Changing the Strings Guitar Lesson

Chapter 1: (01:20) Intro Music Can you guess how Jim Deeming gets such a sweet sound out of his Gibson? Fresh strings definitely help! In the scenes that follow, Jim explains how to change the strings on a steel string acoustic and a classical guitar.
Chapter 2: (01:14) Introduction to Changing Strings Note: Some of the following information is taken from lesson 14 of Steve Eulberg's Phase 1 Lesson series. Please visit this lesson for more information about changing strings.

A. How Do I Know When to Change My Strings?

There are several common symptoms that indicate that your stings need to be changed. Here are the most common indications:

1. The strings feel uncomfortable as a result of excessive build-up of dirt on the strings. Over time, the natural oil and dirt generated by your fingers builds up on the strings.

2. If the guitar is not staying in tune, it is definitely time to change the strings. A guitar with fresh strings should stay in tune for roughly an hour regardless of how often you bend your strings. If you notice that a string instantly goes out of tune after bending a string, the string either needs to be changed, or it was installed improperly.

3. The bottoms of the strings flatten and blacken from repetitious contact with the frets. Once the strings decrease in mass, their tone diminishes significantly as well.

4. Tone becomes significantly less bright when strings are corroded and in need of a change. Tone is the best indicator of when the strings need changing. Your ears should be familiar with what your guitar should sound like. Old strings loose their brightness and volume. In general, guitar strings begin to sound like rubber bands when they are at the end of their life.

Playing a guitar with dead strings can kill your inspiration. On the other hand, playing with fresh strings can have the opposite effect. You may find yourself taking the guitar out of the case more.

5.Wound strings begin to unravel slightly from contact with frets. This causes a severe drop in tone quality as well as limited playability.

B. How Often Should I Change My Strings?

This depends entirely upon the individual. There is no standard life expectancy for a set of guitar strings. Touring professionals have guitar techs that change their strings prior to every single performance. Strings are changed on every guitar including instruments used as backups. Strings are changed on back up guitars regardless of whether they were played at the previous gig! For most of you however, strings will not need to be changed this frequently. To make a long story short, the amount of time you spend practicing and performing is directly proportional to how often you will need to change your strings. If you notice one of the symptoms listed in "Section A," it is most likely time to put on a fresh set. One other factor also determines how often your strings will need to be replaced. Some people’s hands sweat more than others do. If you have sweaty hands, your strings will need to be replaced more frequently.

Note: Although there is no set time interval for changing strings, they should ALWAYS be changed prior to a performance or recording session. This is especially true if you do not perform or record very often. Since people do not have many opportunities to hear/ see you perform, you want to make sure that you are doing everything in your power to create the best performance possible. This includes changing your strings prior to every gig.

C. Types of Strings

1. Acoustic Strings

a. Bronze or Brass-Bronze is much softer than steel. Most acoustic guitars are strung with bronze.

b. Steel-Produces a loud, bright tone. Electric guitars are strung with steel.

c. Nylon-Nylon produces a softer and rounder sound than both steel and bronze. Classical guitars are strung with nylon.

2. String Size or "Gauge"

Gauge refers to the size of the string in millimeters. String gauge effects your overall playing in three different ways.

a. String gauge affects your tone in a big way. A higher string gauge may increase overall sustain and volume. Remember, more mass=more volume.

b. Gauge affects the action and setup of your guitar. When switching to a different string gauge, a professional must perform a new setup. Due to the change in tension placed on the neck, the truss rod will probably need to be adjusted as well.

c. Gauge also affects comfortability while playing. Larger strings put more pressure on the tips of the fingers. This will require a development of harder calluses. More importantly though, gauge effects one’s ability to perform certain techniques such as vibrato and bending. Quite simply, larger strings are harder too bend.

Here are some typical gauges used by professionals. They are organized by genre.

Blues: heavy strings-usually 11 gauge+
Rock: light strings-usually 9's or 10's. (Players that tune down a full step or more usually choose 11's.)
Country: heavy strings-11's+

3. Brand of String

Contrary to what endorsement advertisements may lead you to believe, the brand of string you choose is of very little importance. Many popular brands are owned by the same company. For example, Fender owns several of the major string companies. In terms of electric guitar strings, there is only one brand to be avoided: Snarling Dogs. D'Addario offers the best string for a reasonable price. DR strings are typically the most expensive, but they offer the greatest tone and durability.

D. Tools Needed for Changing Strings

1. Needle nose pliers are needed to cut the strings. Nail clippers are the best cutting implement for nylon strings.

E. Review of Guitar Anatomy

Before removing the strings on his acoustic, Jim reviews some key parts involved in this process. The strings attach to the guitar at both ends. The bridge pins hold the strings in place at the bridge. The tuning pegs anchor the strings to the other end of the guitar. The strings are guided to the tuning pegs by the nut. For a string to function properly, it must be installed properly at both locations. Chapter 3: (01:47) Removing the Strings Many students are intimidated by the string changing process the first time that they do it. It gets easier and less frustrating each time that you do it. Most people are afraid of breaking strings. This could happen. Consequently, buy a few packs of strings the first time that you must change your strings. That way, you'll have extras in case you do break a string. If you don't break any strings, you'll have these strings ready for the next time you must change a set of strings.

Removing Old Strings

1. Loosen each string at the tuning peg. Detach the string from the tuning peg.

Note: Jim removes all of the strings at once. Removing all of the strings at once enables you to clean every part of the guitar in one easy step. However, the guitar will require slightly more work to keep the strings in tune. Strings provide a specific level of tension on the neck, which the guitar becomes accustomed to. If you remove all of the strings at once, all of this tension is removed.

2.Once a string is loosened, clean the area of fretboard underneath it with a soft cloth. 3M makes a soft scrubbing surface that is ideal for this application. DO NOT USE STEEL WOOL! Steel wool can potentially damage the surface of the fingerboard. Also, it breaks apart and leaves annoying pieces across the fingerboard.

3. Polish the body and headstock to preserve the finish. We recommend Martin or Gibson guitar polish. In addition to enhancing the appearance of your guitar, polish adds needed moisture to the finish. This is quite important, especially if you live in a cool, dry climate like Steve does.

4. Pry up the bridge pin. Remove the string from the bridge. Chapter 4: (07:32) Putting Strings On When installing new strings, it doesn't matter which string you start with. Jim prefers to start with the first string.

First, insert the bead head of the string into the hole where the bridge pin was. Then, put the bridge pin back in place. The bridge pin has a grooved slide. The bead head should rest up against the back of this grooved slide. The groove should point directly towards the nut. The string comes out of the hole from this groove. Before you push the bridge pin all the way down in, pull up on the string so that it is taught against the inner top of the bridge pin.

Next, pull the other end of the string towards the tuning pegs. Then, pinch the string down through the nut. The string always goes through the hole in the tuning peg from the inside of the guitar. Consequently, the top three strings are wound in different directions from the bottom three. If you have a guitar that features six tuners on one side of the headstock, all of the strings will be wrapped in the same direction.

Turn the peg so that the hole is pointing a specific direction. The hole should be pointing inwards at roughly a 45o angle (about 7 o'clock). Refer to Jim's marker board drawing for a clear example.

After the string is threaded through the tuning pin, the string must be wrapped under itself to ensure that it will not slip out of place. As soon as the string comes through the hole, pull the string outwards away from the guitar. Then tuck the string underneath itself. Watch Jim very closely at 03:53 with the quality of the video set to high for a clear demonstration of this process. Once the string is tucked underneath itself, bend the slack of the string so that it is pointing directly upwards towards the ceiling. Then, tune the string to pitch.

Cut off the excess string coming from the tuning peg. Be careful! The ends of strings are very sharp. Chapter 5: (03:30) Putting on the Low E / 6th String Jim demonstrates the process of installing a string once again. This time around, he installs the sixth string since it is bigger and easier to see. Also, this string is connected to a tuner on the opposite side of the headstock.

Remember to pull the string as tight as possible before locking the bridge pin in place. Once the string is properly secured with the bridge pin, take the string up through the middle of the headstock. The tuning pin must point from 11 o'clock to 5 o'clock. After pulling the string through the pin, bend the string to the outside and wrap it underneath itself. Bend the remaining portion of string up towards the ceiling. Watch Jim at about 02:45 as he demonstrates this step. Then, tune the string close to pitch. Cut off the extra string coming out of the tuning peg.
Chapter 6: (05:11) Removing Extra Slack If you don't stretch your strings out, you'll fight to keep your guitar in tune over the next several days. The strings are still settling in when you first install them. Soon after installation, the strings wiggle loose at the bridge and tuning pegs. Also, the string stretches to some degree across its entire length. To combat these problems, lightly pull on each string. This process will remove any excess slack across the length of the string. Stretch the strings until they no longer go flat after being stretched. Be careful not to stretch the treble strings too much! You will snap them if you are not careful!
Chapter 7: (01:53) Clipping off the Extra String Leaving extra string hanging out of the tuning peg may look cool, but it can cause some unwanted buzz from the strings. Only leave half an inch of string hanging out. Use a pair of wire cutters or needle nose pliers to trim off the excess. When trimming nylon strings, nail clippers work the best.
Chapter 8: (01:23) Final Thoughts on Steel String Acoustic Strings Changing strings is a tedious, yet very worthwhile process. Remember that how often you change your strings depends on individual circumstances. How often do you play? How long are your practice sessions. Do you have oily or dry hands? All of these factors determine how often strings need to be changed.
Chapter 9: (02:21) String Changing on Nylon / Classical Guitars The process of stringing a classical guitar is quite similar to stringing a steel string acoustic. However, there are a few notable differences. One key difference is the way the tuners face. Nylon string guitars have tuners that point directly back towards you when you are holding the guitar in the playing position. Steel string guitars feature tuners that point down towards the floor and up towards the ceiling.
Chapter 10: (08:29) Replacing the Strings 1. Loosen and remove the old string.

2. Take out the new string. If there is a leader on it, cut it off. The leader is the short, frayed portion on the end of the string.

3. Pull the new string through the bridge. Leave approximately 3-4 inches of string sticking out of the end of the bridge. This length of string will be used to loop the string. Take this portion and wrap it under the section of string on the other side of the bridge. Create two loops for bass strings and three for the treble strings. After tying the knot, there needs to be enough string left over to tuck it underneath the knot of the adjacent string.Watch Jim perform this step of the process to see exactly how this should be done.

4. Refer to Jim's marker board for indication of how the tuning peg should be positioned before pulling the string through. Go over the top of the pin and pull the string back through the hole.

5. Similar to installing a steel string, a nylon string must be looped underneath itself. This will ensure that the string is locked securely in place. Tuck the string under itself. Then, pull out to the outside, away from the headstock. Once again, watch Jim closely with the video player set to "high quality" for a demonstration of this process.

6. Tune and stretch the strings.

Note: It is quite helpful to tune every string up a full step and leave them there for about an hour. Then, tune them down to standard pitch. This stretches the strings in a more efficient manner. With this method, you will have a much easier time keeping your strings in tune.

7. Remove any excess string extending from the saddle or the tuning peg. Chapter 11: (02:58) Finishing up the Last Two Strings The high E string must be tied backwards to the bridge so that it can be looped underneath the second string. Consequently, the second string holds onto the tail of both the first and third strings. Make sure that these two strings are stacked on top of one another and not side to side. Otherwise, they will slip and both strings will go out of tune.
Chapter 12: (03:35) Finishing Up Nylon String Guitar + Lesson Final Thoughts Jim provides a close-up look at the strings wrapped around the tuning pegs. Hopefully this will provide you with a clear view of how the string is wrapped underneath itself. The string is pinched against the round part of the tuning peg rather than the hole.

Once the strings are installed, perform the stretching process. The stretching process is even more important with nylon strings. Nylon takes much longer than steel to settle into place. Consequently, more time must be spent during the stretching process.

Note: The D string is prone to breakage on some classical guitars. Therefore, tune this string about a half step flat before you put the guitar back in the case.

Final Thoughts

Remember that all guitars are individuals. Different strings work better with different guitars. Experiment with a variety of string brands and types to find the string that you like the best.

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