How to string a guitar

[.Sphinkta]

For the first six or seven months of my guitar playing, I didn't know how to string a guitar, and was too embarrassed about learning to ask anyone for help. Now, after having played for a while longer I can't stand to leave my guitar at the shop for up to a week which it sometimes takes for them to restring it, and I'm glad that I found out how to restring. This is the method that I use to restring my guitars, and was taught it by Danny.

- First remove the old strings if you haven't already done so. I have heard people who like to take them off from the outside and work towards the center to keep tension even, or who put a new string on after each string they take off to keep the tension on the neck constant. I find it is much easier to take all strings off and then put the others on.

- Place the strings in their housing in the body of the guitar. Electric guitars usually thread through the body from the back, steel string acoustics have pins which pop out that the strings sit inside, the pin sits over them and holds them in place.

- A general way to get a good length for the string is to put the string through the tuning piece at the end and then pull it back out until you can hook it over your middle finger and stretch your index finger to point at the fretboard about halfway up. (About 5-6cm up from the fretboard)

- Put a sharp bend in the string around the tuning piece so that it won't pull back through when you tighten the string. I always tune my guitar so that strings wrap around from the inside of the tuning peg.

- It is important to keep a good tension on the strings while winding them on, a good way to do this is to place your index finger on the string just behind the head of the guitar, with the string stretched over your other fingers.

- After winding the strings on and tuning them it is good practice to stretch them in. This involves just doing some large bends with the strings, lifting them away from the fretboard or just stretching them with your fingers. This wears the strings in and ensures they will keep their tuning more readily.

I guess there would be more than one way to successfully string a guitar, but I also know that there are some terrible ways people try to string guitars. If you do things differently, post your methods.

[fretdancer]

and DONT do do what I did yesterday
that is decide to change them every other string because of some crackpot theory you read on some crazy website.
...so I take out the A string from the packet
and like an idiot go to the guitar and forget the theory and revert to normal practice - remove the low E string - replace with the new A string - cut it to right length and fit to guitar. go back to string packet and take out E string..go to guitar, realise you already changed the E string but replaced it with an A string. so you curse, unwind the A string, try to fit to correct place, realise you cut it too short to fit, curse some more...throw away new A string replace old A string on guitar and fit rest of strings.
Vow to take more care next time.

Pete

[jackmullen47]

I have a question I stringed my one guitar a few months ago, and it doesn't look like a masterpiece but it ssounds fine. Can a bad string job alter the sound of the guitar?

[Danny Poole]

I have not found this to be so, but it can take a little longer to settle in if you've wound the string around the tuning peg too many times.

[JustinThyme]

There's a good article with diagrams on restringing and guitar cleaning here:

http://www.guitarnoise.com/article.php?id=300

Also, with more detailed photos here:

http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Musi...tringing1.html

Cheers

JT