How to Change Your Guitar Strings

Even Eddie Van Halen had to change the strings on his guitar to maintain the quality of his playing.  Of course, you may not have a roadie to change the strings for you when they break like your favorite bands do, but you should get into the habit of regularly renewing your strings.  Although it may be a hassle, it’s necessary to avoid tuning problems or breakage during a performance.

Tools Needed

When your guitar strings are old and have lost their great sound, it is time to change them.  Changing the strings on your guitar is quite easy.  You will need to have a new package of your favorite strings from a music store or guitar center.  A wire cutter, to remove the excess string, is optional.

How Remove the Strings

The first thing you will want to do is take your guitar and loosen the low E string by turning the string peg at the top of the neck.  Keep loosening it until you can unwind and remove the string completely.  Different types of guitars have different ways of removing the strings.  You may need to remove the bridge pin or pull the string through the body of the guitar.  Once you remove it, dispose of it. 

Now you are ready to add your new low E string.  The most usual way to do this is to feed it in through the back of the body in the vacant hole.

Time to Tighten

Thread the string through the hole of the tuning peg.  Turn the tuner to tighten the string.  When the string is on and tuned correctly, clip off the excess at the top with your wire cutter, or just wind it around and around until it is out of your way.  Follow this process with the rest of the strings, and remember to move the strings and replace them one at a time so you don’t get the new strings mixed up. 

Once you have your final string on the guitar, it’s time to tune it.  If you can’t tune by ear, you can always use your guitar tuner.  You can also find great guitar tuners on iPhone apps or online on guitar websites.