In this article, I will tackle the basics of stringing an ordinary off the shelf guitar, an acoustic guitar, an electric one, and a classical guitar. In short, how to string a guitar.
Everybody wants to be a rockstar, right? Well for me, at least when I was in high school. For some, they were exposed to guitar at a very young age. Others were forcefully exposed to the instrument when they were in school trying to impress their crush.
No matter how you are able to have or experience one of the most famous, if not the most common instrument, or how well you play from the scale of noob to a guitar hero, or no matter how serious you are in playing guitar, it is within your best interest to take care of it.
The first step in caring for your guitar is not learning how to polish it, or learning where to hide it, rather it is learning how to string your guitar.
This may be an informative discussion, as I will enumerate and explain the step-by-step process for each guitar type.
Is stringing a guitar easy?
If I were to tell you that is hard, would you still do it? At the end of the day, what is important is not how easy a task is rather how important it is to do.
Stringing a guitar requires a lot of patience, especially to inexperienced ones, and attention.
You also need to have an understanding of different parts of a guitar such as the frets, how tight it should be, the strings you should be using, type of guitar, and of course, how to put it in tune.
These things are not easy to do or to learn immediately. However, having familiarity with the things I have mentioned will have a factor in the proper stringing of a guitar.
How do you string an acoustic guitar?
First thing’s first, if you are planning to string a guitar, most often than not there are still old strings attached to it right? Now, the first thing to do is to loosen those old strings.
Start at the E string or if you are confused, the thinnest string and then work your way up to the thickest string, one by one.
If you are unsure on whether you are loosening the string, try to pluck the string and notice if the sound changes.
If it has a higher pitch, you are doing it the wrong way, if the pitch is lower than it should be, then you are on the right track.
After loosening it, remove the strings. To do this, it is best to listen to professionals, to which I quote:
- Use your string winder to remove the bridge pins;((How to String a Guitar [The Best Way to Change Strings!]))
- When you have the bridge pin secure in the notch of the string winder, pull straight up;((Ibid.))
- DO NOT pull on the bridge pins at an angle! This will most likely snap the bridge pins.((Ibid.))
- As you remove the ball-end of the strings from the bridge, make sure to put the bridge pin back in its hole — that way you don’t have any missing bridge pins.1
The last step in removing the strings is to remove it from the headstock.
Subsequently, assemble the new strings. Identify first the thickest string and work your way down to the thinnest string.
If you are confused, look at the packaging, it usually has a number indicating the thickness of the strings. The higher the number the thicker it is.
After which, take the thickest string outside the packaging and hold the ball-end against the bridge pin.
Then insert the ball-end of the string in the hole where it aligns itself. Repeat this process for all of the strings.
Consequently, thread and secure the strings at the tuners. Similar to the process of loosening of the old strings, turning it will make it either loosen or tighten. After this you are already finished, but tuning it will be a different topic.
How do you string an electric guitar?
Stringing an electric guitar is somehow similar to stringing an acoustic guitar. However, since the guitar is powered by electricity for you to play it, it has its own quirks and uniqueness.
The first thing to do is to note the path of each string before removing it. Secondly, just like how it is done in the acoustic guitar, loosen the old string and remove it.
Afterwards, you will have a nice and clean guitar but without strings. Before discussing the next step, you need to ensure that you have brought the proper strings for your electric guitar.
Strings for electric and acoustic guitars are not interchangeable. Worse, if you have brought and installed the wrong strings, you may permanently damage your guitar.
After ensuring that you have the proper strings, we can start the process of installing it. First thing to do is to lay the guitar on a flat surface, then turn the hole of the tuning post so that it faces you.
Then thread your first string through the bridge and into the tuning peg. Subsequently, grab the string on both sides of the peg and crimp it in an “s” shape and then tighten it.
Again, tuning it is another matter. Oh! Do not forget to cut the ends of the strings to avoid unnecessary injuries.
How to replace the strings in classical guitar?
Classical guitars have more hand friendly strings compared to acoustic and electric guitars. Nonetheless, because it has more hand-friendly strings, it is also easier to replace. In fact, replacing strings of a classical guitar is as hard as replacing strings for electric and acoustic guitars.
To start replacing it, you still need to loosen the strings from the thinnest to the thickest string.
This way you will ensure your safety as thin strings are often more likely to break. Secondly, untie the string at the bridge and remove it. Unlike other guitars, it does not have a headpin.
Prior in installing the new strings, make sure that you have brought the proper strings for a classical guitar. NEVER EVER string a classical guitar with a steel string.
It will damage your classical guitar permanently and will affect the sound if used. After which, tie the new strings to the bridge. The technique here is to remember how the previous strings were tied and do the same in your new strings.
Then attach the other end of the string to the neck by turning the peg and tightening it. By now, you are already familiar with how to tighten the string by reading the process in the acoustic guitar.
How often should you change guitar strings?
Changing guitar strings are like changing car oils. Everyone has their own metrics, opinion, schedule, and even superstition.
In answering this question, just like in maintaining complex machines such as a car, it is best to refer to expert opinions to avoid wasting hard earned money, time, and effort. It may, likewise, prevent accidents.
According to guitarsonmain.com, it is best to change guitar strings after every 100 hours of playing your guitar or after every three months after installing it.
The reason involves a little bit of understanding about the usual wear and tear of using a guitar regularly and the wearing of the strings from the elements and moisture from the hands.
Why are guitar strings so hard to bend?
Having a hard bending string is an advantage to some. For others, it is a handicap. There are strings which are made to have a particular rigidity or flexibility in it.
The rule of thumb is that the more flexible strings are often much more expensive, as the amount of time and precise technology to do that is also costly.
There are a lot of factors in having your desired rigidity or flexibility, though. The factors range from the string itself, the bridge, the quality or materials of the guitar itself, the neck, or even the height of the frets itself.
These factors, although having little effect, have a significant impact on the rigidity or flexibility of the strings when summed together.
How do you tighten guitar strings?
Tightening the guitar strings requires a little bit of playing of the turning pegs. Explaining how to tighten it may be superficial to some, but we can never be too sure, right?
Tightening strings in a guitar is somehow dangerous, too, especially considering how many injuries are happening each day just by over tightening the strings.
The test is to pluck the string every so often while tightening the strings. This way, we can ensure whether it is overtightened or loosened.
The higher the pitch, the tighter it is. Nowadays, there are applications available on the internet to help a person in determining the perfect tune and tightness of a guitar string.
Conclusion
Having a guitar is not only a privilege but also a responsibility. It is a well respected instrument, so versatile, it can be played in classical or contemporary settings and widely used on different genres of music.
The amount of time a person spends practicing the instrument is often equivalent to the amount of time a person spends in maintaining the guitar. For a lot of musicians, their instrument is an extension of themselves.
Caring and maintaining a guitar often starts in knowing how to properly replace and install its string. I hope this article helped you in your quest to be the next rockstar.