1 of 6

Write now Article Tools

How to replace the strings on your guitar.

After a while the strings on your guitar will start to sound dull and lifeless.
They will lose their shine and appear blackened. This is caused by the action of your skin oils causing them to be corroded. You can extend the life of your strings by cleaning them every time you play but there will come a time when you will have to bit the bullet and change them.

Some people are frightened to do this themselves but it is a simple task and, whilst your local guitar shop will be happy to change them for you, they will require that you cross their palms with silver and you will have the added chore of going into town to drop your instrument off.

The tools you will need are simple, a small pair of side cutters, a soft cloth to protect the finish, a very slightly dampened lint free cloth and maybe a string winder.

There is a school of thought that says that you should never take all the strings off a guitar at the same time, as the sudden release of tension can cause the neck to be damaged and you might want to remove and replace each string separately.
I've been playing for 35 years and have always taken all the strings off so that I can clean the fret board and remove all the dust from around the pickups.

The truth of it is this: If you were to suddenly take all the tension off the neck by cutting the strings whilst they were still under tension you would probably cause it some damage. The strings would also lash around dangerously as well, possibly causing injury to you or scratching the finish on the instrument.

Unwind the tension from each string, until it is loose enough to take off the tuner then remove from it from the instrument by whatever means your guitar employs. On a Gibson guitar with a wraparound bridge simply withdraw the string through the hole in the bridge, you may find it easier to clip off the kinked part of the string from around the tuning peg. Take care at this stage as the ends of strings are sharp and can easily puncture skin.

When I have taken a string off I usually wind it into a small coil as they can be a bit unruly.

When I have removed all the strings I like to take the chance to clean the guitar, a slightly damp lint-free cloth is good for this. With the fret board clear it is a good time to rub in a little lemon oil to feed the wood.

Replacing the strings depends on the type of guitar, for a Fender style guitar the strings feed through the back of the guitar, come over the bridge and lie over the

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about How to change guitar strings?
We want to hear your view. Write now!