Strung Up: Tips From a Luthier About Restringing Your Guitar

To some, restringing their instrument is like taking “the one ring” to the slopes of Mt. Doom, or like firing a volley of torpedoes down a ventilation shaft that's only two meters wide to blow up a Death Star. Having restrung thousands of guitars at this point in my career, I can tell you that's far from the truth. Like any skill, it takes time, practice, and an easy to replicate method of approach. Knowing how to restring your guitar can save you embarrassment after breaking a string onstage, or maybe impress a buddy who just pulled their old Les Paul out of storage. If after reading this article, you aren’t convinced or are not comfortable with doing this kind of work yourself, that's perfectly ok! Luthiers like me at 5 Star Guitars are more than capable of doing that work for you.

A few tips before we get started…

-Make sure you have a solid, flat surface to work on.

-Use a mat to protect your guitar. Yoga mats or a folded up sweater will do fine. 

-Get something to support and lift the neck off the surface. A rolled up towel, small pillow, or even a stuffed animal can work. (If you are cleaning your fingerboard, make sure you are ok with getting some overspray on your neck rest)

-Make sure you have a solid pair of diagonal cutters, a peg winder, and some paper towels. PUT THESE TO THE LEFT OR RIGHT OF YOUR INSTRUMENT. The last thing you want to do is drop your cutters on top of your instrument. Always move your tools around the sides of your instrument as you work. 

-Have a tuner handy or another instrument that is in tune nearby for an audio reference.

     I’m re-stringing a Les Paul for this demonstration, however the method of approach applies to any standard, non-locking tuning machine. First things first, you have to remove the old strings. I suggest detuning them all first before you try to remove them. Once they are detuned, use your cutter to snip the strings. I typically cut them around the 12th fret or so one at a time. Make sure not to let the tail piece slide down the guitar after you cut the last string. Uncoil the strings around the machine posts CAREFULLY. If you're struggling to remove them, you can use the cutters to either cut out some of the wraps or grip the string on the other side of the post to pull it out. Once the strings are off, take this time to brush off any dust and clean the headstock. 

Cleaning the fingerboard:

Keeping your fingerboard clean is important for the health of your instrument. It is also nice for the next person who may play or repair your instrument not to have to touch a dirty guitar. If you are the kind of person who is afraid of removing all the “Mojo” from your guitar, I can assure you, the only “Mojo” you might have is in your talented hands. Still insist on not cleaning your fingerboard? Ok fine, you can skip this step, but be prepared for some disgusted facial expressions at some point down the road.

Maple fingerboards, whether they are satin or gloss, can be cleaned easily with guitar finish cleaner. Here in the shop we use Taylor’s Satin Finish spray and Gerlitz Smudge Off. There are many cleaning products out there that will work. Be mindful if you have a vintage instrument or french polish finish, you may need to make sure the spray you use is not going to react or remove the finish. Just apply onto a towel or cloth and wipe off the grim.

Rosewood boards are exposed/open pore wood that needs a little more care and attention. Depending on how dry its surrounding environment is or how long it's been since it was restrung, your rosewood board may be dry and need hydration. An instrument specific lemon oil such as Dr.Duck’s is perfect for this purpose. Lemon oil can also help to lift grim off rosewood fingerboards and make them easier to clean. 

NOTE: If your rosewood board is exceptionally dirty with an excess of buildup, bring it to Pros like us to clean it up for you.

Apply the oil onto the fingerboard. A little will go a long way so do not waste your oil and drown the board. A dot the size of a standard Fender dot inlay will do. You can wipe the oil into the board with a paper towel, or you can use a very soft bristle toothbrush. I have one that I have modified by warming up the plastic and bending it upwards to give me a little more leverage when applying. 

The brush can help to work the lemon oil into the pores and up to the edges of the frets.

At this point you can also grab a metal fret guard and a jeweler’s cloth to polish up your frets. If they don’t look dull or green/brown, then you can skip this step if you wish.

Stringing up your instrument:

Keep in mind that if you are changing your string gauge to something different than what is on the instrument, more than likely you will need to have a SETUP done to the instrument. Changing string gauges can be a change of around 20 pounds or more of tension depending on what strings you use. This affects neck relief, intonation as well as the overall feel and output from your pickups. Make sure you have the right set of strings and take care when unspooling the strings from their package. 

TIP: On tune-o-matics with a stop tail, I always pre-load the strings into the tail piece first. It isn’t completely necessary, but it makes it a little easier to line up the strings and saves you from the risk of dropping it onto the guitar top. 

     

Turn the tuning machine so that the hole in the post points down the neck of the guitar, insert the string, and pull it taught.

 Now you want to give the string some slack. My method that I have used my whole career is as follows:

 -Keeping the string taught with your left hand, grab the string with my right hand, putting my pointer finger on the string just below the nut and slip my other fingers under the string. 

-Keep your pointer finger against the fingerboard and pull the string back till your fingertip is on the first fret. 

-Wrap the slack string in your right hand around and over the top of the post at the headstock. 

-Take the excess string sticking out from the end of the post on the headstock and bend it upwards. 

-Keeping tension on the string with your right hand, start to wind the string up making sure that the string slips underneath the first wind as well as the excess sticking upwards out of the post.

-Tighten the string until it's firm and close to the correct pitch

Repeat this same method for all the strings, clip the excessive string ¼” away from the post and BOOM! Restrung! Now you just have to tune and stretch the strings. 

NOTE: As the strings get thinner there will be more winds around the post. This is a good thing. Be careful not to put too many winds on the posts. I call it a “Beehive” and can cause tuning issues.

Stretching strings:

Stretching your strings is a good habit to fall into. It saves you from having to continue to retune your strings over and over when you first restring it. My method is simple:

• Grab the E string with your left hand putting your thumb on the side of the string facing you and put your other fingers on the side of the string facing away from you. 

  

• Grab the E string with your right hand by putting your pointer finger on top of the string and slip your other fingers under the string.

  

• Using firm but gentle pressure squeeze the strings near the body, in the middle of the neck, and down towards the headstock. Repeat this for all the strings and re-tune. The idea is that you are stretching the string forward and back with your left hand, and up and down with your right. This will help you achieve tuning stability faster than just letting them stretch naturally. Be sure not to stretch too hard or you could hurt the guitar and also your hands.

See? Not that difficult right? This method has served me well for the 10+ years I have been repairing and restringing instruments and it has never failed to give me great results. No more tuning issues, no more string breakage, just solid string response and feel just like the manufacturers intended!