Replace the strings if they become rusty, sticky, or start to go out of tune quickly. If you are a professional guitarist, you will need to change your strings quite often; Some musicians change strings weekly. If your strings have become limp and sticky, or you find yourself having to re-tune your guitar frequently, then it's time to upgrade your strings. If you haven't changed your strings in 3-4 months, now is the time to do it.
If you have a big concert coming up, replace the strings the same morning to protect yourself from unexpected string breakage.
Note the position of each string before removing it. Unless you are an expert in tuning, you should definitely have an idea of what a guitar should look like. Take a photo of the strings or look at an image of your guitar online. While there's nothing complicated about it, you should still familiarize yourself with how to tension your guitar strings before you start replacing them.
In rare cases, special holes or twisted patterns may be located near the strings on the guitar. Do not cut the strings until you have thoroughly inspected everything.
Loosen the tension on the old strings. Twist the pegs until all the strings are completely loose so you can unwind them completely and then pull them out. You will know that the string is saggy if it sounds deeper when plucked. You can, of course, just cut the strings, but this method reduces the tension gradually so that you can use the old string if one of the new ones breaks during the replacement process.
If you're new to this, loosen one string at a time. Replace the loose string and move on to the next one.
By loosening the string, you can unwind it from the tuning machine and pull it through the neck of the guitar.
Pull the strings out of the tailpiece. On a regular tailpiece (Fender Strat or any other string-through guitar), simply pull the strings through the back of the guitar's body. To make the process easier, carefully insert the strings through the hole to make it easier for you to grip them. Grab the string by the small, ring-shaped metal edge and slowly pull it out of the guitar.
On most guitars, the strings are tensioned in a simple and straightforward way, so to remove them you just need to follow the direction of the strings on the guitar.
Don't try to pull out the strings. Take your time or you risk damaging your guitar.
If you have a wrap-around bridge, then you can pull the strings out from underneath the bridge.
Take a lint-free cloth and wipe the guitar with it. Take this time to remove all dust, debris, and dirt from the neck of your guitar. This is done so as not to accidentally stain the new strings, give your guitar a neat look and make it faster to play. For a deeper cleaning, purchase a bottle of fret cleaner from your local musical instrument store.
Buy the correct strings for your guitar. In 95% of cases, you should take “light” strings or just standard weight strings. While some guitarists use heavier gauges and hybrid string sets, you can't just pick strings that aren't right for your guitar. Without proper adjustment, strings that are too heavy can warp or even bend the neck, so stick with standard strings until you become more familiar with your guitar.
As a general rule, the thickness of the 1st string should be 0.008-0.0011 inches. This applies to medium, light and very light strings.
If you're using low tuning, choose heavier strings. For more specific recommendations, contact the staff at your musical instrument store.
Place the guitar at a comfortable height on a flat, soft surface. Prepare enough space to work by placing your guitar on a table so you can tune it comfortably. Place a towel or blanket underneath to prevent scratching the guitar. To make tuning easier, some people prefer to place the head of the guitar on the edge.
Turn the tuning pin hole to face you. This hole should point away from the string so that it is parallel to one of the frets. When playing the guitar, the hole points upward.
Pull the first string through the tailpiece and into the corresponding peg. Pull the string through the inside of the guitar to the outside. Typically, guitarists start by pulling the heaviest string, the low E. This should be marked as the "6th string" or the string with the highest gauge value (approximately 0.050). Insert it in the opposite manner than when removing the strings, and then insert it into the hole of the peg and pull it away from the guitar. Add 5-7cm more string length than the length of the neck so that it is not under tension until you start tightening it.
The pegs aren't marked in any way, but you're less likely to get confused if you start replacing the strings in the same order you pulled them out. On most electric guitars, the first tuner is responsible for the 6th string, and the remaining tuners, going further to the top of the head, also correspond to their strings.
Twist the end of the string around itself to hold it in place. Grasp the end of the string and pass it under the string (where it enters the hole of the peg). Then wrap the string around itself and pull it tight towards the center of the headstock. You should end up with a loop of the end of the string wrapped around the rest of the string.
There should be a small section of bent string right next to the peg hole.
While pressing the string lightly, begin to tighten it slowly. Press the string with your index finger 2-5 cm from the peg. Don't press it too hard, just hold it in place. Begin to slowly turn the peg counterclockwise. Make sure the string curls evenly around the peg.
Use a tuner to get the correct tension. When in doubt, don't tighten the string too much or you risk breaking it.
Repeat the process with the remaining strings. Once you've finished with the first string, repeat the same with the others, moving from one string to the next. Be sure to clean the fretboard after removing the string and don't over-tighten the string and don't press the string down before you start winding it.
If your guitar's headstock pegs are 3x3, be aware that the bottom set of pegs rotates in the opposite direction. Simply repeat the previous instructions, replacing "left" with "right" and "up" with "down".
You will have to tune your guitar quite often after installing new strings. While the strings get used to the tension, they will also slowly stretch. This only applies to the first 1-2 days, but you can avoid this fate if you constantly tune your guitar while changing strings.
Once all the strings are removed, it's time to clean the neck. Simply wipe down the neck with a piece of cloth and also remove any dust from the pickups. When the strings are tight, cleaning the fretboard is very difficult and inconvenient.
Those who like to lower the tuning of the guitar by a whole tone need to tune the guitar to standard E and stretch the strings so that they stay in tune, as is often the case with a heavy set of strings.
