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"How To Change Guitar Strings: When To Change Your Strings And How To Do It Right"

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Learning how to change guitar strings is a big part of playing guitar. It helps tremendously to know how to do it yourself. You will save money otherwise spent on having someone else do the work for you.

Yes. Learning how and when to change guitar strings can be painful. But it will keep your guitar sounding its best.

We will look at some of the most common mistakes people make when changing strings, when to change your strings, and the best approach to changing them out correctly.

Types of guitar strings

If you have ever stepped into a Guitar Center and browsed the types of guitar strings available, you know that you have many choices! But, which is best?

Choosing guitar strings is important. It all depends on your playing style, type of guitar, and finger strength.

...it also depends on how much you want to spend! Some brands, such as Elixir guitar strings, are high-end guitar strings. Some people think the extra cost is worth it. I don't.

The main thing to look at when choosing strings is the string gauge. I use Ernie Ball Skinny Top Heavy Bottoms. They are perfect for being able to solo and still play heavy riffs while using drop tunings.

To learn which type of guitar string suits you best, try a few different kinds for a couple weeks each. You will develop a preference over time for the brand and gauge you like best.

Just don't use Fender Bullets. The ball end pops off when you least expect it, ruining the whole set.

And remember, always keep at least one extra set of strings. You never know when you might need them, but it will ALWAYS be a bad time!

When to change guitar strings

Change your entire set of strings when:

You break one: Let's say you are shredding away on a cool new solo you learned. You go to bend to a high F# and your first string suddenly pops off, threatening to slice your hand open on it's way. Scary. But more importantly, you've lost a string! Time to change...

But, how long has it been since you bought new strings? If they are brand spanking new, you can get away with only changing out the one that broke. But, if they are more than a week old, you must change the whole set!

You notice your strings developing crust: It's gross and it will kill your sound. Change those old crusty strings out immediately!

They just don't sound like they used to: Old strings sound old. They sound dead and they have no life left in them. Time for something new! The only exception to this rule is if you have a beat around guitar lying around the house that you practice on. But when students tell me that they haven't changed their strings in "like, I dunno, a year?" I start to worry...

How to change guitar strings

And now for the hard part. Let's touch on some tips first though...

• ALWAYS change only one string at a time. Don't sit there and pull all your strings off at once. It's not that big of a deal, it just takes more time to tune up later.
• Wind up your old strings and put them into the pack as you change them out. It makes for a more OCD friendly string changing session. AND less mess. Those things can poke the crap out of your finger.
• When your guitar needs a haircut, don't use anything other than wire cutters to trim your new strings. This includes nail clippers and scissors. I've tried both and neither work.

Learning how to change guitar strings is rewarding, so let's look at the process now:

First, pull off one of your old strings. I'm not sure why but I usually start with the first strings and work towards the sixth string.

Second, weave the new string through the hole, leaving some slack to wind around a few times.

Slack is important! You want at least 3 or 4 winds around the tuning peg for the string to stay in nice and tight.

I usually crease the string against the peg so it stays in while I wind it. It's kind of tricky, but you have to keep the string tight while winding it. Point at the string against the tuning peg while keeping the string tight with your remaining fingers. While you wind it in, make sure everything is lined up properly: the string is in the saddle and the correct groove in the nut.

Once the string is in and wound up to almost being in tune, if you did it right you can break the extra bit of string off by bending it back and forth. This is better than cutting it.

Finally, tune the string up and pull it up and down in the middle to get the extra slack out. Your strings will stretch over time and with playing, but this helps speed up the process.

Arnold says:

"Done? Good job. Now double check Nathan's rules below to make sure you don't waste a bunch of money on strings:"

Wipe down your strings after using them: A long night of playing guitar can take a toll on your fresh pair of strings. This simple step will make them last a lot longer.

Don't leave too little slack: Not leaving enough slack, say enough for like just one wrap around the tuning peg, will cause your string to pull right back out during playing or tuning, wasting the whole string. Not good!

I commend anyone learning how to change guitar strings for the first time. If you make a mistake, just keep trying, it's all part of the learning process. Keep practicing. And soon it will be like second nature to whip on a fresh pair in just 10 or 15 minutes.

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