Geeky Stuff

How to Restring a Guitar

(according to Jesse Tucker, guitarist extraordinaire, co-writer of Jessie Farrell’s first single “Let’s Talk About Love”, and lover of all things pocket vortex with a mild to extreme crackberry addiction)

This is my first time restringing my lovely Larrivee so let’s take it from the top…

Step One: Acquire some new guitar strings. I was very lucky to have these bad boys given to me by Tucker. Thanks Muck. You’re Awesome. The strings are awesome too. They are coated with Nanoweb (not exactly sure what that is, but it seems pretty high tech and kinda makes me feel like a superhero… “ah ha! You try to infiltrate my layer Beast Master, but what you do not know is that I am protected by an ultra thin Nanoweb… stronger than a thousand steel spider webs and wired with a million tiny electrode sensors!!!! Hiyah!!” Anyway… geeknerdgeek.

restringing guitar - 01

Step Two: Unwind guitar string with “stringer tool” (which looks like a New Year’s noise maker and probably has a name…)

restringing guitar - 02

Step Three: Take pin out the bridge with the other end of the “stringer tool” which will release old string. Take old string off.

restringing guitar - 03

restringing guitar - 04

Step Four: Get new string and unravel it.

restringing guitar - 05

Step Five: Line up the the ball end (looks like an eyelet) of the new string in the hole of the bridge and use the peg to push the eyelet down into the hole. Push down on the peg to make sure the string is secured.

restringing guitar - 08

restringing guitar - 09

restringing guitar - 10

Step Six: Stretch the string into the nut and thread string through tuning pegheads (make sure that the eye of the tuning peg is parallell to frets.)

restringing guitar - 06

Step Seven: Kink string to prevent it from slipping. Remember to give the string some slack for winding. The “E” string needs about 2 full wraps around, “A” string needs about 3..etc. If you wind it to tight it might snap! SNAP!

restringing guitar - 07

Step Eight: Wind it up (counterclockwise) a lot. Make sure that each wind of the string goes below the previous one. I had to hold the string and tug on it a little to keep it winding properly. Also, keep a watch on the pin in the bridge to make sure it doesn’t pop out. I had to push it in a few time during the winding to keep the string in place. You should stretch the strings a little with your thumb and index finger and then re-tune a couple of times until the string settles into its groove.

restringing guitar - 11

Step Nine: Cut string with wire cutters as close to tuning peg as possible (cuz those ends are sharp… ouch!)

restringing guitar - 12

Hooray! You’re done.

(All photos taken by the Beast Master himself, Ryland Haggis)

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  • Mucker
    June 3, 2007 at 5:55 PM

    OMG, you are AMAZING! that was a fantastic stringing lesson.
    you nailed every point, i’m so impressed!
    k, now, maybe you should record and publish your songs….
    i kno a backup guitarist, and a bassist extraodinaire….

    excellent post!!!!!

  • Caddy
    June 3, 2007 at 11:18 PM

    WWhat is Step 7 ??

  • Carey
    June 3, 2007 at 11:25 PM

    That looks difficult, but you explained it well. I’m just glad I play the keyboard. I have a guitar, but don’t touch it very often. What? You mean strings don’t last forever? :(

  • Lisa Bettany
    June 4, 2007 at 3:05 PM

    Thanks Muck! I’ll lay down some sweet tracks one day soon. 3-2-1 Contact!

    & Caddy you got me… I can’t count. fixed the post now. & no, Carey, strings definitely don’t last forever. my mum has 30 year old strings on her guitar and let me tell you… they don’t sound pretty!

  • jorees
    June 4, 2007 at 8:07 PM

    Beautiful photos. The colors and composition are fantastic. Simple, creative, vivid, and pure. Moreover, you have a beautiful manicure and are making me want to go to the Salon. What is your secret?

  • Lisa Bettany
    June 5, 2007 at 12:12 AM

    i’ll let Ry know you like his photos. he doesn’t shoot very often, but when he does he’s bang on. he actually has a lot more technical knowledge than i do. i’m more of a learn it by doing type of girl.

    PS i’ve never had a manicure! ever. crazy, but i can always seem to find a better way to spend $30… like on very expensive cupcakes. so i guess $2 clear polish is my secret… i keep my nails very short so i can play the guitar and change lenses, type without getting my nails caught between the keys (so not cool), and be generally practical.

    PPS i am becoming so practical that i have actually considered buying one of those khaki photographer’s vests with all the pockets. i know it would look hideous, but having all my bits and pieces on me at all times would be a huge stress relief. plus, i’ve almost lost my lens cap many many times. i always put it in my pocket, but let’s be honest with ourselves… these skinny jeans do NOT have adequate pockets (size-wise and security wise). my lens cap always manages to find a way out of my pocket and into some perilous situation. luckily i’ve found it every time, but every time i am at an event i start sweating and turn beet red (thanks to my obsessive “worry” gene, my very sensitive skin and the shoulder straps of the two huge photo bags (one with photo gear, the other with video gear) I carry with me that love to scratch my shoulders when I’m wearing a cute tank top.

    anyway, the point is, i’m fairly certain that underneath all this gear, my outfit is pretty much lost, so i mind as well go full on national geographic at this point… minus the hiking boots. i don’t think i could go quite that far.. plus i like my brown suede boots too much!

  • jorees
    June 6, 2007 at 6:15 AM

    Lisa,

    It is wonderful to hear you describe the awkward reality of being a photographer with camera gear. While I can only imagine you as looking nothing but fabulous, experience has shown me how two bulging camera bags can ruin a great outfit. However, who cares!

    In the end I’m always glad to have brought my gear even if my camera bag is beat up and my second gear bag is army fatigue. A practical vest may be a good idea. Believe it or not I’ve developed a great technique of dancing with my camera.

    At an event I sometimes may leave the camera back in a safe spot and keep the camera on my body. This is usually a lot better and I feel more ready to start shooting at a moments notice.

  • guitar picks
    September 3, 2012 at 11:32 PM

    This is just wonderful. I so love that you included actual pictures of how you did it. This makes it much simpler for us. I hope that I will also get it right the first time. Wish me luck.