Routine guitar maintenance will save you money in the long run. Keeping your acoustic guitar clean and changing the strings regularly will help it stay in tiptop shape, ready to play whenever inspiration strikes.
Changing the strings on an acoustic guitar is easy; it will take you less than 15 minutes. Here’s how to do it:
1. Using a Phillips screwdriver, turn the tuning pegs counterclockwise until the strings are loose enough to slip out of the tuning pegs.
Changing the strings on your guitar is a basic necessity for any guitarist. Strings break, lose their tone and need to be changed. Strings can also become rusted, which can cause serious damage to your guitar. You should change your strings at least every 3 months, or whenever they break or begin to sound dull.
For acoustic guitars, there are 2 types of strings available: Phosphor Bronze and 80/20 Bronze. Most acoustic guitars come strung with 80/20 Bronze strings. They last a long time and are quite cheap, so many people choose them over the phosphor bronze strings that cost more and don’t last as long. However, the phosphor bronze strings have a warmer tone than the 80/20s and are preferred by people who play a lot of fingerstyle guitar.
Changing the strings on an acoustic guitar is fairly simple – you just need to know how to tie good knots when putting new strings on the bridge pins (which I will show you here), and how to tune your guitar up properly afterwards!
When you first get your guitar, you should change the strings. When strings get older, they lose their flexibility and can break more easily. The sound quality of old strings is not as good, either. It’s a good idea to change your guitar strings every 3 months or so if you play regularly.
Here’s how to change the strings on your acoustic guitar:
1) Find a flat, sturdy surface on which to rest your guitar. You will be loosening the strings, so make sure nothing is nearby that will be damaged if it gets hit by a string.
2) Loosen each string one at a time by turning the tuning peg counterclockwise until there is enough slack in the string to remove it from the bridge pin (the plastic piece that holds it in place).
3) Remove each string one at a time and then cut it off with wire cutters or scissors. Remove all six strings before you put new ones on.
4) Put on the new strings one at at time. Start with the bottom string (low E). Insert this string through the hole in the bridge pin and pull it across the top of the guitar neck until there is tension on the string and you can see that it will line up with its tuning peg
Changing the strings on your acoustic guitar is not difficult. You will need a set of replacement strings, a screwdriver, and a small ruler or tape measure, as well as some wire cutters. Start by taking off the 6th string and replacing it with the new one. Tune it up until it sounds like the others. Then take off the 5th string and replace it, tune it up until it sounds like the others. The move to the 4th string, then 3rd, then 2nd, then 1st and so on. When you have replaced them all, give all the strings another tuning to make sure they are all in tune with each other. All that remains is to wind up any slack in your strings and put your guitar back together.
Acoustic guitars have either steel or nylon strings. Steel strings are usually used on flat top guitars as opposed to arch top guitars and classical guitars. Acoustic guitars are also available with a piezoelectric reader that can be plugged into an amplifier or sound system.
Changing the strings on an acoustic guitar is very different from changing the strings on an electric guitar. Instead of tuning pegs, acoustic guitars use tuning machine heads or tuning gears. Tuning gears are the most common type of tuning mechanism found on acoustic guitars.
To change the strings on your acoustic guitar you will need a new set of strings, wire cutters, a string winder and a rag or soft cloth. Most acoustic guitar players prefer using either phosphor bronze or 80/20 bronze wound strings as they produce a warm tone and last longer than other types of string materials such as nickel wound or silicon bronze.
Most string manufacturers color code each string according to its gauge and note designation (E, A, D, G, B, E). The smallest diameter string is typically colored red while the thickest diameter string is colored orange. The remaining four strings are colored yellow, blue, green and purple respectively.
Before changing your guitar strings make sure that your guitar is in tune. Begin
Changing your guitar strings is a necessary part of owning a guitar. If you have never changed the strings on your guitar, you will probably find this task daunting at first. But after you do it once, it becomes very easy. You may be surprised at how much better your guitar sounds when it has fresh strings on it.
The first thing that you need to do is gather up all the supplies that you will need to change your guitar strings. You will need the following items:
a wire cutter
a tuner
new strings (make sure that they are the right type for your guitar)
a damp cloth
a screwdriver (if your guitar has a pick guard)
Once you have all of these items, you are ready to start changing your guitar strings.
You can either change your strings one at a time or change them all at once. If you change them one at a time, you will never lose the tuning of your guitar. However, if you change them all at once, it is a much quicker process.
Change the Strings One at a Time
Step 1
Take off one string from your guitar. Make sure that it does not snap and hurt you or someone around you. Once the string is off, take care of it: wrap it in a paper towel and place it in a drawer or bag so you can use it again later if you want to. Do this for every string on your guitar.
Step 2
Take out your new strings and figure out which one is which. Look on the back of the package to see which string is first, second and so on. Unravel each string from its protective packaging and lay it next to its corresponding peg (the provided packaging usually contains an image of where each string is supposed to go).
Step 3