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Changing your guitar strings
might make you feel a little uneasy at first, especially if you have never done
it before! But it's really quite simple and should become a regular part of
your guitar maintenance routine. Before you do anything though, take time to
make some personal observations, such as:
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Which way do you have to turn the tuning keys to tighten or loosen the guitar
strings
?
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How are they aligned from the nut to the bridge?
-
Where is the heaviest one?
Taking mental notes will probably save you some frustration and make the job
much easier in the long run.
I like to remove all of the guitar strings
during this process in order to give my guitar a thorough cleaning, but you can
remove them one at a time if you prefer. Below you will find some helpful
step-by-step instructions to follow. Once you've done it a couple of times your
confidence will begin to grow and you shouldn't need to refer to these steps
any longer.
Guitar Care and Maintenance Tools:
- Needle-nose Plyers (to cut string ends)
- String Winder
- Soft Cotton Cloth
- Guitar Cleaning Polish (do not use furniture polish, oils, or wax)
REMOVING THE GUITAR STRINGS
Acoustic Guitar
1. Using the string winder , begin slowly loosening the
guitar string
(s) until completely slack.
2. With the needle-nose plyers, carefully grab the string from the capstan (the
part it winds around) and pull through the hole until it is free.
3. Taking the string winder again, use the cut-out at the end of it to grab the
pin at the bridge. Gently pull the pin until it comes out of the hole.
4. Clean guitar surface thoroughly.
Classic Guitar
Follow steps one and two above. When you come to step three, take your
needle-nose players and carefully loosen the figure eight knot at the bridge.
Pull the string free.
Electric Guitar
Follow the same procedure as described for an acoustic guitar.
However, if you have an electric guitar with a movable bridge
you may want to take it to your local music store and have them show you how to
do it safely. If the bridge is moved from it's correct position you will not be
able to tune your guitar when you're through.
RE-STRINGING YOUR GUITAR
Acoustic Guitar
1. Bend the ball end of the string slightly and place it inside the hole below
the bridge. Some acoustic guitars do not have pins. When this is the case, just
pull it through the hole.
2. Line up the string with any grooves in the pin. Insert the pin into the
hole, making sure it is secure.
3. Take the other end and insert into the hole on the capstan.
4. Pull it through leaving a fair amount of slack between the capstan and the
bridge.
5. Bend the string at the point it comes through the capstan to keep it secure.
6. Watching out for your eyes, begin turning the key with your left hand.
7. As you are winding, apply some tension to the string with your right hand to
help keep it taught. Make sure you are winding in the right direction! On the
bass strings you will be winding counter-clockwise (away from you). On the
treble strings you will go the opposite direction.
8. Continue to wind each string until all the slack is taken up. Do not worry
about tuning yet.
9. Cut off all excess length.
Classic Guitar
1. Put
the string through the top of the hole found just below the bridge.
2. Pull about 3 inches through.
3. Bringing it up over the tie block, pass the string underneath itself at the
original point of entry.
4. Come down over the tie block again and wrap the end around itself in a
figure eight type pattern.
5. Insert the other end down through the hole on the capstan.
6. Wrap the string around the back and then underneath itself in order to
secure it in place.
7. As described above, begin turning the key with your left hand while
maintaining some tension with the other until all the slack is taken up. With a
classical guitar you will wind clockwise on the bass strings and the treble
strings.
8. Always keep the guitar strings
as straight as possible as they continue from the capstan through the nut and
down onto the neck.
9. You should not have any excess string length, but if you do, cut it off.
Electric Guitar
Follow the same procedure as described for the acoustic guitar.
Well, that's about all there is to changing your guitar strings.
I hope you found this information to be helpful. If you need help re-tuning
your guitar please see my free ABC Beginner Guitar Lesson.
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