Restringing a guitar is a fairly simple process. If you follow the steps correctly your guitar will sound good, and stay in tune. In this lesson, we will assume you are using an electric guitar with a fixed bridge. The only items you’ll need for this is a string winder, wire cutters, and a set of strings.
Step 1:
The first step is to take off the old strings. Start with the high E string. You do this by loosening the tuning pegs, and remove string. If you flip the guitar upside down you will see a back plate on the back of the body. Most back plates have an opening to the strings, but if yours doesn’t then just remove it using a screwdriver. Loosen the strings at the headstock of the guitar using the tuning pegs. When you pull the string out from the machine head, the string will be curly, and bent. This will make it hard to pull the string through the bridge, so cut off the bend section of the string. Now, at the back of the guitar pull on the ball end (usually gold, or multi-coloured) until the string is removed from the guitar. Remember, you may not want to remove all the strings at once. It may cause a quick shift in tension that may affect your guitar neck. (The only time I remove all the strings at once is when I’m cleaning the fretboard.)
Step 2:
Take the new string, and pull it through the back of the guitar until the ball end hits the bridge. Slide the string through the machine head, and leave about 1″-2″ of slack. Now, you bring the string towards the center of the headstock, and loop it under and up the string. Start turning the tuning peg in the direction so that the string is closest to the center of the headstock.
Step 3:
You’ll want to make sure that your strings are fully stretched before fully tune your guitar. The method I use is:
• Tune the string in tune
• At the 12th fret pull the string up about an inch from the fretboard in a stretching motion.
• Play on the string a bit using bends
• Repeat the above steps until the string stays in tune.
Now just do that for each string, and your guitar will be fully stringed. Restringing a guitar wasn’t so hard, was it?