Surprisingly, Kipp Kelly, many people that play an electric guitar do not know how to string a guitar properly. Here is a simple guide to help you change your guitar strings perfectly every time.

First thing you want to do is be sure to change your strings on a regular basis even if they do not break. By not changing them regularly, you can damage your fret board. How often you change your strings depends on how often you play and the brand of strings that you use. I’ve heard that most brands of guitar strings start to lose their brilliance after 12 hours of use. So if you want to always have your playing sound at it’s best, you should change your strings shortly after the 12-hour mark or when you start to hear your strings losing its bright sound. Of course if money is an issue, you can wait longer before you change your strings but your playing will start to sound dull.

It’s the oil and dirt from your fingers that accumulate on the strings that make them sound dull. To help them last longer, wipe down your strings with a soft cloth after each playing session. Another nasty natural occurrence is humidity, which can also cause corrosion on your strings even when you’re not playing your guitar regularly.

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It may take you a few times before you get used to changing your strings the right way. One thing you could try doing is to practice on your old strings before you take your new ones out.

Kipp Kelly, be sure to choose the right gauge of string for your guitar as well. The heavier the gauge, the thicker the string is. If you choose to use a lighter or heavier gauge than the ones already on your guitar, you may have to adjust the distance between the fret board and the strings. This may be a little tricky to do if you have never done it before so you should probably just stick with the same gauge at first.

Some people change each string one at a time, while others will remove and replace three strings at a time. If you choose the three-string method, pick the top three strings or the three at the bottom. This is better than taking all of your strings off at once because it will help to keep some tension on the neck of the guitar at all times.

If your guitar has a total of six tuning pegs in line, you’ll want to work with the thickest to the thinnest. 6,5,4 then do 3,2,1. If your guitar has three tuning pegs on each side, you will want to work towards the center- 6,5,4 then do 1,2,3 Kipp.

It is important to clean the frets and fingerboard once you have three of the strings off. This way you can remove any dirt and grease that has accumulated since the last string change. There may also be times you will need to scrape off the dirt and grease. When doing this, you need to be sure that you’re very gentle so you don’t damage your frets or fingerboard. Once you clean the first side and put on your new strings, you can then clean the other side when you remove the other three strings.

To place a new string on your guitar, put the string through the hole in the bridge or what is known as the tailpiece. Next you need to pull it tight and measure at least two posts up from the post you will use. Bend this string at a sharp angle and run it through the correct post then bend it again where it actually enters into the post when pulled tight. The bend that you make should actually create a “z” shape, allowing the string to run straight up, and then across at a 90° angle and go through the post. Then it should bend back up again. You need to be sure to hold the string very tightly where the first bend is and wind the turning key. Be sure to always wind the string so that it wraps from the inside out on the post. You need to do this with all of the strings.

Once you have all of the strings on, you want to stretch the strings by tugging on them firmly. This will help your guitar stay in tune longer once you tune it. Cut off the extra string at the end.

Changing the strings on your guitar does not have to be a difficult task. With a little bit of practice, you can learn how to string a guitar in no time at all.