How to Put Nylon Strings on a Classic Acoustic Guitar

Guitars produce wonderful sounds when they are played. However, that beautiful sound will become muted and dull as the strings get older. Strings also break when they are subjected to repeated tension from playing, plucking and strumming. You have to know how to remove the old strings and replace them with new ones and the proper techniques and types of strings to use.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• New package of nylon guitar strings
• Peg winder
• Tuning fork or electronic tuner
• Pliers

1. Remove one of the E strings (the lowest and highest strings on your guitar) and replace it with a new E string of the same type. Duplicate the winding technique on the peg by putting the end of the string into the hole on the peg.

2. Wind the peg until the string is securely wound and catches the peg. Put the other end of the string into the corresponding bridge hole at the other end of the guitar and bring it back up and around the string at the top of the bridge. Carefully twist the end around the portion of string wrapped around the bridge. See the link in Resources.

3. Repeat Steps 1 and 2 for the A, D, B, G and remaining E strings.

4. Leave enough string on each end so it doesn't come loose -- you don't want to have to buy a whole new set just to replace one string you cut too short.

5. Tune your guitar, using a tuning fork or an electronic tuning instrument. It will be necessary to retune frequently because your new strings aren't fully stretched and they will return to an unstretched and untuned condition.

Tips & Warnings

• Remove and replace the old strings with the new ones one at a time in order to avoid lessening the tension on the neck of your guitar.
• Be careful not to put high-tension nylon strings on a guitar that is not built to handle these strings. The front part of the guitar will eventually separate from the side. Do not put steel strings on a classical guitar, which is not designed to handle the additional stress steel strings put on the body.

Resources

• Classical Guitar (Nylon) String Basics
• How to Select the Best Classical Guitar Strings for Your Nylon String Guitars