How to Restring a Gibson Les Paul

Restring your Gibson Les Paul guitar to regain its distinctive tone.

Gibson Les Paul guitars are instantly recognizable and highly popular among musicians for their distinctive tonal qualities. However, broken or worn strings are an inevitable part of playing the guitar. Therefore, in order to maintain the Gibson Les Paul's characteristic tone, it is important to know how to quickly and efficiently restring your guitar. These steps will show you how to restring your Gibson Les Paul guitar and get back to playing in no time.

Things You'll Need

• Wire cutter

Instructions

1. Unwind the tuning pegs to loosen the strings and carefully cut the strings at the top of the guitar neck using a wire cutter. Remove the strings from the guitar taking care not to scratch the surface of your guitar with the sharp ends.

2. Turn the tuning pegs so that the hole in the machine head is at a right angle to the neck of the guitar.

3. Place the looped end of the new low E string through the hole in the bridge and stretch the string up the neck of the guitar. Most Gibson Les Paul models feature a floating bridge, which is held in place by the guitar strings, so it is important to make sure the bridge is correctly in position when applying new strings.

4. Thread the end of the string through the hole in the machine head and pull down toward the body of the guitar to hold in place. With your other hand, place a thumb firmly on the string at the first fret.

5. Loop the end of the string counterclockwise around the machine head at least once, preferably twice.

6. Bend the end of the string back over itself and gradually tighten the tuning peg until the string is securely held in place when you remove your thumb from the first fret.

7. Repeat the process for the remaining strings and tune using your preferred method. Cut off the excess string with a wire cutter, leaving about an inch to prevent unraveling.

Tips & Warnings

• When removing broken or worn strings, take the opportunity to clean your guitar and polish the neck.

References

• Gibson Les Paul: Correct Way of Re-Stringing the Les Paul
• Gibson Guitar Corp. Product and Care Guide (PDF)