How to Change Your Guitar Strings
Your guitar strings should be changed when they get rusty, start to break, or lose their tone. There are many factors that affect the life of a guitar string from climate to the amount of time you play them to the type of string. Guitar string generally last between 3 to 6 sets.
When changing strings leave enough slack to ensure that there is going to be 3 – 5 turns of string around the tuning head. Make sure you gently but firmly stretch the strings when they are new. While connected to your tuner keep pulling and stretching the string and re-tune as necessary. Remember to stretch your nylon strings so they stay in tune.
There are a lot of products that can help you with this process. Many require no turns or wrap because they lock right into place over the machine head.
Especially good on electric guitars with tremelo bridges or ‘tune o matic’ bridges is to change the strings individually. This stops the tremolo becoming unadjusted or from falling off the guitar and losing the whole set up.
Always keep your new strings as new as possible by cleaning them down after each playing and using string life products before and after each jamming session. It makes a great difference on the life of your strings and length of the string tone. Elixir strings, which add about 8 times to the life of strings, are the best if you can afford them. However, they are about 3 times more expensive than regular strings.
Changing guitar strings is a very important part of a guitarist’s job. If you don’t do it correctly you will end up buying lots of strings and ruining your guitar. You also run the risk that you will break string during a big set and you don’t want that to happen. Change your guitar strings the right way.
