1

Just a quick and probably stupid question, but...

Basically, I wanted to play music again after years and years of not doing it, so I pulled out that old charango I have. The first string was basically broken so I bought a new string (a guy at a music store sold me the one I needed) but now, few days later... I never had to do this so I'm afraid I don't even know how to do it.

See below some pics to show you what I have : enter image description here

About the second pic, there is obviously a hole on both sides to put the string in. I watched a few videos but I'm still insecure since it was never the same system, and I'm afraid to break something. Thanks in advance for your kind help.

Elonas
  • 11
  • 1

1 Answers1

1

It's obviously a string for a guitar, not a chirango.

However, IF the hole is wide enough for the wound part to go through, you may be able to just thread the whole string through. It MAY just have too much winding on it, which will then poke out the wrong side of the bridge.

Plan B, go back to the shop, with your pics, and explain that what you need isn't what you have bought.

Plan C, if all fails, go to plan A, but use a small spacer so the string end gets moved further from the bridge.

A banjo string will probably do the next best job.

Tim
  • 192,860
  • 17
  • 187
  • 471
  • Hi, thanks for your answer !

    It is indeed a guitar string ; the guy at the shop told me that they had no charango string but that guitar string could work, he seemed pretty confident about it. I went to the shop with my charango so he could easily see what I needed.

    However, the little metal circle part definitely can't go through the hole, it is way too big.

    Sadly I cannot go back to the shop for a while. I remember he told me something about putting the string into the circle thing, but unfortunately that was a quick explanation and I can't remember a lot of it.

     – Elonas Sep 24 '20 at 17:25
  • There's a faint possibility you could use the 'little metal circle part' as he said, but that is the whole point in the arrangement, that it doesn't go through the small hole. If it did, it would be useless for anything! He meant tread it through the bridge hole, and back through the 'little metal cirle part'. It may work - I've done it in desperation, it depends how the windings react to the angle they're subjected to. I have an old guitar here that I did it to 6 yrs ago, and they're still on. – Tim Sep 24 '20 at 17:29
  • Alright, I might go back to the shop in a few days. However, I was thinking about something that might be stupid too but I guess it is better to ask. I've been watching videos about stringing guitars and I wondered if I couldn't just get rid of the "little metal circle part" to keep a "regular string" and just do like I saw in this video : https://youtu.be/mGO30uYiIaY?t=71 Wouldn't that work ? – Elonas Sep 24 '20 at 17:35
  • With a bit of effort [screwdriver/pliers etc], you can remove the brass ball-end & just use the remaining loop as originally intended for that instrument. You might have issues with the wrapped length, but you might not ;) – Tetsujin Sep 24 '20 at 17:37
  • I think I'll try that tomorrow. What do you mean exactly by "issues with the wrapped length" ? If it's about the string length, it is much longer than needed – Elonas Sep 24 '20 at 18:01
  • The "wrapped length" here means the 1/2-inch or so part near the metal ball where there are extra wrappings to secure the ball. That part is a little wider that the regular part of the string, and it must not be too wide to fit in the hole in the bridge. ... But looking at the existing strings, it looks okay to me if I'm judging the sizes accurately. – luser droog Sep 24 '20 at 20:51