How to String an Acoustic Guitar

Guide Note

Knowing How to String an Acoustic Guitar is one of the least enjoyable (yet most important) parts of being a guitarist. Follow these simple steps and you will be changing your own strings in no time!

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• What You'll Need
• Step 1: Know Your Guitar
• Step 2: Choose the Right Strings
• Step 3: Remove Your Old Strings
• Step 4: Clean and Polish Your Guitar
• Step 5: Re-String Your Guitar
• Additional Guitar Stringing Tips
• Conclusion

Introduction

• Anyone who plays guitar knows that a good set of strings won't last forever. Over time and through heavy use, guitar strings rust, due to the accumulation of sweat and grime that your fingers leave. This can cause them to lose their natural brightness and resonance, as well as making them harder to keep in tune. While new guitarists often dread the prospect of having to change their strings, it is a skill that all guitar players should learn at one point or another. But don't worry. Learning how to change your acoustic guitar strings is not really that hard. Here's how:

What You'll Need

The parts of the guitar you will need to know in order to change your strings (Photo by Mahalo)

• 1. Guitar: See Mahalo's guide on How to Buy a Guitar
  2. Guitar Strings: See below for tips on choosing the right strings
  3. Wire Cutters: Used to clip off the excess string after you're done
  4. String Winder (Optional): Helps make tightening your tuning pegs easier
  5. Guitar Polish & Clean Cloth (Optional): If you want to clean your guitar before re-stringing.

Step 1: Know Your Guitar

• In order to follow these directions, you will need to know the names of some of the basics parts of the guitar:

• • Bridge: Small piece of hardware used to anchor the strings at the base of the body.
  • Bridge Pins: Used to secure each string onto the bridge.
  • Tuning Pegs: Hold the strings in place and allow the user to adjust the pitch of the string by turning the peg.
  • Headstock: The top-most part of the guitar in which the tuning pegs are located.
  • Nut: The small piece of material that is found where the headstock meets the neck. There are usually small grooves carved out in order to guide the guitar strings up to the tuning pegs.

Step 2: Choose The Right Strings

• Before you can start changing the strings on your guitar, you will of course need to get yourself some new strings. While guitar strings may all look the same, there are in fact many different types of guitar strings to choose from, each with their own set of tonal qualities and characteristics. And although beginning guitar players shouldn't worry too much about what type of strings they use, it doesn't hurt to know the differences between them. Besides what brand to buy, there are two main factors to consider when purchasing guitar strings:

String Gauge

Light-gauge phosphor bronze strings (Photo by Mahalo)

• String gauge refers to the size or thickness of the strings. In general, strings with a lower gauge are thinner, while higher gauge strings are thicker. The number that is used to describe each gauge refers to the diameter of the string. Packs of strings are usually labeled by the size of the high E string (anywhere from .008 to .0012).

1. Beginning guitarists should start out with lighter gauge strings (usually about .010 for acoustic guitars) because they are thinner and easier to hold down.
2. Higher gauge strings often have better tone and sustain, although they can be much tougher to play with due to their size.
3. When buying strings, you don't need to ask for an exact gauge level. Just ask for either light, medium or heavy gauge strings.

Guitar Strings (Creative Commons photo by Rick Harris)

String Composition

• String composition refers to the material that the strings are made out of. Different materials can produce different sounding strings. Here are a few of the most popular types of string materials:
  1. Bronze: Produces a rich, warm tone. Used primarily for acoustic guitars. Good place to start for the beginning guitar player. Also try Phosphor Bronze strings for a brighter sound.
  2. Stainless Steel: Gives a brighter tone and texture. A very hard material and texture that leads to fret wear.
  3. Nickel: The most common type of string used on electric guitars because the steel has a better magnetic pull on electronic pickups.

Step 3: Remove Your Old Strings

• Once you've got your new set handy, you are ready to start changing your strings. The first step in re-stringing your guitar is to remove your old and worn out strings. Now, there is a bit of a disagreement among guitar professionals as to whether you should remove all of your old strings at once, or whether it is better to remove and replace them one by one (their logic being that the sudden decrease in tension from removing all of the strings can cause the neck to warp). Don't worry about that for now. Guitars are made without strings and can handle a little tension loss.
  

  Turn the peg clockwise to loosen (Photo by Mahalo)
  Here's how to go about removing your old strings:

1. Start with your low E string and follow it up the neck to its corresponding tuning peg (it should be the one closest to you on the left side of the headstock).
2. Loosen the tuning peg by turning it clockwise. You should begin to feel the tension lessen, making it easier for you to turn the peg (If you have a string winder, use it here to speed up your peg turning).
3. Turn the peg until you are able to push the top of the string out of the hole.
4. Pull out the bridge pin and remove the bottom of the string from the bridge of the guitar and dispose of it.
5. Repeat this process for the rest of the strings on your guitar, keeping the bridge pins together in a pile so you don't lose any.

Step 4: Clean and Polish Your Guitar

• Now that you've removed all of your old strings and your dirty fretboard is open and accessible, you have the perfect opportunity to give the neck of your guitar a good cleaning and polishing.
  

  Guitar polish and cloth (Photo by Mahalo)
  Of course, this step is optional (and not a necessary part of changing your strings), but what the heck! Polishing your guitar on a regular basis can make it easier to play and nicer to look at.
  1. Buy a small bottle of guitar polish (Usually between $5-10).
  2. Take your dry cloth and wipe off any dust or debris that may be on your guitar.
  3. Apply a couple of drops of guitar polish in between each fret on your guitar.
  4. Take your cloth and massage the polish into the fret board vigorously. Make sure that the entire surface has been coated.
  5. Let the polish dry for about 5-10 minutes.
  6. Start re-stringing your guitar.

Step 5: Re-String Your Guitar

• Your guitar probably looks pretty naked at this point, sitting there without any strings. So now its time to put those new strings on. Without further ado:

1. Open your new set of strings and find the low E string. This should be the thickest string in the pack and should have the highest gauge number (usually around .046).
2. Find the ball end of the string (the end of the string with the hollow cylinder).
3. Find the bridge pin hole for the E string (should be the hole on the far left side - if you're looking at it head on)
4. Place the ball end into the bridge pin hole and secure it there by inserting one of the bridge pins into the hole along with it. Press it firmly in place while pulling the string up to meet it.
5. If there is a groove in the bridge pin, make sure that you line it up with the string.
6. Take the other end of the string and bring it up towards the tuning pegs.
7. Thread the string through the hole in the low E tuning peg.
8. Pull the string tightly (so there is no slack) while rotating the tuning key counterclockwise.
9. Keep turning the tuning key until you feel the string tightening and the tension in the tuning key makes it harder to turn.
10. Repeat this process for each of the remaining strings. Make sure that you use the correct tuning peg for each of the strings.
11. Once you've put all of the strings on, go ahead and re-tune your guitar. For help with tuning, see Mahalo's guide to How to Tune a Guitar
12. After tuning, use your wire cutter to snip off the excess string from each tuning peg.

Additional Guitar Stringing Tips

• Now that you've learned how to change the strings on your guitar, you should have no problem doing it the next time they start to become rusty, discolored or go out of tune. Here are some additional tips on string changing:

1. Change your strings frequently. While beginners may only need to change their strings every 2 or 3 months, professional guitar players may change their strings every two weeks or so.
2. After changing your strings, stretch each of them out by giving them a gentle tug upward along their entire length. This will help work out the slack and make it easier for the strings to stay in tune.
3. In order to keep your strings in peak condition (and make it so you don't have to change them as frequently), always wash your hands before you play you guitar, and make sure to wipe them off with a cloth after you are done playing.
4. While not always necessary, guitar winders often come with a special slot that can be used to easily remove the bridge pins.
5. After removing the old strings, tie them together in a circular knot so that they stay together when you are disposing them.

Conclusion

Creative Commons photo by Brian

• While changing the strings on your acoustic guitar may not be the most enjoyable part of being a guitarist, it is one of the most important. New strings can make your guitar sound better, look better, and stay in tune more often. And although you can always take your guitar to a professional music store to be restrung, I guarantee that you will quickly tire of driving to the store and paying someone every time you need new strings. So, take the time to learn these simple steps and you'll be ready the next time your guitar needs a new string makeover!

Guitar Stringing Resources

• About.com: Changing Strings on an Acoustic Guitar
• WikiHow: How to Change Guitar Strings
• Expert Village: How to Change Guitar Strings
• Guitar Alliance: How to Change Guitar Strings
• Campbell's Music: How to Change Guitar Strings
• eHow: How to String a Guitar

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