How to Change Guitar Strings

A complete in depth guide for how to change guitar strings for electric, acoustic, or classical guitar. This will improves your tone, improves your ability to play as well as make your guitar look nice and shiny. If you are a beginner or not you will learn something new. It will only take 10 minutes and you can get back to playing.

Everyone develops their own method for restringing their guitar over time. This guide will show you many tips I have picked up over the years as well as traditional techniques handed down to me. This article includes how to restring your guitar, how often should you change your strings, how to tune your guitar and also what size string should you get.

Learn it all and create your own method. Restringing your guitar should be done regularly. It is the essential for the maintenance of your guitar. Although most guitar stores offer restringing for around $20-$40 this is recommended for all players to know. Everybody can do it themself, just try it.

What You Will Need:

New Strings
Wire cutters for trimming after
Cloth (Optional)
Fretboard Oil (Optional)

You can use scissors but they will get damaged. If you don’t have any tools, and you really need to, just bend the extra string back and forth until it snaps away.

Step One: Loosen The Strings

Set down a towel on your workspace or have the guitar in your lap. Unwind the old strings by turning the tuning knobs in a counterclockwise direction until they are loose. Then pull the strings out of the headstock.

Once they are removed, either use wire cutters and cut the strings or pull them through the bridge hole. Wrap up and dispose of the old strings.

Step Two: Clean The Fretboard

While you have the strings off, now is your opportunity to clean your fretboard. Take a cloth (microfiber cloth is better) and dampen half of the cloth. Use distilled water for extra points. Then carefully scrub the crud out of your fretboard and remember to polish your frets too. Dry it off with the dry half of the cloth.

Now is a good time to oil your fretboard if you need to. Dab a small amount of fretboard oil on the fretboard and wipe it down. Then wipe off excess oil.

Step Three: Bridge

Start one at a time with your thickest E String. Feed your new string through the bridge hole. for electric or acoustic guitar pull the strings until the bridge pins are in place. Electric guitars sometimes have the input hole in the back.

For classical guitar pull the string through the bridge hole, then loop over the bridge and under the string. Loop twice for added fanciness, this is the traditional way to tie it. Then loop it under the bridge, hold with your finger and pull tight. trim extra then tuck the loose end into the other knots as you go.

Step Four: Headstock

Pull the string through the tuning peg hole but leave enough slack so you can rotate it a few times. Twist the tuning knobs until the string is tight. Make sure the string wraps over itself.

No knots are necessary. Make sure all the knobs rotate in the same direction. Clockwise should tighten the string, counterclockwise should loosen it.

Step Five: Trim and Tune

Now all you need to do is take your wire cutters and trim off the excess string from the headstock. Tune the guitar and have fun. New strings adjust a little bit as they stretch out so retune it again after 30 minutes if you need to.

Warning for classical guitars: you do not have a truss rod, so overtightening the string or using steels strings can damage your classical guitar.

How to Tune Your Guitar

To tune your guitar just turn your tuning knobs and pick the corresponding string to test the tone. You can use a free app or use a clip on guitar tuner. A free app gets the job done just fine but a clip on tuner is more reliable and offers more. Most guitar players use standard E tuning, E A D G B E from thickest to thinnest. Remember it easily with the phrase “Eddy Ate Dynamite Good Bye Eddy.” RIP Eddy, that’s messed up.

When Should I Change Strings?

Some guitar players change they strings every month or two. Some never change their strings at all. Some professional musicians that are on tour or are recording albums change their strings daily. The true answer is at least when you hear a noticeable change in tone, see significant rust on your strings or their is too must friction when you play.

What Size Strings Should I Get?

Most people get 9-42 gauge, 10-46 gauge or 11-49 gauge. Thicker strings are the choice for players that down tune their guitar for example drop D tuning common in genres like rock and metal. Thinner strings can be easier to play and are also a go to choice for players that do string bends often. Thinner strings make it possible to do bigger bends. Thick strings can hurt your fingers more when playing for long periods of time.

Thin strings have a more brighter tone, Thick strings have a fuller tone. I encourage you to try out different size strings for yourself and pick your favorite over time. James Hetfield from Metallica uses custom 11-50 gauge guitar strings. Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin uses 8-38 gauge guitar strings.

Helpful Tools

A lot of people use string winders because they make they process faster. Although not necessary, they are pretty cheap. Special wire cutters that are made for guitar strings are available too.

I highly recommended to have extra packs of strings already at home so you are always prepared. Some people buy extra high E strings because they are more likely to snap especially with nylon strings. At about 0.85 cents why not?