Guitar Stringing 101 - angled bridge pins and other helpful tips

[rmoretti49]

For those who use the all-strings-out-at-once method, slip your hand into the sound hole and pop the bridge pins out from underneath.

For years I struggled to remove stuck bridge pins, prying them out. Since I started popping them out from underneath, I have never had to resort to prying them out.

If you encounter a particularly obstinate pin, it might hurt your finger too much. In that case, use another surface between your finger and the pin, such as a business card.

[tbirdman]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

On string "stretching" I bought a plastic gadget called a "string stretcha" which, once I realised how to use it, I've found it very useful, and obviates grabbing strings under your fingers/nails.

(no pics of our babies as they are in their fifties!)

Not sure why you need a string stretcher. Does it to a better job versus you just using your hand? I have no issues using my hand to stretching the strings.

I resist as I don't need another gadget in my music room.

[Bakerman]

Howdy,

I have a Taylor 12 fret. I use the method suggested by Taylor. On the Low E High E I wind them inside first turn then over the string towards the inside. I do the reverse for all the remaining strings. It does get easier after about 15 changes , LOL.
I have a powered winder , multi-tool cutter and neck raising support. This makes it so much easier. I use a towel for the guitar to rest on, and remove all the strings for a good cleaning. I only oil the fret board once a year with lemon oil. I may try Linseed in the future, since lemon oil tends to adhere to my fingers for the first couple of plays.

Took me a while to get used to changing strings on the 12 fret. Now it's not that difficult.

[RogerPease]

I was taught that 2.5 to 3 winds is enough for slippage prevention.
The extra winds on treble strings are to cover the hole in the post.
The idea being that the hole edge can be a point of extra stress on the string.
If you break strings at the post you might look at that.

Sharp edges on the hole can make it worse, but that is easily fixable.
Obviously, technique matters for string breakage, too. :-)

Cheers, _Roger

[Oldguy64]

I use much the same method.
A couple of additions to make your life easier.
1. Push your string into the pin hole when taking them off.
That will generally loosen the pin enough to remove it.
I also recommend the SNAPZ pin puller for when that doesn’t work.
2. When inserting new strings bend them about 70-80° at the ball end.
Then they don’t hook the bottom of the bridge pin.
3. Put all six/12 strings in this way and reach CAREFULLY inside the sound hole and insure the ball ends are properly seated against the bridge plate.
Then there are no surprises that end in extra wraps on the tuning pin.
4. I measure using the width of my fingers. The E and A are 2 fingers past the tuning post.
The D and G are a third of a finger width more.
The B and E are three finger widths.
That gives right at three widths for the E and A. For every other string I take the first wrap over the string end and the rest under. That leaves plenty to “lock” the string down without resorting to the Martin knot.

Lastly, open the “Notes” app on your phone and record the Guitar and date you changed the strings, and what you changed to.

[CharlieBman]

In all my years playing I never thought much about the way I strung up my acoustics. After reading through this thread I did a search for the Taylor method and found this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80EuGOXgoOo

Tried it out and it worked like a charm. Nice when an old dog can still learn new tricks.

[tinnitus]

3/4 of my acoustics have onboard preamps, two of which require reaching inside the sound-hole to replace the battery. So, I change all 6 strings at once, and the battery (moving the old one to my garage door opener, which takes 5 seconds to swap out and lasts another 6 months).

Another reason I've always done all 6 at once is to reach inside and make sure the ball ends are snuggled tightly under the bridge, not hung up on the flat-ended pins. Excellent point above about angling them, which I will do with sandpaper or a Dremel tool the next time I service any acoustic.

While the strings are stripped off, I use furniture polish on the headstock, soundboard and fretboard (same can of Pledge for 50+ years now) and scrub off any dust or finger-schmutz buildup.

The biggest thing for me, electric or acoustic, is slippery nut slots. As a rock/blues player since 1970, I bend strings a lot. A lubed nut slot allows stretched bent strings slip through the slot in both directions, so they don't bind up and get stuck out of tune, coming or going.

How's this done? I use a mix of ultra-fine graphite powder and olive oil (petroleum lubes degrade plastic if that's what you have). Thus, I can bend notes like CRAZY and the strings settle back in tune, right where they were a second ago.