{"id":58,"date":"2017-07-30T16:35:10","date_gmt":"2017-07-30T16:35:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irenejackson.com\/guitar\/?p=58"},"modified":"2017-07-30T16:35:10","modified_gmt":"2017-07-30T16:35:10","slug":"changing-strings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irenejackson.com\/guitar\/2017\/07\/30\/changing-strings\/","title":{"rendered":"Changing Strings"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019ve got an older guitar and you don\u2019t know when the last time the strings were changed on it, you might consider buying a set and learning how to change them. \u00a0Or if you\u2019ve had your new guitar for awhile and you need to learn how to change strings, I\u2019ll give you a few tips. \u00a0These tips are primarily for acoustic guitar.<\/p>\n

First of all, people always question \u201cwhen?\u201d \u00a0There are many different opinions on this one. \u00a0Some people suggest if you\u2019re playing regularly, change them every couple of months. \u00a0I don\u2019t think that\u2019s really necessary and I don\u2019t even change them that often! \u00a0I met a performing guitarist once who changed them every day! \u00a0The reason he did was because he liked the sound of new strings\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Well, I guess a performer has the right to change strings as many times as he\/she wants. \u00a0Luthiers (people who make stringed instruments) will have varying opinions too.<\/p>\n

A good sign that your strings need to be changed is when one of them breaks! \u00a0But you don\u2019t have to wait that long. \u00a0If you have a classical or spanish guitar with\u00a0nylon strings, they rarely break anyway. \u00a0Steel strings break more often. \u00a0Usually you will see that the areas of the string that you touch most, where you play chords or notes, will get a little darker. \u00a0Over time, the oil and skin from your fingers and the dust from a room will start to gather especially on the wound strings, the fatter ones. \u00a0You\u2019ll see the effect of time on the fat strings first. \u00a0It dulls the sound of the string when you play it, although you won\u2019t really notice because it happens so gradually. \u00a0As soon as you put a new string on, you\u2019ll notice the difference right away!<\/p>\n

Most of the time you can buy a new set of strings from your local music store for about $10 or $12\u2026some are a little more expensive. \u00a0Talk to somebody at the counter about buying strings if you\u2019re not sure what you need for your guitar. \u00a0 For instance, a classical guitar needs different strings from a\u00a0steel string guitar.<\/p>\n

Different guitars behave differently with certain types of strings. \u00a0There are usually four gauges; \u00a0heavy, medium, light and extra light. \u00a0I wouldn\u2019t recommend heavy or extra light if you are new to playing, only because they can really change the feel of your guitar. \u00a0Medium strings are probably okay, light gauge strings tend to bend more easily and sometimes (SOMEtimes) will make a guitar a little easier to play.<\/p>\n

I am qualifying that only because there are so many different guitars out there and there are many factors that effect your guitar playing. \u00a0If you talk to someone at your guitar store and tell them what make of guitar you have, that might determine which gauge to buy.
\nWhen you have finally decided on a set, the next question becomes how to change them. \u00a0The following description is MY way, and below there is a YouTube posted by a luthier who will give you some additional tips.<\/p>\n

1. \u00a0Tools to have handy: \u00a0needle-nose pliers, a soft cloth and a set of new strings, of course!<\/p>\n

2. \u00a0Before you touch the old strings, look carefully and maybe even take a picture of how they are attached from the bridge, up to the head stock (where the\u00a0tuning pegs\u00a0are). \u00a0Which way are they wound around the pegs? \u00a0They should be wound from the inside out so that when you turn the pegs, they loosen and tighten properly, as indicated by the arrows:<\/p>\n

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3. \u00a0Personally, I DO NOT remove all the strings first! \u00a0I know that many do, but a tip I got years ago from a luthier was that there is a certain amount of tension created by all of the strings pulling tight on the neck of the guitar, that gets changed when you suddenly take all the strings off. \u00a0Whether or not that is the gospel truth, I don\u2019t know, but to be safe I\u2019ve always removed them one at a time. \u00a0The luthier in the video below removes three at a time, so I imagine that\u2019s probably quite safe too. \u00a0So I take one string off (it could be the high E or the low E string, doesn\u2019t matter) and then replace it with the new one, and then move on to the next.<\/p>\n

4. \u00a0Hopefully you are familiar with the tuning pegs (the part that you turn to tune the string) enough to know which way to turn it! \u00a0I loosen the string as much as possible, and then fiddle with the \u00a0end of string so that I get it off the peg. \u00a0I will often actually cut it once it has become quite loose. \u00a0Then, if you have bridge pins, those rounded pins that hold the other end of theguitar string\u00a0into the bridge, I\u2019ll carefully start pulling it out with my fingers. \u00a0If it\u2019s in there too tight, I\u2019ll try to push the string in a bit to loosen it. \u00a0Sometimes that works, sometimes not. \u00a0As a last resort, I will take a soft cloth and wrap it around the pin and use needle nose pliers to pull it out. \u00a0Once it\u2019s out, the ball end of the string can be pulled out.<\/p>\n

5. \u00a0Once you have the old string off, you might want to dust along the areas of the guitar that you can\u2019t quite reach when the string is in place.<\/p>\n

6. \u00a0Pull the new string out of its packaging\u2026make sure it\u2019s the right one! \u00a0Sometimes they are marked by the string name (E or 6th, A or 5th, D or 4th, G or 3rd, B or 2nd, E or 1st) or sometimes they are marked by the colour of the pin ball (D\u2019Addario\u00a0strings are distinguished this way), or sometimes simply by the width\u00a0dimension\u00a0of the string. \u00a0If you\u2019re not sure, they are often in the right order in your packaging, or you can Google it to make sure you\u2019re using the correct string to replace the old one.<\/p>\n

7. \u00a0You\u2019ll notice the bridge pins have a groove on one side. \u00a0This is where the string fits when you place it back in the bridge:<\/p>\n

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8. \u00a0Insert the ball part of the string in the hole in the bridge, and then secure it by inserting thebridge pin, groove side facing towards the\u00a0sound hole. \u00a0Here is the correct position of the ball and bridge pin from a cross section view:<\/p>\n

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You see how the pin holds the ball of the string down below? \u00a0If you want an even more detailed view, I\u2019ve embedded a YouTube video below so you can get a better idea of how it works.<\/p>\n

9. \u00a0Once the string is secured at the bridge end, you\u2019ll need to stick it through the hole on the appropriate peg on the headstock. \u00a0I usually pull it all the way through the hole and then loosen it back about two or three inches. \u00a0Now you start winding. \u00a0My favourite part. \u00a0Not. \u00a0\ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

10. \u00a0Remember to wind it in the right direction! \u00a0The strings are wound from the inside out, as shown in the diagram above.<\/p>\n

11. Clip off the end of the string with your needle nose pliers, and bend the end in towards the headstock so you don\u2019t prick yourself! \u00a0This is also demonstrated in the video below.<\/p>\n

12. \u00a0Once the strings are all replaced, you\u2019ll need to tune the guitar with a tuner or the one you see a link to at the top of this blog.<\/p>\n

It won\u2019t stay in tune easily for a day or two, so you will have to keep tuning it until the strings get properly stretched. \u00a0However, you\u2019ll notice how bright the strings sound compared to your old ones!<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why people like to change their strings often\u2026just to have that sound.<\/p>\n

One note: \u00a0some guitars, like Ovations, don\u2019t have bridge pins at all, the string is simply inserted into the end of the bridge. \u00a0I still have an old Ovation and it\u2019s much easier to re-string than my Larivee.<\/p>\n

For a more detailed description, here\u2019s the video:<\/p>\n