Changing steel strings is a fairly simple task.
Learning to string your guitar properly should be the first stage of proper guitar maintenance. Many experienced guitar players still put their strings on improperly, which leads to the guitar's inability to stay in tune and sound its best. Knowing string your guitar properly also increases the life of your guitar strings, saving you time and money. Different tuning mechanisms require different string-changing techniques. Steel-stringed guitars are the most common guitars and are simpler to restring than nylon-stringed guitars.
Instructions
1. Remove the low E string. Lay the guitar in front of you with the headstock to your left. Always replace your strings one at a time unless you are performing other maintenance on your guitar, such as cleaning the neck. Doing this helps to keep neck tension regular and floating bridge parts in place. Use a string winder to loosen the string quickly and remove it from the string post. Remove the old string from the bridge and discard it.
2. Insert the new E string. Set the tuner so that the hole in the string post is parallel to the nut. Thread the new string through the bridge, and pull it down to the tuner's string post. Place the string against the inside of the post and pull tightly.
3. Tighten the new E string. Wind the new steel string around the post counter clockwise for one full turn while keeping the tension on, and thread it through the string post hole. Pull the string out of the other side of the string post as tight as you can. Bend the loose end of the string at a right angle and slightly downward immediately at the point it emerges from the string post hole.
4. Put the other steel strings on the guitar. If all of your strings are on one side of the headstock, then use the previously described technique for all strings. If the guitar has three strings per side, the procedure is the same except you wind the opposite manner for the G, B and high E strings.
5. Tune the guitar. Use a guitar tuner to tighten the strings to the proper pitch. Start with the low E and then tune the others in order from top to bottom.
6. Clip the loose ends of the strings a few millimeters away from the posts. You may curl the loose ends in a circle if you prefer, but never leave the loose ends hanging because they could cut you or someone else.
