How to Change Electric Guitar Strings

Changing electric guitar strings is pretty straight forward. All you have to do is to select the right set of strings, put them on in the right order, and use your electric tuner to tune them. Here's how.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Guitar
• Guitar strings
• Guitar tuner
• Guitar string winder
• Wire cutter

1. Pick out your guitar strings. Guitar strings are a matter of taste, and it will take some trial and error to find the right ones. Thinner strings are easier to play, but thicker strings are more durable and have a fuller tone. Start off with medium gauge strings if you are new to guitar playing.

2. Look at your strings. Notice that they come in several little bags, each with a different number on it. That number is the thickness of the string. The thickest strings plays the lowest note (towards the top of the guitar when you are holding it in your hands to play.) and they get thinner as you go up.

3. Unwind and remove the 6th string. That is the thickest string - the low E in standard tuning. Use your fingers or a string winder to loosen the string until you can pull it out of the tuning peg. Then, remove it from the guitar by pushing it through the back of the guitar.

4. Feed the new E string through the back of the guitar and over the bridge. First pull it in through the hole the last string was in, then pull it towards the top of the guitar. There will be a small groove in front of each string in the bridge. Fit the string through this groove so that it is sitting correctly in the bridge in the same manner as the string next to it.

5. Put the string through the hole in the tuning peg. Pull it through until it is fairly tight and then use your fingers to crimp the string at a 90 degree angle where it comes in to, and out of, the peg. This will make the guitar hold its tuning better.

6. Tune the string. Plug in your tuner and tighten the string by turning the lug. Pluck it to test the tuning. Continue until, when you pluck it, the tuner says "E"." Getting it just right can take some practice, so it will help to have a guitar-player friend around for this step.

7. Cut off the extra string sticking off the end of the tuning peg. A wire cutter will work well for this.

8. Repeat steps 3 through 7 with the other five strings in order. These strings will be tuned to A, D, G, B, and high E.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure to get electric guitar strings. Acoustic strings are thicker and higher tension. They can damage your electric guitar.
• If you are an acoustic player just picking up electric, use heavy strings. Heavy electric strings have a closer feel to acoustic strings than light ones do.
• Stretching the string will help your guitar keep its tuning better when the strings are new. Turn the tuning peg until the string has wound around it a couple times, then pull on the string with your hand. Then, proceed to tune it to the right note.
• It is easy to go past the note when you are tuning. If you do, simply tune down past it again, then tune back up slowly until you hit it.
• When your strings are new, your guitar may go out of tune a lot for the first few hours you play it.

Resources

• How to Select Guitar Strings