How to String Your Guitar
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a handsome beast
If your guitar has been properly strung it will maintain accurate and stable tuning which in turn will aid the resonance and
sustain of the strings. Simply put, it will make you sound better and therefore it's worth learning how to do this properly!
The regularity with which you decide to change the strings depends on how often your guitar is played and in what type of
environment. Over time corrosion occurs on the strings largely due to the grime, perspiration and PH value of the natural oils
within your skin.
Choosing the Right Gauge of Strings
Guitar strings are available in different gauges (thickness) and ideally it is best to find a gauge that is compatible with
your playing style. Once you have discovered your favoured gauge and manufacturer the guitar can then be "set-up" specifically
for that particular gauge. Whilst it may be harmless to swap brands from time to time it is probably not a good idea to vary
the gauge of your strings too often. This is because each time a different gauge is used the guitar will need minor but subtle
adjustments for intonation as well as for the curvature of the guitar neck.
Changing Guitar Strings
Here are some basic tips on how to change your guitar strings:
- Unpack your new guitar strings and lay them out from the thickest to the thinnest.
- Turn the tuning peg until the hole is in line with the neck of the guitar.
- Beginning with the thickest string (low E) thread the string through the bridge (bottom part of the guitar). Each guitar
has different methods of doing this, however it is unlikely that you will have any trouble finding where the strings should
go.
- Thread the guitar string through the hole in the tuning peg until tight. Then you need to back the string up about
three inches so that it loosens.
- Grab the loose part of the string with one hand and with the other start turning the tuning peg. As you turn the peg,
hold the string tightly away from the guitar to ensure that it wraps tightly with no slack. This will prevent the string from
going out of tune as you are playing. When the string is getting tight against the fret board, you may release it and
continue to slowly turn the peg a little more and then stop.
- Make sure that as you turn the peg the string is winding downwards, and ensure that it does not flip over itself. Your
objective is to get about 2½ to 3 full winds on each string.
- Simply repeat the same process with all of the other guitar strings, decreasing the amount of slack a little each time.
Nylon Guitar Strings
If you happen to be learning to play with a classical guitar the process is very similar and may even be a little easier as
the classical instrument uses nylon strings which are easier to hold. The guitar neck is also usually wider than that of an
electric guitar so there is a little more room to thread the strings.
Floating Tremolo Systems
The 1980s saw the introduction of new guitar bridge technologies pioneered by Eddie Van Halen. The most popular type was
(back then) manufactured by an American company, Floyd Rose who gave us the floating bridge tremolo system.
The concept was that this system allowed guitar players to aggressively deploy the tremolo arm on the guitar which
theoretically would return to its original "floating" position and remain perfectly in tune. The system was aided
by a locking-nut at the top of the guitar neck and some adjustable parameters on the bridge mechanism to allow for tuning
and accurate intonation. If you happen to use or are thinking of buying a guitar that utilises this system please be aware
that each string must be replaced individually using a specific process.
You should not under any circumstances take off all of the strings simultaneously. When using this system it is necessary
to remove just one string (leaving the others remaining) and then move on to the second string and so forth. This is because
the strings utilised in the Floyd Rose system are adjusted to a specific tension to keep the bridge in the optimum "floating"
position. By removing all of the strings you also remove all of the delicately balanced and adjusted string tension, this
then requires a lengthy and specialised re-set process to set up the bridge once more. You have been warned!
