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  • joepampel

String & Tune Your Guitar


A short sweet photo guide to get good results quickly, I hope.


A couple quick notes (TL;DR)

* Remove & replace strings one at a time if possible to minimize stress changes on the neck

* Check new strings for kinks or bends as you put them on. Discard any that do.

* This is a very simple method shown to me by Rudy (of Rudy's Music) it's simple, it's fast and it works.

* Be sure to stretch the new strings!

* Always tune up to pitch, if you are sharp tune below pitch and back up.

* Check your intonation when you are done. it should not change, but it is possible.


Step one, remove the old strings one at a time to minimize any 'shock' to the neck.

I like to use the string winder to remove the strings as well, it's just faster. Loosen the string and carefully get the string off of the tuning post. I like to clip off the "bent" part before I try and remove the string from the guitar to minimize the chances of it scratching the finish on the way off. YMMV

Once the string is off, I make sure the hole in the post is facing roughly perpendicular to the neck. This makes the next part easier.


Get the new string out of the package. Hold the ball end in one hand and feel along the string with your other hand. You want to make sure it is smooth and does not have any kinks or bends. it is not common, but certainly possible. Next, feed the string through the tuning post from the inside out (shown) I check how much slack by pulling outwards around the 12th fret. I want about 6" of space between the neck and string when I do that (prior to winding the string). You want a few windings, but not many.

Then go around the top to the inside...

Go under the string and then pull the loose end up. This "kink" is what will hold the string in tune. It should hold on practically from the get go.

"Feed out", then "in & over", and then "under and up" will work regardless of which side your tuners are on.

Keep tension on the string with one hand and use the winder to wind the string on with your other hand. I am not actually winding the string in the nut here. Stay just above it. Make sure your additional windings are below your prior windings (you are winding down towards the neck). You want the strings to angle over the nut a bit. (called the "break angle")

Sometimes you may need to put a little pressure on the string to make sure the new windings go below the prior windings. .

Bring the new string up to pitch and then clip off the rest of the string as close to the post as you can. I do this to try and avoid puncture injuries in my fingers. Strings are kind of sharp.

A different angle on the end result.

Once you have strung up all 6 strings to pitch, stretch them each a few times. This is how I grab them. Pull them gently outward from the neck and move from the nut down towards the bridge to stretch the whole string, wiggling gently back and forth.

The first time through you will probably go a whole tone flat. Tune back up. Each time after you stretch them you will go less out of tune. When the tuning barely changes you are probably done. If you over do it a little it's fine; your guitar may go sharp once you start playing. Just loosen the string a little and come back up to pitch. This will do more to keep you playing in tune than almost anything else you can do.


Check your intonation and you are all set!


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