid today*
 
there should be a screw in the back of the tuner ... turn on it slowly at first ... if, after a while, there is no improvement, have someone look at it.

that's a cool site, Prof
 
waitwaitwait...

do i turn the little screws i can see? or are there some other, hidden screws?

i'm just trying to make sure, so that i dont mess this up :(

[attachment]http://www.otcentral.com/forum/attachment.php?s=&postid=192563[/attachment]
 
Should be on the other end.

I'm looking at that machine, and that's an offset worm screw. That shouldn't need to be tightened. There's no way the string's pull should be able to reverse the knob.
 
is it possible that the necessary screws could be covered?
the kinds i posted in pictures are the only ones i can find :(

sorry if i'm being frustrating.
 
Try turning the spindle by hand (that's the bit with the hole for the string.) If it doesn't turn, it doesn't need tightening. And I don't think it will.
 
Jiggle much? There's a nut at the bottom of the spindle, against the head. That should take care of that.

But your machines look sealed. Fairly high quality too. They shouldn't need any attention at all.

But it's the twist I'm looking for. You shouldn't be able to turn it. If you can't, it'll hold it's tune.
 
they don't jiggle a lot, and i tightened the nut things because two of what i'm supposing are washers(?) were loose under them...

so my guitar is fine, and safe to be strung now?
 
Alrighty, guitar on your lap, neck to the left. Topmost string is the thickest. Feed through the hole on the body, and feed up to the spindle. You only want a quarter inch or so of the string poking out the hole. Wind slowly until the string has no slack, but isn't quite taut yet. Repeat.
 
Shouldn't have too many turns of string on the peg, either. 1-1/2 to 2/12 turns on the wound strings, no more than 5 turns on the plated ones. It will keep tune much better. I trim mine, but some people twist the excess in circles. You have a steel string guitar, it looks like from the pictures. You are putting steel strings on it? Also, think about investing in an electronic tuner. You can get one for 15 bucks or so.

BTW, Prof, I wished I'd had a site like this when I was learnong to play guitar (of cours, they didn't have PCs yet either). Very informative.
 
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