I want to keep this short and sweet and packed with great information, so I’ve put together a video here for you to look at:
Go here: What to look for
Now you will know what to look out for, before you buy!
How to tune the thing:
To make life easier I have a link to a free desktop Guitar tuner!
Go here: Download Tuner
Download the tuner and have a bit of fun with it. (Turn your speakers on! J)
The notes of each string are E. A. D. G. B. E
Start by tuning the bass E string (the fat one) using the tuner or pitch pipes. Gently turn the tuning key (machine head) to the left or right until the string sound matches the note on the tuner or pitch pipe, loosening the string will lower the note, tightening the string will raise the note. When this string is in tune repeat the process through the other strings, when all are tuned you are now at concert pitch and are ready to play.
How to play the basic open end chords, OOPS! This bit you might need some help with so
Go Here: The Basic Chords
Sling in a few minors and 7ths and your on your way!
Restringing A Guitar
It is important for all guitarists to know how to restring a guitar. Properly maintaining a guitar is vital, part of this is regularly changing the guitar strings. You can get this done professionally but it’s not difficult to change a set of guitar strings yourself.
The first thing you need to think about is what new strings you will be putting on your guitar. There is a wide variety of different strings available and it’s important to select the best set to suit your guitar.
After a few turns the string will go slack and you will be able to unwind the string and remove it from the guitar. You may need to take the pin out that holds the bottom of the string in place at the bridge of the guitar, this usually only applies to some acoustic guitars.
Simply repeat this with all six stings. It is best to take them off one at a time or you will end up with a tangled birds nest of strings! Take a note of how the string was fitted at the bridge, some strings come through the back of the body of the guitar, some are held in by pegs and some will go through a small hole in the steel section behind the bridge. If you have a floating bridge (usually on expensive electric guitars) you might need advice from me personally as this can be daunting if you don’t know how to do it!
Some Examples of strings through the bridge! The white guitar has strings that go through from the back of the body, the black guitar has strings that go through the back of the bridge, this is also the type of bridge that may have the peg fixings. The blue guitar has the daddy of all bridges, this is a floating bridge! Do NOT attempt to restring this one unless you know what you are doing!! Just email me and I'll take you through it.
The next step is to start adding the new strings.
Most people start with the low E and work their way down, however some prefer to start on the high E, there is no right or wrong way when it comes to doing this. Take your first string and thread it though the body of the guitar, or the hole in the steel that you took the string out of, if you have pegs take the ball end of the string over the bridge and then secure the end in the hole using the little pin. Push the peg in firmly taking the ball end into the guitar and then make sure it is not going to pop out soon as your start tightening the string.
Now run the string up the neck of your guitar and make sure it goes into the groove in the nut at the top of the neck. Now thread the top of the string through the hole in the tuning key / machine head and pull it tight. Now bend the string back on itself as much as possible, this will prevent the string from slipping when you tighten it. Now start to turn the tuning key in an anticlockwise direction, this will start to coil the string round and tighten it. It’s wise to keep some pressure on the peg at the bottom of your guitar to make sure this does not pop out.
If you have a guitar with 3 tuners on the top and 3 on the bottom, the bottom 3 tuners are turned in a clockwise direction
As you turn the tuning key the string will start to tighten up. As it does it will slip a few times, this is normal so don’t worry about it. Keep on tightening the string until it gets somewhere near to the correct note as indicated on you tuner or pitch pipe. Don’t try tune the string correctly at this point as new strings tend to stretch a great deal over the first few minutes so it will instantly go out of tune, don't worry is is normal for this to happen. It’s a good idea to pluck the string a few times just to stretch it out a little, however be careful on the lighter strings not to really over tighten them as you may snap them, be guide by your tuner or pitch pipes.
When you have added your first sting it’s simply time to repeat the process with the other strings. Take your time with this and when you get to the high E string make sure you don’t tighten it too fast as this could lead to it snapping. When you have got all the string in place and you have them all reasonably tight, you can then get some wire cutters and snip the ends of the string off. This is not essential but it does make the guitar look far neater.
Finally
When all the strings are in place and you have made sure all the pins at the bottom of your guitar are firmly in place (if you have them) it is now time to tune your guitar again, you may need to do this several times but the strings will settle down.
Your guitar really can make a wonderful sound. However, even the very best guitar can start to sound old and tired if the strings are not changed on a regular basis. It’s therefore important you learn how to restring your guitar and make sure you change guitar stings on a regular basis.
