How to change strings on an acoustic. How to change strings on a classical guitar

In general, I quite often come across complaints from guitarists that their guitars quickly go out of tune and don’t hold up.

Many people make mistakes with their inexpensive guitars and cheap accessories, without even suspecting that the guitar does not stay in tune, not because of the accessories.

It's all about setting the strings correctly on the guitar!

Replacing strings on a guitar is a trivial process only at first glance, but there are also some tricks here.

At the very least, learning how to properly set or change guitar strings can make your life a lot easier.

Step 1:

Step 2:

Step 3:

Step 4:

Step 5:

Final result:

This kind of “lock” allows you to ensure that the guitar will be out of tune much less.

So now you know how to properly change strings on a guitar. =)

UPD: Well, and visual videos:

Video: How to change strings on an electric guitar

Video: How to change strings on an acoustic guitar

Video: How to change strings to classical guitar

After a few months active play, nylon guitar strings fall into disrepair. The sound becomes poor, the strings themselves become harsher, and the feeling when playing becomes unpleasant. Now is the time to replace the strings on your classical guitar.

Preparation

There are two types of classical guitar strings: regular (tie-on) and with tips (ball-end). There is no global difference between them, except that strings with tips are easier to install. Below we will look at the installation process for both types of strings.

Being in music store, choose a quality set nylon strings normal tension. Excellent kits are produced by D’Addario, Rotosound, and Mr. Musician.

ATTENTION!

Do not under any circumstances buy a set of strings for acoustic guitar! The tension on the metal strings is too high for a classical guitar neck that does not have a reinforcement truss rod. With 100% probability, such strings will ruin the instrument.

After purchasing a new set, remove the old strings. You can use wire cutters, or you can just twist the old set. If you decide to twist the strings, purchase a special machine that will make the winding process easier.

Installing strings in the bridge (tailpiece)

If the strings are tipped

If the new set is equipped with special tips, then changing the strings on a classical guitar will be a simple task. Pass each string through the hole in the tailpiece, and then proceed to secure the strings in the pegs.

If the strings are without tips

Replacing strings from a set without tips is more difficult. Insert the string into the hole in the bridge (tailpiece) and leave a margin of 3-5 cm at the end. Such tails will be needed to tie a knot that will hold the string.

Take your time and insert the strings one at a time. Trying to insert all six strings at once will complicate the replacement: the strings will get in the way and become tangled with each other.

Wrapping

Take the remaining tail and wrap the string around itself as if making a knot. Look at the image to see what needs to be done.

Weaving

Wrap the string around itself three to four times to create a distinctive braid. Do not braid the entire string allowance - we will still need a small free tail.

Securing the strings in the bridge using a knot

Bass strings

Press the string onto the soundboard as shown in the image. Grasp the tail and the rest of the string, and carefully tighten the knot.

Make sure the knot is tight before tightening other strings. A knot that is not strong enough will come undone when the strings are tensioned.

First three strings (melodic strings, treble)

Since the upper strings are smooth, make 2-3 more turns when braiding. This way you will protect yourself from the strings slipping while winding.

String tails

If you don't want changing strings on a classical guitar to become torture, don't do it all. The remaining tails of the strings will protect us during tension. Without them, knots can come undone and strings can pop out.

Attaching strings to pegs

Bass strings

After all the strings have taken their places in the bridge, we will begin attaching them to the tuning mechanism. Insert each string into the special holes. Wrap it around the peg and thread it through the hole again. The resulting knot will securely hold the string.

Follow the order in which the strings are installed. Each of them has its own place in the tuning mechanism: strings 1 and 6 are located closer to the fingerboard, 2 and 5 in the middle, 3 and 4 closer to the edge of the headstock.

Slowly wind the strings using a machine. Make sure that the turns are spaced evenly.

Upper strings

The holes for the strings in the tuning mechanism are the same. Therefore, to secure the top three strings, you need to thread them twice, unlike the bass strings.

Most likely, you can make a double knot without problems for 1-2 strings, but the third string will have to be secured in the same way as the bass strings. It all depends on the diameter of the strings.

Guitar tuning and string stretching

This completes the replacement of strings on a classical guitar. All that remains is to configure the instrument.

Tensioning and tuning a new set on a classical guitar involves one important nuance- Nylon strings continue to stretch for several days after tension. For this reason, the guitar will constantly be out of tune.

You can minimize instrument upset by pulling back the strings. To do this, tune the string and then pull it away from the fingerboard as shown in the figure. After holding the string in this state for 5-10 seconds, release it and tune again.

This simple operation will speed up the stretching of the strings. However, don't expect to get your new kit running smoothly in just a few hours.

Final stage

Once the strings are stretched and the guitar is in tune confidently, get rid of the excess string ends at the bridge and tuning pegs. Now that you know how to change strings on a classical guitar. Although the process is different, after a few times changing strings on a classical guitar will become a simple task.

Many are already familiar with nylon strings. And they know very well that they don’t have “hammers”
(special small balls, thanks to which the strings are held on the tailpiece - bridge.)

For such strings, a special knot has been invented that needs to be tied around the bridge.
In fact, there are several nodes, one of which I remember well. This method is a little more complicated than others, but more versatile and accurate in the end.

It’s easier to show you clearly using the photographs below. The third black string is taken solely for better visibility. :)

1. Insert the tip of the string into the hole in the tailpiece and drag it about 10-15 centimeters (look at the photo).

2. We tie a knot at the end of the string, the closer to the edge, the better.

3. We take the knot and wrap the string in a ring, passing it under it (as in the photo).

4. Pass the end with the knot into the resulting ring, thereby forming a loop around the bridge. There is no need to tighten it.

5. Retract the tip of the string with the knot again, as if trying to wrap it around the loop a second time. (look more closely at the photo)

6. Wrap it around the loop a second time to form a loop, wrapped twice around its axis. (the photo explains it more clearly :))

7. Place the tip with the knot under the tailpiece (bridge) and slowly pull the free end of the string. At this point, you need to try to keep the end with the knot under the bridge. (photo to help)

There comes a time in every guitarist's life when you need to... change strings on your instrument. And if for most this is a completely trivial task and does not require much effort, then for a beginner, changing strings turns into many hours of “dancing with a tambourine,” and not everyone succeeds change strings the first time.

Why do they change strings at all? Over time, their sound gets worse. And sometimes it happens that the strings break. Then you have to replace them. What happens to strings if they are not cleaned or changed?

That is why we decided to devote this article to the issue: “”. Here we will try to give the most full instructions, and we’ll also sort it all out possible complications problems that may arise during this simple operation.

What will be needed when replacing

So, to change the strings on an acoustic guitar, we need to prepare the following tools:

• new strings (for acoustic guitar, my favorites are Elixir strings or Ernie Ball strings);
• napkins;
• pliers or pliers;
• a device for winding strings (your hands are fine);
• lemon oil (optional);
• a small box or other container in which you will put small parts;
• tuner.

Removing old strings

First we need remove old strings from pegs. Many people think that simply cutting them off is enough, but there are a number of reasons not to do this.

Firstly, thick and metal strings It will be extremely difficult to cut. I personally tried to cut strings with various cutting devices, ranging from kitchen and camping knives to wire cutters. These attempts only led to the fact that the strings were either bent, or the knives and wire cutters stupidly became unusable.

A second reason Do not cut the strings as there is a possibility of deformation of the neck. We will not go into details, since explaining this phenomenon will take us a lot of time and requires some additional reasoning, so just take this fact on faith.

In general, we realized that There is no need to cut the strings. Now let's see how to remove them correctly. If you are a complete beginner, then first you should familiarize yourself with the structure of the guitar.

We start by weakening them completely. After loosening, remove the strings from the pegs. It’s almost impossible to make mistakes in this operation, so don’t worry too much.

Now we need to release the strings from the stand. On almost all pop guitars, this process is performed the same way - you remove the pins from the stand and remove the strings from the soundboard. Pins are plastic rivets that vaguely resemble mushrooms, which are inserted into the stand behind the bottom sill. They are easy to find, since the strings go under them.

We take out pliers or pliers and pull them out. Do this carefully, as you may scratch the guitar or damage the pin itself. Put your pins in some kind of box so as not to lose them.

With classical guitars the situation is a little different. If you have nylon strings with tips, then you simply pull them out of the stand and that’s it. If not, then they should first be untied or cut.

Cleaning your guitar from dirt

Next comes cleaning the fingerboard- a completely separate song. We lubricate our napkins with lemon oil and begin to wipe the neck. Special attention It is worth paying attention to cleaning the frets, because a huge amount of all kinds of dirt and dust accumulates there. Wipe very carefully.

And so, when the guitar regained its marketable condition, we can start installing new strings.

Installing new strings

There are a huge number of opinions regarding the order in which the strings should be placed. I start the setup with the sixth string and go in order, i.e. after the 6th I install the 5th and so on.

Another controversial issue is whether how exactly to wind a string onto a peg. There are those who believe that there is no need to wind it in principle, but that you just need to insert the string into the peg and twist it. Others, on the contrary, argue that you need to first wrap the string around the peg and then twist it. Here the choice is yours, but I think the first method is much easier for a beginner.

In any case, first you need install new strings in the bridge. To do this, lower the end of the string into the hole in the bridge, and then install the pin into the same hole. After this, pull the other end of the string all the way so that the tip is fixed in the pin. The important thing here is to not mix up the pins or let the strings get tangled, so it makes sense to secure the string in the peg first before installing the next one.

When installing the strings into the pegs, it is very important not to mix them up. Pegs numbering starts with the bottom on the right row, and ends with the bottom on the left row (assuming you are holding the guitar with the top facing you and looking at the headstock).

When securing the string in the peg, try not to bend it, otherwise it will burst in this place when you start to tighten it. If you decide to twist the strings on the peg before tightening, then the optimal twisting pattern can be considered the following: 1 turn of the string above its tip protruding from the peg, and 2 turns below it.

Tighten the strings carefully. Do not try to tune your guitar right away, as there is a risk that the strings will break. Just give each one a little tension.

Tuning a guitar after changing strings

And then everything is quite simple. Take a tuner and start tuning your guitar. It makes sense to start with the 6th string, so you don't have to tune the guitar 300 times. When setting do not turn the pegs sharply(this is especially true for thin strings), since there is a risk that the strings will break from too much tension.

After tuning, carefully put the guitar in the case and take it out after a couple of hours to adjust it and check whether the deflection of the neck has changed. We do this several times.

Ready! We installed the strings. I hope that after reading this article you have an idea.

How to replace and tighten guitar strings

When stringing a guitar, beginners usually have two problems. How to tension the strings so that they do not slip out of the holes in the rollers and how to secure the strings to the stand. As for nylon strings, the most questions arise about securing the strings to the stand.

You need to tighten the strings on the guitar by securing them to the stand. To do this, there are holes in the stand into which the strings are threaded. The photo shows how the ends of the nylon strings are threaded and secured. The strings placed in this way are well fixed and do not slip out of the holes in the stand. This way the first, second and sometimes the third string are secured. For strings with gimp, there is no need to twist the string several times. The following pictures show all the strings. The ends of the strings, depending on which side the loop is made from, can be directed downward (as in the top photo) or upward as shown here.

After setting the string, use a little force to pull the string until it sits tightly and proceed to the next stage - fixing and winding the string onto the roller of the tuning mechanism. Nylon strings are very easy to attach to the roller and when winding, lightly hold the string right hand, giving it a certain tension. This way, the string will be wound onto the roller evenly.



Please note that each string must correspond to a specific roller of the tuning mechanism. If you do not follow this rule, the strings will interfere with each other when taut when tuning the instrument.

Let's move on to tensioning the strings on an electric guitar. Here we must take into account that the strings are metal, and the bolsters are recessed into the headstock on only one side. Such strings are easier to remove - just loosen the peg and the string will slide off easily without any long unwinding. The strings on an electric guitar also need to be tightened by fastening them. The strings of an electric guitar are held by the bridge, and this is where you should start stringing.

Having secured the string with the bridge, we thread the other end of the string into the hole in the roller located on the headstock. After threading the string through the hole (photo 1), turn the string around the roller in the opposite direction of winding the string (photo 2), pass the end of the string from below (photo 3) and wrap it around the string going into the hole of the roller (photo 4). When the mechanics begins to rotate the roller, the string is automatically blocked and does not slip out of the roller hole (photo 5-6). The blue arrow shows the direction of the string being tensioned. When you tension the string by rotating the peg with your left hand, be sure to hold the string with your right hand, creating some tension, so that the string will be wound onto the roller evenly and you can control the wound turns.

After putting all the strings on the guitar, tune all the strings at once; this will give an even tension to the bridge and then tuning them one by one will become much easier. New strings on a guitar tend to go out of tune quickly, especially with nylon strings. It will take some time for the strings to stretch. You can speed up this process a little if you stretch the tensioned and already tuned strings a little by hand along the entire length of the string, but this must be done with some caution. It is not advisable to tension the strings higher, since their service life will then be significantly reduced; it is better to give the strings time to stretch themselves by tuning the guitar from time to time. The “” section, which presents all the sounds of the guitar strings, will help you tune your guitar.