I broke one of my sympathetic strings yesterday. It is my understanding that you thread the string into the hole on the neck, grab it and then string it around the peg. I used an old hanger to grab the string - it took me about an hour - is there an easier way of grabbing the string once you have threaded it into the hole?? also - why aren't sitar strings prelooped - this can be a bit of a pain?
rg
Yep, it takes practice. I broke about 20 of the damn things in the last 3 months. I use a paper clip with one end hooked. Make sure you push enough wire in the hole and then just stick the wire in and pull. It's easy. :-)
Most retailers selling string sell them as wire. There are a few people out there that also sell them pre-looped for a couple of extra $$. Either Batish.com or Buckinghammusic.com has that.
Grabbing the string once its through the hole is sometimes a skill taking patience. Some people use long skinny tweezers to grab them. Others use a paper clip, bent into a hook on the end.
I've been lucky in restringing the sympathetic strings. Making the loop is perhaps the most difficult part of the procedure, because the string wire is hard to hold and get a bite going to start the wraps. I've found that using a round dowel about the size of a pencil helps, then once I get the loop to grab I start wrapping the tight circles by hand, usually 8 or so. You need to concentrate the power onto your fingertips to get the loop wraps going. Make sure your loop is big enough to fit around the anchoring post.
Once the loop is made I snake the string underneath the frets all the way up to the tinyneck entry hole; at this point I haven't fastened the string to the anchor post yet. After I get the string into the small entry hole inside the hollow neck, I have a small dental tool with a hook that is helpful to grab the string with and pull it out the tarb hole. The lowest tarbs are the hardest to pull the string thru because of the distance to the tarb hole. After the string is pulled thru I then fasten the loop end to the anchor post and use a small piece of masking tape to hold it there. I then make sure that the Tarb peg is rough enough to grab and hold inside the peg hole and I rub some of the powder resin from Lars on it. I then thread the string thru the hole in the tarb and loop it around the whole circumference of the tarb and slip it under that loop, almost like tying a knot, but don't draw it tight yet. I carefully position the string by taking up slack in the losened knot until it is very close to the tarb hole, enough so to be able to fit it in. Only then do I snip the excess wire leaving about 2" extra. I turn the tarb and take up the slack bringing it to pitch, then I take the masking tape off and move on to the next tarb. Total time is 3 minutes each.
Good luck!
Rob (Sep 05, 2003 01:56 p.m.):
. .I then make sure that the Tarb peg is rough enough to grab and hold inside the peg hole and I rub some of the powder resin from Lars on it. .
Hi All: I just want to clearify this and please somebody correct me if I'm wrong. What I understand is, roughing up the peg is to get it to seat correctly, usually just when it's new. Once it gets seated, you shouldn't have to rough it up every time you change strings. I.O.W. there should be enough surface to surface contact between the peg and the hole to create enough friction to keep the peg from slipping. Just don't want to see everybody sanding their pegs down to toothpicks!
I too, use a pencil to make my loop. . .just start the wrap at a place that looks about right, seems to work alright for me. . .do it like I saw in My Music, My Life, so far, so good
I got a tarib string hook along with my sitar, but I don't see why a paperclip wouldn't work well too. . . . .but I think I'd just go buy a small gauge crochet hook, if I didn't have one, that'd work great!
When I put those taribs on the peg, I put 'em on like they way they came. . .looks pretty much like what is shown in My Music, My Life. . .I go thro the hole, then around halfways, and in thro the other hole. . .that's just the way the came. . .slip it under the half turn wire, then clip the excess end. . . .
I take hold of the tarib on the neck and hold it until I've seated the peg, the keep the tension on until the slack has been taken up. . . . .helps to prevent kinks, and we all know what happens with that! I don't relish putting on taribs really. . . .altho I've gotten more experience here lately, and have learned alot from a helpful soul or two : )
Raviji did us all a great service for these mundane things by writing that book, I wish his org would reprint it, it offers good stuff like that,
that unless one was lucky enough to be around sitars and sitarji's alot, wouldn't even think of. . .
Yep at least i'm not calling the bloody things "tarribble strings" anymore! haha!
