How to String a Guitar With a Floating Bridge

Some guitarists complain whenever they have to string a guitar with a floating bridge. This leads people to believe it's as involved as removing a diesel engine from a tractor. In reality, the process requires little more than stringing guitars with stationary bridges. A floating bridge is a sophisticated part on an electric guitar equipped with a tremolo bar. Advanced guitarists prefer the playing option this design offers, though most agree it's more enjoyable to play musical instruments than it is to maintain them.

Things You'll Need

• New guitar strings
• Wire cutters
• Hex key wrench
• String winder (optional)
• Electronic tuner, pitch pipes or tuning forks

Instructions

1. Unlock the nut. Loosen the screw holding the nut lock with a hex key wrench. Take off the lock to keep it out of the way until all the new strings are on.

2. Loosen one string. Twist the tuning machine counter-clockwise by hand or with a string winder until the tension on the string is relaxed.

3. Unlock the saddle. Slip the hex wrench into the saddle lock under the loosened string. Turn it counter-clockwise until the string is released.

4. Cut off the ball end. Use wire cutters to cut 2 inches off the end with the small ring wrapped by the piano wire core of the guitar string. Cut off enough string to remove all of the braid holding the ball end.

5. Insert the cut end of the string into the rectangular slot on the saddle. Push the string inward until it stops against the bottom. Hold the string in place and tighten the saddle with the hex key wrench.

6. Wrap the other end of the string around the tuning post twice. Thread it through the post hole. Direct the string into its guides on the nut. Tighten the slack from the string with clockwise twists of the tuning machine.

7. Prestretch and tune the string. Grab the string in the center of the fret board and pull it a few inches away from the guitar. Stretching releases expansion that would otherwise make the string go flat during play. Use an electronic tuner, pitch pipe, tuning fork or musical ear to tune the string to its proper pitch.

8. Replace and tune each string separately, removing only one at a time. Repeat steps 2 through 7 for each of the other five strings.