Things You'll Need:
- Guitar
- cloth
- Water
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Guitar strings
- Wire cutters
- Steel Wool
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Step 1
First step is to remove the strings from your guitar. Grab the guitar tuners at the headstock of the guitar, slowly turn them clock-wise to loosen them but not to remove them yet. Do this to all six strings.
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Step 2
Now at the middle of the string (around the sound hole of a acoustic guitar) grab it and with the wire cutters cut the string. The string should be loose enough that their is no snapping of the string, just a clean cut. Do this to all six strings.
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Step 3
Now remove the cut strings by unwinding them from the tuners and pulling the other half out of the saddle. Now that the strings have been removed it is time to clean the guitar up.
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Step 4
You will want to take your fine steel wool (0000) and rub it gently across the guitar frets found along the neck of the body. Scrub the metal frets enough so that the natural sheen of the metal is brought back. It should appear new and shiny when you have scrubbed them enough. Do this to every fret. Their will be a black power left along the wood, that is the left over wool, we will remove that soon. Doing this step will make your guitar sound brighter and new.
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Step 5
Next take a cloth and wet it. Ring the excess water out so you have a lightly damp cloth. Clean the dust from the body and headstock then wipe the wood on the neck. Make sure your cloth is hardly wet. Too much water could cause the wood to warm. Its not a shower just a light cleaning. Their are guitar cleaners but you will have the same end result with mater and you will save a few bucks.
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Step 6
Now you want to take the pencil and scissors. On the nut at the end of the neck and before the headstock, shave a little amount of graphite in each slit where the strings rest. If you have a tube a graphite that will also work, but once again this is a way to save a few dollars. Doing this will allow your guitar strings to tune easier and keep them in tune longer. All it is doing to lubing that area, it will not affect the sound of your guitar, just the quality and add a little life to your next set of strings.
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Step 7
Now it is time for the new strings. Remove them from the package, but keep it because their is a image on their that will show you which strings go first. Take each string one-by-one and lace them through the holes in the saddle of the guitar (on the body)in the order the package instructs. It is easier if you have all six strings threaded before you start tightening them, just to make sure you don't put a string in the wrong hole.
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Step 8
Take the thickest string (6th) and thread it though the tuner on the headstock from the inside out. Pull the string straight then give it around two inches of slack before you start tightening. Bend the string on the nut of the tuner and start to turn the wingnut counter-clockwise to tighten. Pluck the string while you tighten to make sure you are not getting it too tight. Once you are able to hear a sound from it move to the next string and repeat the order.
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Step 9
Once the guitar is fully stringed you need to tune it. We will tune to standard tuning which is E A D G B E. Beginning with the fattest string (6th) string that will be tuned to E. Place your guitar tuner on your lap and pluck the string leaving it open. Using the tuner bring the tone of the string to an E. Then move onto the 5th string which is the one lower from the 6th and is an A. Repeat the last few steps for the rest of the strings. Once you get them all tuned you will have to tune it again as soon as you're done with the last string. The metal in the strings will continue to stretch for about an hour. Now you have a well cleaned and tuned guitar! Happy playing!
