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Plank's Tech-Tips!

A series of technical articles about guitars and other musical instruments.

Anyone performing repairs or other work based on information collected from these articles does so at their own risk and assumes complete responsibility for the use of that equipment by themselves or others. Neither StringsReunited, or Plank, nor anyone else associated with the site are responsible for any personal injuries to the user/builder/ repairer or others associated with or property damage resulting from these instructions!

Please note that the Technical Tips are subject to controlled copyright.


1. Re-stringing and Stretching

How to re-string a guitar is an often asked question and a fundamental one at that, so it would seem a good way to start the tech tips off, I have included a few pictures to show finger positions referred to in the text. It is definitely worth teaching yourself how, instead of wasting money getting your local guitar shop to do it - even a few broken strings whilst learning will still cost you less in the long run. It is worth reading this through completely to familiarize yourself before diving in and ripping all the strings off..............

Things you will need:
1. Snips
2. String winder
3. Small brush
4. Fast Fret
5. Duster
6. Lint free cloth
7. Cup of tea.
8. Small flat and cross head screwdrivers.
9. Guitar tuner ( with needle display)

Everyone will find their own way of doing things and there is no absolute rule, after fitting many thousands of strings, I can at least try and explain what I have found to work. There will be experienced players reading this who may find it slightly long winded but I am trying to start at the beginning for the benefit of anyone who may be just starting out.......
Although many players prefer to leave strings on for a long time, changing them gives you the opportunity to get a routine together which involves inspecting the saddles, grub screws, springs and ferrules - which is good preventive maintenance. If you are a new guitar tech looking after someone else's gear - be sure to find out if they like new strings or not before you merrily snip their much loved old ones in half, or you may find yourself on the bus home!....
Find yourself a nice, quiet and tidy, well lit area to work in, (ho ho) although some or probably none of these are available at your local Dog and Duck or wherever you may find yourself on the way to global domination...
As there are six (or four or seven) strings on most guitars, it is more efficient to do each separate action with all the strings at once rather than thread, cut and wind each string on separately. As usual, a tele is a nice simple one to use as an example for the basics.....most of it is the same whichever guitar you have apart from the initial threading of the strings which varies considerably.
This procedure does not apply to nylon strung guitars, this will be covered in a later edition.

Lay guitar down on a very expensive custom made guitar workstation covered in black fluffy stuff or one of your Mums best bath towels - both are equally good!..... Slacken the strings off a little then either snip in half, remove and dispose of carefully ( the plastic envelope off the new set of strings is handy) or take them off in one piece and give them to your mate.
If cut, they are a bit easier to pull through the bridge without the curled up ends catching in the saddles. A small paintbrush or an old toothbrush is good for cleaning off the kak / dead skin / old sweat from the saddles and bridge body, now is a good time to check the top nut for breaks and the saddle heights for mis-alignment and that the grub screws are not about to fall out or become lop sided. Also check all the adjustment screws are there - these can fall out completely and the tension of the string is the only thing holding the saddle in place until you undo it, then ping! and it's gone..

right-click on a photo to see the picture at its full-sizeright-click on a photo to see the picture at its full-size

Now is also a good time to clean the front of the guitar, pledge and a duster does it, but a lint free cloth is better or you end up picking bits off the strings for ages. If you use polish, spray it on to the cloth first not directly onto the paintwork as it may leave blotchy marks.
OK, now for the strings, remove them from their nice plastic packet and check they are all there and the right sizes - it's easy to put them all on and then find out you have a Friday afternoon set with two 13's or something.
I find the first bit of stringing up easier standing up......Stand the guitar upright facing you and tip it slightly forward so the neck is resting on your left shoulder ( if right handed) Uncoil each string as you need it and starting at either side, thread string through the back of the body ( you may need to push one or two of the saddles back with your thumb to stop the strings catching as they come through the saddles.

Once they are all through, hold them all together and turn the guitar over so it's face up and all the nice new bouncy strings are waving around! Find snips and string winder then pick up each string between thumb and forefinger and pull fairly taut over the nut and past relevant machine head, snip off approximately 50mm past machine head and repeat this for the rest of the strings. When cutting ends off be careful to hold on to snipped ends, I got one in my eye during a soundcheck a couple of years ago and had to leg it quickly across the stage and get my friend to quickly remove it with a magnet as the small piece was going round to the side of my eyeball and disappearing..... which was nice!

right-click on a photo to see the picture at its full-sizeright-click on a photo to see the picture at its full-size

Starting with the top e string, pick up and thread into it's machine head so about 10mm of string end is through the other side, then while keeping it fairly taut, pull the main part of the string around and underneath the short end and wind round a couple of times, being careful not to stab your fingers on the sharp end as this can be painful and make a mess on your nice freshly polished guitar.

Some people prefer to leave the string ends on and waving around, but these can poke you or your band mates in the face from time to time, if you like to leave them on, you can pull a screwdriver shaft or pen up the loose end holding your thumb on one side to keep the pressure on, when you let go it will drop into a strangely pleasing coil with no sharp ends.....It's personal preference - they all work as long as you don't cut the plain strings too short or they will slip. There is also no need to wind miles of string on to the peg, it can actually cause the tuning to slip and looks messy - three winds is usually enough - the old slotted Fender machine heads are great and work really well. As you are winding the string on, keep your index finger pressed down on the string a couple of inches (50mm) back from the machine head (pic) and your third or fourth finger under the string around the nut or first fret so you can keep it fairly taut before it snaps gently into the nut.
Repeat for all strings - you need slightly less winding around the bottom E as the wound string bites into itself very easily. Once they are all on, have a break for a few minutes and try to remember what you found easy or difficult about the procedure - if you have never done it before, it can take quite a while - err on the long side when cutting the strings off as it is costly and frustrating if you get it wrong straight away - but as with most things it gets easier the more you do it!

right-click on a photo to see the picture at its full-sizeright-click on a photo to see the picture at its full-size

Stretching the strings in is very important as the tuning will drop quickly if it is not done properly. Tune the strings up for the first time - slightly sharp is ok to start with as they are going to move around a fair bit now. If you have any, it's a good idea to run some fast fret up and down the strings before you start as it helps stop you cheese-wiring your fingers! It's also good to start with the thinner gauge strings as you are less likely to snap them than if you started on the thicker ones which can stand more pressure.
Above the body, place your first and second fingers under the top e string and then slide them gently up to around the second fret, then lift them slightly at the same time put your thumb on the top of the string and push down to stretch the string slightly, lift your thumb off and work back along the string pressing the string again at roughly the sixth, ninth, twelfth and fifteenth frets - this is only a guide, you will find what feels right for you.
Repeat this for all strings and re-tune. Then repeat stretching from the top e once again and re-tune again. Then grip the strings one at a time and pull gently side to side about 10mm each way whilst moving up towards the nut, re-tune and then strum for a minute or two, re-tune and strum again before a final tune and that's it!... Give the strings a wipe over with a lint free cloth and play !!
Tech tip 2 will be 'Intonation'.


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