I learned to play guitar on an old beat up acoustic and have no formal training so I imagine this would have been covered in a first lesson, but whenever I’ve restrung a guitar I’ve always done everything by hand and it seemed to go perfectly well. But whenever I’ve seen anyone on YouTube talk about changing strings, out comes a weird plastic winding extension or even an electric mechanical one. This seems like such needless overkill unless you’re winding strings for several guitars a day at a store or repair service.
Am I missing something? Why do string winders seem to be marketed like a standard required accessory when you can just, you know, turn the tuner?
Comments
It’s about time. If I’m on a gig and break a string I can change a string in about 45 seconds, or 2 minutes, including cramping my hand a little bit. It really is a game changer when you’re changing with any regularity.
Because if you work on guitars a lot, or need to change strings quickly between performances, string winders help you get lots of wraps on the peg very quickly. When I change all my strings it’s the difference between 10 minutes of winding and sore arthritic hands, and 2 minutes with relative ease. Not necessary but certainly worth it if you’ve got a need.