Wim said: "Before you remove the pins, tape a hammer shank against the side of your tuning pin punch, so that the shank touches the plate". Wim, That's assuming the originals were where they are supposed to be. That system will not compensate for the different thicknesses of wire or the possibility of more/less coils, (by choice or design<G>). The S & S stringing format is 4 coils in the top treble section, 3 coils in the killer octave section and temperatment sections. Bass, (i.e. wound strings), start with 3 coils and wind up with 2 to 2.5 coils. The prime consideration imo, is the distance from the top of the plate, (plate bushings), to the bottom of the coils. All of that is assuming that the coils are tight and neat. It is nice to have all of the beckets in the same general direction, which indicates that the tuning pin [ ]s are in the same orientation, which makes it nicer to tune since the tuning lever handle doesn't have to be swung willy nilly when changing from one pin to the next. Of course, this assumes that the becket holes are drilled exactly the same on every tuning pin!<G> (which I've found is not consistent.. grrrr!) Hope that helps to clarify what others have said.<G> Joe Joe Garrett, R.P.T. Captain of the Tool Police Squares R I
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