The Secrets of Correctly Stringing Your Guitar

Why do you care about stringing your guitar you may ask.
Well the reason is simple. It will make you sound better
because if your guitar is properly strung, you will get longer
natural sustain.

This is something that no fx pedal can reproduce,
clean natural sustain. Of course after you have this
sustain you can play with it all you want with your
fx pedals.

Many guitarist make the same mistake when stringing a
guitar, they don't wind enough of the string onto the
tuning peg or they wind too much.

Why is this seemingly simple thing so important?
Because the greater the angle between
the nut (the top part of the guitar) and the tuning peg,
the better the sustaining qualities of the string. Simply
put, it makes you sound better. And your strings will not
go out of tune as fast. Of course you can always wind too
much as well, and then the strings will tend to slip out
of tune easier. You want to have just the right amount.

Here is how to string your guitar.

Step 1 - Take all the strings out of the package and lay
them out from the thickest to the thinnest. When you go
to buy strings, always try and get the same gauge, as
changing the gauge could mean problems with intonation,
and may require truss rod adjustments.

Step 2 - Turn the tuning peg until the hole is in line
with the neck.

Step 3 - Starting with the thickest string - The low "e",
thread the string through the bridge (bottom part of
the guitar). Each guitar has different ways to do this,
but it is usually very easy to see where the strings go.

Step 4 - Next thread the string through the hole in the
tuning peg until it is tight. Now back the string up
about 3 inches so that it loosens.

Step 5 - Grab the loose part of the string with one
hand and with the other start turning the tuning peg.
As you turn the peg, hold the string tightly away from
the guitar to insure that it wraps tightly, with no slack.
This will stop the string from going out of tune as you're
playing. When the string is getting tight against the
fretboard, You can let go and continue to slowly turn
the peg a little bit more and then top.

Step 6 - Make sure as you turn the peg that the string
is winding downward, and don't let it flip over itself.
Your goal is tog et about 2 1/2 to 3 full winds on
each string.

Step 7 - Repeat the process with all other strings, but
decrease the amount of slack a little bit each time.

All the best,

Tom Freeland

PlayGuitar.com

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