C6 String Gauge Dilemma

Michael Whitmire · From: Dupont Pennsylvania, USA

Good evening all,

I recently obtained a Sierra Olympic D10. I ended up tearing the whole steel down and cleaning and assembling from the ground up.

To my surprise, while stringing the C6 neck up tonight I found out my 10th string .70 string was too large to fit into the changer. The string would actually not fit into the changer end. My 9th string .54 was a tight fit but fits barely.

I used Dâ€™Addario Pro steels for my C6 neck.

I did not measure the past string gauges nor did I keep the old rusty strings for reference so Iâ€™m kinda shooting in the dark right now. I was thinking of ordering a .60 string but feel this will probably lead to some tension issues.

Any ideas on why on this Olympic I cannot get a .70 in the changer and my .54 was a real tight fit?

Thanks,
Mike

Michael Whitmire · From: Dupont Pennsylvania, USA

An update for you all.

I found a hidden gem posted in a thread about tuning down to D. In that thread there was a post by Bob saying about how his Sierra S12 had the same issue and his solution was to crimp or flatten the wire where it went in the changer slot.

I got my pair of vice grips out and kept flattening the string until it slipped into the changer no issue. So now my C6 is all strung up and tuned.

Sorry for the early thread about this, I should of kept digging through the forum more but if anyone gets a Sierra Olympic and has this issue, this is the easy fix to get a .70 string in there.

If I take this steel apart again anytime soon I’ll probably have these two slots opened up slightly to bypass the wire flattening ordeal but for now five minutes with some pliers or vice grips is the easy way around the narrow changer slots.

Thanks,
Mike

Bobby D. Jones · From: West Virginia, USA

That is one of the tricks I learned quick when I went to a 12 String Uni. Flatten the 11th and 12th strings with a set of pliers, And Bend the ball till the edge of the ball is lined with the string so it will hook into the slot even and secure.
That makes string changing go much better.

Jerry Overstreet · From: Louisville Ky

Glad you figured it out. Nice to know that help is here if folks take the time to search it out.

I wouldn't try to open up the slots as the changer is assembled is sections, so you'd have to bend scissors fingers which would not be a good idea provided you could even do that.

FWIW, I have owned a few Sierra 14s that use a big ole .080 ga. E string on the bottom. Flattening the windings always did the trick even on that big fatty.

Michael Whitmire · From: Dupont Pennsylvania, USA

Yes I am glad it was easily resolvable. And I’m very thankful for this forum. Many things I’ve been able to search and get answers on.

As for the changer slot, I figured it was something I could have milled out slightly if I ever take the changer completely apart. I wouldn’t think of attempting to do it while the changer was assembled. If it’s not something that can be done later, if I ever do tear it apart and feel it needs done, then I can live with flattening those strings.

This was a new situation for me. My Sierra Stafford Elegante U14 has those nice big fat low strings too but they never had an issue slipping into the changer. At least now I know on the Olympic to flatten those two C6 strings to make life easier during a string change

Jerry Overstreet · From: Louisville Ky

Well, the Elegante' are what I owned as well. So perhaps the changer had been re-designed from the Olympic, a model I admit I've not any hands on experience with.

Happy Pickin'

Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

Not just Sierra, I had an old Sho Bud Pro III with the same issue. Vice Grips did the trick !

I was going to use Duck Tape..( thats a joke)
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Billy Carr · From: Seminary, Mississippi, USA (deceased)

I've used a .068ga. ever since I started playing a long, long time ago. 72' maybe !!!

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