Stringing an Acoustic Guitar

Stringing an acoustic guitar can be difficult to understand if you are not familiar with the process. If you have switched over from an electric guitar, stringing an acoustic guitar can be especially confusing. However, there are a few tips to help you understand the process better.

Changing strings is a regular a part of guitar maintenance just like tuning. Rusty strings can not only damper your playing, they can actually make you guitar sound off. Changing your strings when needed can help:

• Improve the playability of your strings - Well-kept strings are not only easier to finger notes and chords on, they are also easier to pick.
• Improve your sound - Strings that are well taken care of usually ring clearer than ones that haven't been taken care of in years.
• Improve your flexibility - While you don't need to change strings every time you use your guitar, strings that are well taken care of can help you use your acoustic guitar for a wide variety of playing styles you may not have been able to use otherwise. After all, you can't experiment with bossa nova guitar chords if you have to worry about your high E string popping off.
• Improve your reliability - When your strings are in place and you don't need to worry about them, you can feel more confident in your playing. There's nothing like hitting the strings hard in a moment of passion and knowing your guitar will respond.

It might be about high time to change your strings if:

• They start to sound different. Do they sound dull and ring less clearly? If so, it might be time to switch them out.
• Do you find yourself having to tune your strings more frequently? Strings that are on their way out often need to be tuned more often.
• Is there a lot of build up on your strings? While sometimes wiping both sides of your strings down can help, build up can also be a sign that it's time to change them.

For the casual player, it is probably a good rule of thumb to change your strings every few months. A deep inspection of your strings can help you figure out how often you will need to change them.

Once you've decided to change strings, there are certain steps that can help you string your acoustic guitar quickly.

1. Take the present strings off of your acoustic guitar. In order to get the strings out of the tuning pegs, you can either cut the string with wire cutters (or a pair of pliers) and then run it through the hole, or try to guide it through without cutting.
2. There are string pegs under the sound hole in the bridge of the guitar. Using a pair of pliers, pull these out. The string should now be very easy to grab.
3. Now it's time to begin putting in the new strings. Taking the string that you would like to begin with, grab the end of the string opposite the colored circular anchor, and run it through the sound peg opening. Put the sound peg back in its place, and pull the string taut. Run the string upward along the fretboard, and guide it through the nut.
4. The next step involves wrapping the string around its respective tuning peg. Using wire cutters, you can cut the excess of the string that you cannot wrap.

• You can still string your guitar if you choose not to use wire cutters, but the process might be a little less clean.
• Don't forget to tune your strings once you have them strung on your guitar.
• New strings are easy to tune, but they also are easy snap. Be careful when tuning them or your stringing efforts will be lost.

Stringing an acoustic guitar can be simple once you've got the steps down. Practice makes perfect when it comes to perfecting your craft.

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