Changing Strings

It may not be particularly exciting, but being quick at changing strings on your instrument is an important skill to have as they are prone to break at the worst possible time. On most guitars fitting a new string is an easy task, and once you have done it a couple of times the process will be hard to forget.

The procedure described below is for guitars on which strings are passed through the body of the guitar from the back into an all-in-one bridge. For most electric guitars strings are changed in this, or a very similar, manner. However, this guide does not apply to guitars which have Floyd Rose style tremelos with locking nuts. Changing strings and tuning up on guitars using these systems (which are designed to increase the stability of the instrument's tuning under heavy tremelo use) is a more complex operation.

Step-by-Step Guide

		Remove what remains of the old string There may still be a part of a broken string lying in the bridge, and some of the string will almost certainly remain in the machine head. Unwind the string from the machine head and then pull it through the hole to remove it. The bridge-end of the broken string may have fallen out already, but if it hasn't push it out with your fingers, or failing that use something to help it through (such as a match).
		Insert the new string through the bridge block Now that there is a clear path through one of the holes in the bridge a new string can be inserted. Take the sharp end of the string, and feed it through this clear hole in the bridge block from the back of the instrument. The image below illustrates this - the hole you feed it through may differ depending on the string you are replacing. Make sure that the string goes through the saddle that corresponds to the hole, before pulling the string through until the ball end fits into the tremolo block (i.e. until you cannot pull it anymore).
		Secure the string around the machine head The string is now in the instrument, but it must be secured to a machine head. Wind the string around the tuning key 2-3 times, before putting the sharp end of the string through the hole in the machine head and pulling it taut.
		Tune up Now that the string is on the instrument, tune it up. Then stretch the string - pull it a few centimetres away from the body and release it - to reduce the likelihood of the string breaking once it starts being played. If necessary, retune the guitar. Once the guitar is in tune, the remainder of the string can be cut off with some wire cutters, leaving about half a centimetre of string outside the machine head.

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