How to Install an Electric Guitar String

Electric guitars use pickups to pick up each string's vibration.

Putting a string on any guitar is not difficult, but should be a deliberate process. To put a string on an electric guitar, all you really need is a package of electric strings and a tuner.

Remove the Old String

Do not strip the guitar of all its strings at once. Electrics need tension to hold the bridge in place. Loosen the string, unwind it from the top peg and pull it out. Then push the ball backward out of the bridge.

The Bridge and the Back

Insert your new string either through the appropriate hole on the bridge or through the slit in the rear of your guitar. Use a Phillips head screwdriver to remove the back panel if you cannot reach the hole. Pull the string entirely through until the ball sits securely on the back or bottom of the bridge. Stretch the string across the fretboard and lay into the appropriate grooves.

The Windup

The pegs and the guide

Hold your string taut and put it through the hole of the appropriate tuning peg. Pull it through and wind until it holds (the string should coil around the inside of the peg). Tune slowly, gently playing as you do. Cut the slack string at the top with wire cutters, or loop it around and put the end back into the tuning peg hole for a rock-star look.

References

• Fret Not Guitar Repair: Five Step Guide to Winding Strings Properly Around the Tuner
• Gieson: How to String an Electric Guitar