How to String a Fender Acoustic Guitar
Make that beautiful Fender acoustic guitar sing as pretty as it looks by putting a fresh set of strings on it. Your old strings are probably a bit faded and may have some gunk on them from hours of playing. According to Fender, you should change your strings every 30 hours of playing time. Many guitar players go longer than that, but eventually all of them have to change strings.
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Things You'll Need
- Fender acoustic guitar
- Packet of six acoustic guitar strings
- Pliers or a set of wire-cutters.
Instructions
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String that Fender Acoustic Guitar
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To remove a string, simply locate the machine post for that string on the head of the guitar and wind it down. It is important to note: If the string is on the left side of the head of the guitar, you will be turning clockwise; if the string is on the right side, you'll be turning counterclockwise. You'll know you are going the right way if there is less tension on the string and the note is lower than usual.
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After a bit, the string should be loose and you can unwrap it from the tuning head and pull it off of the head of the guitar.
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Next you'll need to pull the string through the bridge of the guitar. Strings usually have a nut--a circular piece that holds it on the bridge. Pull this so that the string slides completely through the bridge. You may need to use pliers or wire-cutters to cut the tangled part of the string that was wrapped around the tuning head to get the string through the head and completely off the guitar.
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Now you have an acoustic guitar missing one string. Whichever string it is (E A D G b e), make sure you grab the correct corresponding string out of the packet of new strings. Depending on what brand of strings you bought, the strings will either come individually wrapped or all wrapped together. If they are wrapped together, an easy trick is that the low E sting will be the thickest and each string will be thinner, down to the high e.
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Once you find the string corresponding to the one you removed, feed it through the bridge. Do this so that the nut end of the string will lock into the bridge once you've pulled it all the way through.
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The string should also be fed through the hole in the machine post. Leave enough slack so that when you tighten the string, it will have wrapped around the machine post at least two times. According to Fender, this is enough slack to pull the string 2 inches from the guitar towards the middle of the fretboard before tightening.
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Once you have the proper slack set, you should crimp the string at the hole, and wrap the string around so you can twist the string around itself on the opposite side of the hole. This should fasten the string in place and allow you to tighten it.
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Now you should tighten the string using the opposite directions for taking the string off. For the strings on the left side of the head of the guitar, you should be turning in a counterclockwise direction. For the strings on the right side, turn clockwise. Do this until you have wrapped the string twice around the machine post.
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Now you are ready to turn the string to its natural note (E A D G b e.) After you've tuned the string, it is best to pull on the string gently to seat the winding on the machine post. Feel free to cut off the part of the string you are not using (past the machine post.)
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Repeat this process for the rest of the strings.
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Tips & Warnings
Once you've replaced every string, make sure you go back and tune them again as the changing tension on the neck might untune the other strings as you are changing one of them.
Always be careful when tightening or loosening strings--they can snap.
