Restringing your Guitar

1.)    Restringing a Les Paul style guitar

To restring a tune – o – matic style bridge (fig.1 ), simply unwind each string and pull them out through the holes in the bridge. Fit the loose end of each replacement guitar string through the corresponding hole in the bridge and pull through until the ball end is secure in position.

Figure 1: Les Paul-style bridge

2.) Restringing a stratocaster-style guitar 

For strat style bridges ( fig.2a ) the strings are pulled out through the back of the guitar’s body(fig2b). Each replacement string pushed through its own hole and secured by the ball end. When taught, the strings will lock into position and can then be tuned.

Securing strings at the headstock (same for all guitars)

Push the loose end of each string through its corresponding hole on the machine head at the headstock and pull through until the string is flat against the neck. Now pull the loose end round until it is at right angles to the neck and pinch it so that it grips the machine head and does not slip back through the hole. By winding up the machine head with the string in this position it should be possible to get a tight grip on the strings with only a few turns. As the final turns are made, make sure that the string fits into its groove on the top nut. Keep the string taught over the neck as you tighten it up so that it stretches evenly and fits securely in position. With each string in position they should be stretched up and down their length by making small bending movements with one hand (fig3). This pre stretching ensures that the strings don’t detune during bending whilst playing your guitar. Using a tuner to retune before and after each stretch it should be possible to see that the strings stop detuning after a certain amount of stretching and this is the final point at which the guitar should be tuned up ready for playing.

2.)   How to restring a guitar with a Floyd Rose style ‘floating’ bridge

In a floating bridge system, forces acting on all of the guitar strings are interacting so that the tension of one string has an effect on all of the others. It is important to remember that what you do to one string will have an effect on all the others as it is pulling on the bridge which in turn is pulling on the next string and so on. This is not the case with fixed bridges as each string acts independently on the bridge, which is firmly screwed in place. The following steps should help guide you through the process without too much difficulty and should help you avoid the easy mistakes to make (I learned the hard way!)

·         String stretching and inserting

·         Bridge adjustment

·         String tuning

·         Fine tuning

String Stretching

The range of wild sounds that can be made with the tremolo bar makes this type of guitar great fun to play and once converted you’ll never want to look back (!) BUT, it also means you have to carefully prepare the strings for the abuse you want to give them.  New strings will instantly detune as soon as you stretch them even if you have them all nicely in place and tuned up. By pre stretching the strings as you install them you can eliminate this problem and get them to a state where they will remain in tune and react to any bending and tremolo action (fig.3). By Changing one string at a time the tremolo will remain roughly in the correct place and avoid the need for too much adjustment later on.

Start by fixing the bridge so that it won’t pull back when you take the first string off by putting a business card or something that fits behind it – this should take the force of the back springs off the bridge but keep tension in the guitar strings.

Loosen the nut screws (fig.8 ) so you can undo the first string (low E) and remove it completely by undoing the bridge grip. Cut off the ball end of the new string and push the end through the hole in the bridge so that it fits securely inside with the block used to hold it in. Now tighten the bridge block until the string is held tight and pushed so that it fits into the slot that guides it into position(fig.5)  (you may have to pull the bridge up a bit to do this).

  Now push the other end of the string through the hole of the corresponding machine on the headstock and pull it through so the string is flat on the fret board but there is a lot of slack. Pull the free end of the string back towards the fret board so that it creases at the machine head and stays in position. Now start winding the machine head and tightening the string by pulling up on it over the fret board whilst winding. This pulling should be done up and down its length so that once tuned up it wont stretch any more. By doing this you are ensuring the string won’t detune during bends/vibrato whilst playing. Because the string has already been threaded most of the way through the machine head it should only take a few turns to secure it in place making it less work for your wrists and keeping things nice and tidy. Once secure you can cut the dangling loose end close to the headstock(fig.6)

The string should be tight over the fret board and remain tight after a pulling on it –

Now use a tuner to get it roughly in tune and repeat for the rest of the strings. Remember that the higher the string, the thinner it gets and so it requires less stretching to get it to the right state (I have snapped countless strings with some over enthusiastic bending at this point!)

When all strings have been replaced and stretched properly they should remain in tune after a few good yanks on the whammy bar – if not then keep on bending and retuning until they keep their position.

Adjusting the bridge

Now the strings are all stretched and roughly in tune it is time to get the bridge to the correct angle. With the bridge free to move it should be at a similar position to that with the old strings (unless you have replaced with a different gauge in which case some adjustment will be needed).  By making minor adjustments to the large screws holding the bridge in place around the back of the guitar (fig.7) you should be able to get it floating flat with the guitar’s body and level with the strings. This will obviously make the strings flat or sharp depending on the direction of adjustment.

String Tuning

It is now time to get the strings in tune with the bridge at the correct angle. After adjustment the strings should either all be flat or sharp by a certain amount (if not then get them roughly to the same degree)

When you are tuning the strings remember that by tightening one you are releasing pressure and therefore detuning the rest.  The low E string is the fattest and so has the most effect on the others, then the A etc. By taking this into account whilst tuning up you can save some frustrating repetitions of tuning up and retuning.

If all the strings are flat then they will need tightening up.

With the above process taken into account tune the tune the low E string to a G, the A to B#, the D to E, the G to A , the B to B# and E to the correct tune.  As you proceed the tightening on the bridge will counteract this over tuning and ideally result in each string reaching the correct pitch! In practice this process will need to be repeated a few times but imagine how many times you would need to do this if you tuned each string to its correct pitch straight away!

 If after adjusting the bridge angle all the strings are sharp then they will need loosening

This is the same process as above but done in a different direction. Tune the low E to C#, A to f#, D to C, G to F, B to Bb, and again E to its correct pitch.

The above guidelines assume that the strings are ½ a step out in either direction after bridge adjustment. The degree that you over/undertone depends on how far out they become after adjusting the back springs. If all has gone well you should reach a stage where the strings are pretty much stable and the bridge rests comfortably flat and parallel to the body. If you have strings in tune but the bridge is pulled right back or forward then you have it too tight/loose and the springs need adjusting. This is where it gets especially frustrating and takes practice to avoid – any problems just give us a call and we’d be happy to guide you through it!

Fine Tuning and Nut Tightening

The strings can now be locked by tightening the nut screws (fig.5) . Take care not to over tighten or cross thread as this will permanently damage the nut and make it unusable next time. With the strings locked they can now be finely tuned using micro tuners at the brigde. It’s a good idea at this stage to give the tremolo bar another few good bends, ending in a dive and leaving it to return to resting position naturally.

Now check the tuning and, taking care not to put any pressure on the bridge adjust each microtuner from E to high E.  The same over/under tuning method as above still applies but to a much finer degree (if strings are flat then tune the low
E slightly sharp etc.)

The strings should now all be in tune with the nut fixed and bridge straight. With practice this process becomes quicker and quicker leaving you with enough energy to play straight after restringing!