I've just done my 370RM. i usually change one string at a time starting at the top (thick) E. Not this time.What a nightmare.I ended up cutting all the strings except the top E and the bottom E to keep the tail piece on the guitar but at least then I could lift it enough to locate the strings in the tail .It took another half an hour to tune it.Total work time was two and a half hours.Imagine paying a shop to that.They'd have to charge about $150.

Not a biggie, but a biggie, is ordering 5 sets of strings (12 string sets) and they arrive ala 46s rather rhan 42s.geez, just what I need, setup and reintonate my three 12s for 46s (42s worked just fine for my purposes) (Oh, PS, the site still displays the 12 string sets as 42s)

Hello,
I'm new, from Italy. I appreciate your suggestion on restringing a 360 12, mine is a C63, but please which is better: getting out all the 12 strings first or getting out and replacing 1 string at a time for keeping the neck tension correct?
Also, the big one first or a couple together?
Soon I have to deal with this kind of operation....


Fran

Hi Fran,
As others have mentioned, the recommended way is to remove at most two strings at a time (lower + octave pair). This is what I usually do on my Rick 360/12. The order I change the string pairs is from the low to high strings (i.e. E, A, D, G, B, E). I don't know if there's any real advantage doing it in that order, but it helps keep things tidy and organized. Don't rush and enjoy looking at your guitar while you're doing it!

I don't have a 12-string, but I find that if the ball end slips out of the tailpiece while I
am getting the other end of the string around the tuning post, it's no problem just to get the tuning post side taken care of first and then to slip the ball end back under the tailpiece and keep enough tension on it with one hand while winding with the other.

My guitar teacher showed me the first time how to restring my guitar and he always emphasized keeping the string out of the nut slot for as long as possible - to elongate nut life and not risk getting action too low to be corrected without getting a new nut -- by holding the string above the guitar fretboard with one hand (which keeps both ends of the string tight) and winding the tuner with the other hand. I still think this is good advice on any guitar and I still do it.

One day a few years ago when I restrung, I noticed the tuner posts of the six lateral tuners were wobbling. On closer inspection, they had no bushings like the six conventional tuners do (I have the old original nickel Klusons on mine). This caused tuning instability. So I purchased aftermarket a set of six nickel "vintage" pressed bushings, trimmed them to fit, and inserted them in the grooves into the holes for the lateral tuners. Problem solved.

So this guy goes and joins the French Foreign Legion, and after about a month, he decides roughing it in the desert isn't much fun, so he sneaks out of camp in the dead of night. A guard catches him in the act and hauls him up before the commander, who condemns him to death by firing squad. "M'sieur!" says the commander. "What is your last wish before we shoot you?" "Uhhh..." replies the deserter, "let me finish stringing my 12-string...!"

My 330/12 FG was sounding a bit flat so I restrung it with a set of the TI flat wounds from POTR. I did it by pairs starting with the low E. I was frustrated with trying to get the string ends into the slots in the "R" tail piece. What I did was slide a used .013 string through the hole in the brass so I could get some tension on the string and guide it into position. It slid out easily after getting the string tensioned. The operation still took over 2 hours but then again, I'm not a pro!

An interesting technique that should be tried by others who have trouble getting strings to "seat" into the tailpiece properly.