How to string nylon strings on an acoustic guitar. How to string a guitar

And so the old nylon strings on your classical guitar have served their purpose, and the time has come to replace them with newer and more sonorous ones. The methods of attaching strings on classical and acoustic guitars are fundamentally different. Therefore, when buying new strings, make sure that you bought strings specifically for a classical guitar. We have already talked about the variety of strings for classical guitar in one of our articles called.

Attention! When tuning and replacing strings, try to hold the guitar with the front soundboard away from you, since the total tension force of all 6 nylon strings of a classical guitar can reach up to 50 kg, and if a string breaks, it can damage your face or eyes.

This step-by-step instruction will help you quickly and easily change the strings on your guitar.

We remove the old strings.

If, when removing old nylon strings, it becomes necessary to cut the string, then use a special tool (nippers) for this, and be sure to loosen the tension of the strings in advance. Sudden changes in string tension can damage the neck, and a string that is bitten under tension can injure you or scratch the guitar. To tighten or loosen the tension of the strings, it is convenient to use a special “Stringwider” spinning machine, with which it is convenient to quickly turn the pegs. Removing old strings is not a difficult process in itself, and I don't think it will take you much time.

Guitar care.

After you remove the old strings from the guitar, you will need to wipe the dust off the body of the guitar with a soft flannel and rub the polished surfaces of the guitar with a special polish (except for the matte finish). It is recommended to clean the guitar fretboard with a special conditioner containing lemon oil.

Fastening the strings to the tailpiece (bridge).

Before you start installing new strings, take a piece of construction paper and place it on the back of the tailpiece. This will help prevent accidental scratches on the body of the guitar. It is most convenient to install the strings in pairs in the following sequence: 1-6 / 2-5 / 3-4.

Take the string and insert it into the hole in the tailpiece, leaving a 4-5 cm long end for tying a knot. Then wrap the tail of the string around the string as if you were trying to tie a knot.

Next, wrap the tail of the string around the string 2-3 times, i.e. make a double knot or braid as shown in the picture. Then grab the tail of the string with one hand and gently pull the main string with the other hand. The braid will tighten and you will get a strong and beautiful knot.

Attention! A very important point! The tip of the string must be pressed against the bridge in the area of the back wall below the sharp edge of the bridge. This is shown in the figure (side view). If the tip of the string is pressed from above, then under the force of tension the knot will be untied and the string will be released.

Attaching strings to pegs.

The picture shows the attachment of nylon strings to the tuning mechanisms of a classical guitar.

After installing all the nylon strings, the guitar is tuned using a tuning fork or digital tuner.

Adviсe:

Carefully and accurately place the strings on the stand and pegs.

The tighter and neater the loops and winding are, the faster you can tune the strings to tune.

Happy guitar playing!

Every new musician sooner or later faces the need to change strings. In fact, it turns out that not everyone knows and fully understands this process. Therefore, we decided to combine information from online articles and videos into one material: today we will tell you how to correctly change the strings on a guitar.

We divided our material into two parts: replacing metal strings(for example, we consider the case of an acoustic guitar; the process of replacing strings on an electric guitar is based on the same principles, and it is usually less complicated) and replacing nylon strings.

Briefly about why stringing technology varies so much depending on the material of the strings themselves:

Nylon synthetic strings are softer and have lower tension;
Metal strings create greater tension and “sway” the guitar more strongly: hence the more voluminous and powerful sound;
On acoustic guitars, unlike classical ones, the nut has a reinforced structure. Hence the first rule - do not use metal strings on a classical guitar - they can simply tear out the bridge!
Also, due to the stiffer strings, acoustic guitars use a truss rod to protect the neck from bending.

How to distinguish an acoustic guitar from a classical one? Take a look at the image below and everything will become clear to you. We will not touch on the differences in the size and shape of the soundboard and neck (after all, they are different), but we will pay attention to the tuning mechanics and the lower nut. Metal strings are not attached to the snare itself, but are “recessed” deep into the body of the guitar using special pins.

Classical guitar tuning machines typically have a plastic horizontal shaft that is wider than the shaft on acoustic guitars. In the case of acoustics, it is made of metal and located vertically.

How to change metal strings on an acoustic guitar?

This process has several stages - we will consider each of them in detail.

First, let's loosen all the pegs so that the strings hang freely over the neck and soundboard. Don't be afraid of the sudden drop in string tension that counterbalances the force of the truss rod. During the 30-60 minutes that you spend changing the strings, the neck will not move.

To loosen the strings it is very convenient to use special inexpensive accessories - turntables.

When the string is loosened enough, you can simply carefully remove it from the peg.

Next, you need to get the pins that secure the strings in the nut. Most musicians do this with pliers or by picking with a screwdriver, which naturally leaves scratches, abrasions, and in worst cases, cracks on the pins.

You and I are not such barbarians, so we will use a special tool (by the way, regular peg turntables almost always have a cutout specifically for removing the pins).

Once the pin is removed, we can remove the string, roll it up and dispose of it.

So, your guitar has no strings. Hug and feel sorry for her Wipe it from dust, clean the fretboard from dirt and grease (they accumulate between the fret plates of even the cleanest guitarists), treat the guitar elements with special products.

It's time to put new strings on your guitar! In general, it is recommended to do this in pairs rather than in order - it is faster and more convenient. That is, first you install the 6th and 1st string, then the 5th and 2nd, and finally the 3rd and 4th.

We insert the ball-tip of the string into the hole in the lower nut and fix it with a pin, tightly fixing all the elements.

First, we completely thread the free end of the string into the peg and then move it back a little (by 5-6 centimeters) - this reserve is needed to make a couple of turns around the peg shaft.

We form 1-2 turns using a peg bud or using a pinwheel. Try to make no more than 3 turns, and it is better to place one of them above the protruding “tail” of the string, and the rest below it. This way the string will be securely fixed in the peg without requiring many turns.

Remember: a large number of turns is evil, which leads to the fact that the guitar goes out of tune more often!

Therefore, we form a small neat knot. If you look at the headstock from the front of the guitar, then 1-3 strings should be wound clockwise, and 4-6 - counterclockwise.

There is no need to tighten the string too much yet - it is important to achieve reliable fixation in the peg hole, as well as to create a minimum working tension. Try to wind and tension each string very smoothly, without sudden movements and without tightening.
Next, we’ll use wire cutters (by the way, those that can be found on pliers are already suitable here) and cut off the excess length of the string from its free end to the peg. Leave an allowance of 1-2 cm.

Finally, you can tune each string in pitch. Don't be discouraged if the tuning floats a little and the guitar goes out of tune - this usually lasts about a day as the strings "settle" into working condition and stretch a little. Just adjust it periodically. You can speed up the shrinkage process by making bends on each string.

In general, as we said, the process of replacing strings takes about half an hour. Gradually, you will understand how to change the strings on your guitar in 10-15 minutes, and you will be able to do this even in emergency situations right before going on stage or before a rehearsal.

How to string nylon strings on a classical guitar?

Now it's time to find out the features of replacing nylon strings - and, believe me, there are enough of them.

We remove the old strings. You can either use the same pattern as with metal strings, or simply loosen the string slightly and then cut it with scissors above the fingerboard. If you choose the second option, make sure you loosen the string enough so that it won't bounce off and hurt you.

We unravel the knot of the string on the lower nut and take it out from there, and also take out the other end of the string from the peg.

We remove all the strings and do not forget about caring for the instrument: we wipe the soundboard, neck, fret plates, and if necessary, use special products.

Now it's time to string new strings. We use the same pairwise scheme as in the case of an acoustic guitar and metal strings: first we stretch the 1st and 6th strings, then the 2nd and 5th, finishing with the 3rd and 4th.

But here we are faced with the most important difference between nylon and metal strings: there is no ball at either end! We'll tell you what to do about it.

Let's start with the thickest string. We stretch it into the hole of the tailpiece by 10-11 cm.

Next, we form a loop: to do this, we draw the tip of the string under its main part.

We pass the tip around the string and thread it through the loop - we have a blank for a knot.

Now we press the main part of the string to the soundboard - this must be done to avoid unraveling the knot in the future.

Now we take the tip of the string and pull the main part of the string and its tip in different directions, thereby tightening the knot.

We thread the second free end of the string into the hole on the peg shaft.

Make a half turn of the peg shaft so that the tip of the string is on top.

We wrap the tip around the main part of the string.

Next, rotate the peg and achieve the desired tension. In general, 3-4 turns are sufficient for nylon strings.

Now about installing strings without winding (usually 1-3 strings are pure nylon without metal winding). We also thread them 10-11 cm.

We begin to form a loop in the same way - we draw the free end of the string under the main part.

We turn the tip around the main part of the string - but not just once, but several times. By the way, you can do the same with wound strings - in general, this is a matter of taste.

We tighten the knot in the same way - we pull the tip and the working part of the string in different directions. Be sure to leave a margin at the end of the string so that it does not jump out of the knot.

The second end is installed in the peg similarly to wound strings.

That's all! It remains to tension the remaining four strings by analogy.

We also carefully trim the ends of the strings to get rid of unsightly “tails”.

The first time it will take you a lot of time (by the way, you may not succeed - try cheap sets of strings for a test until you get the hang of it, for example, like these).

Be prepared for the fact that the process of “shrinkage” and tightening of strings in the case of nylon lasts longer - sometimes up to 6-7 days. To speed up the process, you can start by tightening the strings a quarter to a half tone higher than necessary. However, be careful if you have a set of high tension strings so that they do not break. Don't forget about tuning your guitar.

Now some life hacks:

Try to form the turns closer to the middle of the shaft and the hole for the string. Avoid turns that are formed close to the wood of the headstock (problem areas are indicated by red arrows in the photo below) - with such a tensioning scheme, the risk of breaking the string during the next adjustment increases significantly.

Avoid strong bending of the string after the nut in the area of the tuning mechanics (the problem area is highlighted in red in the photo above). To do this, form the turns on the 1st and 6th strings to the right of the string hole, and on the remaining strings to the left. We have schematically depicted this recommendation in the photo:

As you probably already noticed in the photo above, additional single knots are also noticeable at the very tip of the string in the area of the nut. They are optional and provide additional insurance against the string slipping out of the loop.

Some sets of nylon strings are already sold with such insurance: for this purpose, thickenings of the string are formed at the production stage. In this case, no additional knots are required.

Note also that some sets of nylon strings already have balls at the end, similar to metal strings. This makes it possible to change the strings on the guitar many times faster and without additional manipulation of the knots.

First, let's look at what strings there are. Metal – used in reinforced guitars, they have a ringing sound and are more taut than synthetic guitars.
Synthetic (nylon) – suitable for classical guitars. They are good for beginners to play the guitar, as they are soft and do not hurt your fingers too much when playing.

We thread the string through the hole in the guitar stand and fasten it according to the picture.

Having secured the string in the stand, we stretch it towards the pegs. Without pulling, the string often does not fall into place and this can create extra work for you when tensioning it.

We thread it into the peg you need, leaving some slack (for strings with braid - 5 cm, without it - 10 cm).
In order not to get confused about which peg for which string, below is a picture with string numbering. We bend the string in the direction of rotation of the peg.

Next, we tighten the string with a peg, while holding it in tension with our free hand to wind the turns more tightly.
When it has tightened up a little, insert it into the slot in the top sill.
Use pliers to bite off the remaining piece of string.
It is not recommended to fine-tune nylon strings right away, as they stretch. Tune your guitar and let it sit for a couple of days.
There is a quick tuning method for nylon strings. It consists of tightening the strings one and a half to two steps higher than the standard tuning, repeating this procedure after a couple of hours. But the strings “live” less with this method.
That's all, have fun playing!

Video on how to change strings on a classical guitar!

Every experienced guitarist knows that strings need to be changed regularly. If you neglect this rule, the sound of the guitar and its general condition will rapidly deteriorate. Therefore, every beginner sooner or later faces the question “how to change strings on a guitar.” We will look at the process of replacing strings on an acoustic guitar, electric guitar and bass guitar below.

For most beginning musicians, this process seems terribly complicated and incomprehensible.

In fact, you don’t need to have any special skills, and even a person far from music can change the strings with clear and step-by-step instructions.

Professional guitarists change strings every month, or even every week. However, for an amateur guitarist who devotes about an hour a day to his hobby, it is enough to change the strings once every two to three months. In general, the question “how often to change strings” is quite philosophical. There are a huge number of manufacturers, materials and thickness standards. You can understand all this diversity by reading here. One set of strings can perform its functions properly for three months, while another will become unusable within a couple of weeks. Therefore, the best option is to monitor the condition of the strings daily and purchase a new set if:

You notice that the sound of the guitar has become “faded” and inexpressive;
You have to tune your guitar more and more often;
The strings cling to the frets;
External signs appeared - loss of color, shape.

Does it look like your guitar? — Go to the store for a new set!

How to change strings on an acoustic guitar

Today, there are two types of acoustics on store shelves - those with nylon strings and those with metal strings. A guitar with nylon strings is usually called “classical” - it is usually taught in music schools and played exclusively with fingers, without a pick. Guitar with metal - “dreadnought” or “western”. It’s not worth putting nylon on “western” or metal on “classics” - such experiments, at best, will ruin the sound, and at worst, the neck will be bent.

First, let's figure out how to change the strings on an acoustic guitar with metal strings.

Loosen the pegs by hand or using a special wrench.
Take the strings out of the pegs and unwind them.
Remove the pins (plugs) that hold the strings in a stationary position from the holder. We recommend using a special tool instead of pliers or pliers. But if neither one nor the other is at hand, use any coin.
Take out the strings.
Take the time to wipe hard-to-reach places on the hyphae and soundboard when the strings are tense.
Time for new strings. The optimal order of string tension is 1st, 6th. 2nd, 5th, 3rd, 4th. This method gives more space to your hands.
Insert the string into the hole on the holder and press it down with the plug until it stops.
Insert the other end into the peg and wrap it around.
Wind the strings to approximate working condition. The first three strings are tensioned clockwise, the rest - counterclockwise. Don't forget to hold the plugs, otherwise the string may pop out.
Use wire cutters to remove any remaining ends.

The difference in installing strings on classics and dreadnoughts lies in the different mounting on the holders. In “classics”, as a rule, there are no plugs - the strings are attached using a knot.

Thread the string into the holder.
Make a loop - bring the end of the string behind the main part.
Wrap the end around the string and thread it through the loop to create a knot.
Press the string against the soundboard.
Tighten the string tighter by pulling the main part and the end in different directions.

How to change strings on an electric guitar

Use a wrench or manually to release the tension.
Pull the strings through the back of the guitar. To make it easier to grip the strings, insert the strings through the hole. If you have a Floyd Rose type machine, then you need to loosen the “saddles” for the strings with a special wrench.
Don't forget to take care of your guitar - wipe it with a lint-free cloth.
Before installing new strings, place the guitar at a comfortable level on a soft surface to avoid scratches.
Turn the tuning pin hole to face you.
Thread the strings through the holes on the back or place them in Floyd Rose saddles.
Press the string a little and slowly tighten it.
Next, insert it into the peg and start winding.
Trim the remaining strings.

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:

Once you have secured it, bring it up to the headstock and pass it through the peg hole.

Step 2:

Leave a small amount of string to wrap around the peg and lightly stretch the string toward the headstock. Try not to jerk the string back and forth - it may bend and break.

Step 3:

Bend the end of the string towards the center of the headstock and pass it under the string.

Step 4:

While maintaining tension on the string, wrap the string around itself, making a sort of “lock”. Try to keep the string taut, this will prevent the string from deforming and will help it to be installed correctly.

Step 5:

While holding the string under tension, begin turning the peg. The string should clamp itself. The string must be wound down the peg shaft to increase its angle relative to the nut.

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 on a classical guitar

Additions, corrections, comments are welcome. Friends, write in comments.