Changing Strings

 

My main instrument is the 36-string Double Contraguitar.  As a guitarist, your life gets a bit more complicated when your main instrument has six times as many strings as most other guitars.  You also get some questions about it.  One question I get from other guitarists is "how long does it take to change strings?"  

It's about a three-hour job.  

But so worth it; I don't mind it at all.  Because this instrument covers such wide bass and treble registers, much like a piano, the string gauges also cover a wide range.  Gauges range from .135 on the bass side up to .009 in the upper register; obviously this requires both bass and guitar strings.

I make my own sets, which is pretty easy to do as I'm an artist endorser for John Pearse Strings and have been for close to 20 years.

It's also common practice to alter the gauges or winding compounds with each set and string change.  After using a specific set of gauges for a few months, sometimes I'll feel a need to make a certain string or two heavier or lighter, so the gauges are pretty fluid from string change to string change.  Alternatively, there are times where I'll feel that a course should be a bit brighter or darker, and I'll change to a different winding compound as needed.  For example, if a course seems too bright, I can move to a phosphor bronze winding or an 80/20 bronze compound.  If it's too dark, I can move to a nickel winding.  

The left neck of the 36 is in various intervallic tunings, and as I have so many of these tunings that I've devised, moving to a new tuning requires different gauges, too.

For the 36, there has yet to be a string change involving the exact same gauges and windings as the previous set.

The fluidity of string requirements and evolution makes changing strings a little more interesting each time.

-kk