How to Restring Your Guitar

Nobody likes snapping a guitar string while in the middle of a performance. If a string snaps during your guitar solo, you'll want to fix it quickly and return to playing. Here are a few steps to help you restring an acoustic (steel-stringed) folk guitar.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Wire cutters
• New Guitar String

1. Remove the broken string by popping out the pin on the bridge and unwinding it from the head. Discard the string.

2. Thread the ball end of a new string through the bridge and secure it with the pin.

3. Stretch the new string up the neck, into the nut and through the eye of the tuning machine on the head of the guitar.

4. Sharply bend the string to help hold it in place on the peg.

5. Turn the tuning peg counterclockwise to tighten the string. Turn it at least one rotation. Make sure you don't turn it too tight.

6. While you turn the tuning peg, apply light pressure to the pin to keep it from popping out as tension develops.

7. Pull the string with your thumb and index finger to stretch the new string, then turn the tuning peg a bit to retighten it.

8. Use wire cutters to snip off the excess string, leaving about 1 or 2 inches (2.5 to 5 cm).

9. Tune the new string to the other strings or to a guitar tuner.

Tips & Warnings

• To keep the sound of your guitar crisp and bright, change the strings every three months, more often if you play it a lot. Pros change their strings once a week.
• Most electric guitars require that you thread the string through a hole in the back side of the body to the bridge. Thread the string through the tuning peg as you would on an acoustic guitar.

on 8/8/2006 If you pre-wind the strings around the tuning pegs before threading through the eyelet, you will get better tension on your strings and have to re-tune less often. Just wrap as many times as you can, usually 1x-4x depending on the gauge (size) of the string, so that you can wind under the eyelet, and insert the string above all of the pre-windings. The natural taper of the pegs will apply pressure to hold the strings firm. Works great!!

on 6/30/2006 If you have an acoustic guitar, the end of the string near the sound hole is held in place by a tapered bridge pin (which looks sort of like a mini golf tee about an inch long). You can use a pair of pliers to gently pull the pin straight out - be careful not to scratch the guitar body! When the pin pops out, you may hear a small thunk as the metal ring which held the old string under the pin drops into the hollow guitar body. This will cause a rattle. Turn the guitar upside down and shake it, hard, back and forth, until the small metal ring falls out through the sound hole. The pin also has a slotted side, make sure this faces toward the tuning pegs as you put the pin back into position, with the string ring under it. The string rests in this peg slot, and uses it as a guide toward the bridge. New strings are cheap! $5 or $6 gets you a complete set, $1.50 or less should get you any single string. Always have a complete spare of strings pack on hand, one of every string gage. Guitar strings "know" when you're playing to impress someone, and will almost always choose that moment to break. :)

on 11/22/2005 New strings go out of tune quickly. To help break them in so they stay in tune longer, bring the string near proper pitch then gently pull the string near the middle a few times. Re-tune and repeat a few times.

on 11/22/2005 Never sharply bend any guitar string,(acoustic). I can guarantee the high chance of breaking a string. The string should be wound around the tuning peg/pin, 2 or 3 times(3 times is better), the tension on the string will hold it in place. Also, be careful. The higher pitch the string is the more chance even a new string will break!

on 11/22/2005 You can buy a little plastic peg winder that fits over the tuning pegs that makes taking up the slack and the tightening of new guitar strings much easier.