How to String Guitars
A newly strung guitar has a beautifully crisp tone and resonance. Unfortunately, the brightness fades over time, and the tone suffers if the strings are left on for too long. As well as sounding increasingly dull, the strings become discolored and rusty because the accumulation of dirt and sweat from your fingers, and the guitar becomes more difficult to tune. Many novices are hesitant to restring their guitars, fearing that it's a complicated procedure, but in reality, changing your guitar strings is relatively simple.
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Things You'll Need
- String winder (optional)
- Wire cutters
- Guitar polish
- Dry lint-free cloth
- Tuner
- Pliers
Instructions
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1
Loosen the low E string on your guitar by turning the tuning peg clockwise. You'll feel the tension of the string decrease as you turn the peg. When the string is sufficiently loose, push the string out of the peg hole, and then remove the bridge pin with pliers so that you can remove the string from the guitar. Repeat for all of the strings.
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2
Clean the guitar body and neck. Use a soft cloth and a mild soap solution to wipe down the guitar's body and neck to remove any dirt that has accumulated. For an extra sheen, you can also apply a coat of specially formulated guitar polish (see Resources below).
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3
Open the new set of strings and remove the low E (the thickest string in the pack). Place the ball end of the string in the hole in the bridge and secure it firmly with a bridge pin. This is the hole on the left as you look at the guitar head-on (or the top hole closest to your head if you're holding the guitar in a playing position). Make sure you line up the groove in the bridge pin with the string.
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4
Hold the other end of the string and pull it up toward the tuning pegs on the headstock. Thread the string through the hole in the low E tuning peg. Leaving a little slack to allow for winding, bring the string end around the tuning peg, in toward the center of the headstock and under the string. Keeping tension on the string, pull the string in the opposite direction, back over itself.
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5
Turn the tuning peg counter-clockwise to tighten the string, making sure to keep tension on the string with one hand. The string should coil down the shaft of the tuning peg until it becomes taut. Repeat this step for the remaining strings.
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6
Stretch and tune the strings once you have replaced them all. If you tune the strings without stretching them, the guitar won't stay in tune for long when it's played. To stretch the strings, lift up each one in turn at around the 12th fret and pull on it several times. Turn the tuning peg to tighten the string and repeat the procedure until the string holds its tension after a pull. Do this on all strings and then tune your guitar again. You can now trim the ends of your strings with wire cutters for a clean look.
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Tips & Warnings
If your guitar is an electric, solid-bodied guitar, the procedure will be the same, except that instead of dropping the ball end of the strings into the bridge to be secured by bridge pins, you'll be threading the strings through a metal tailpiece. To make sure your strings last longer, get into the habit of wiping down your strings and fretboard after playing. Your sweat's corrosive qualities can wreak havoc on your strings and shorten their life.
Just because your strings haven't broken doesn't mean that they're fully functional. If your strings have been on the guitar for months on end, they're likely to be dirty and their tone will be compromised. Change them whenever their tone becomes dulled to get the most out of your instrument.
