Correct way to change strings?

[donlyn]

Correct way to change strings?

Whatever works for you.

For me, I am usually a one string at a time guy.
No pre-cutting for length. (Never, ever do this with round core strings.)
Headstock rest and standing up.
Change when needed, not on a timetable.
Simple is best.

Works best for me.

How many guitar players does it take to change a light bulb?

Hint: Depends on how many are around.
First they have to argue about whether the light needs changing, and then about the gauge/wattage to use.

Be well and change well.

Don
.

[Jeremy]

I take them all off at once, do a little fretboard maintenance, then restring from 1 to 6.

[Charlie Bernstein]

Originally Posted by Seb_274

Hola,
Is there any "right way" to change strings on your guitar?

If you have a flat headstock (that is, not slotted), the so-called luthier's knot is best. It's easy and tight. There are plenty of luthier knot YouTubes to show you how.

Originally Posted by Seb_274

I see some tutorials where they take off all the old strings and then put on the new ones

That's best for instruments with fixed (that is, attached) bridges, like most acoustic guitars. If you have a fixed bridge, It helps to remove all the strings so you can put your hand in the soundhole and push the ball ends of the new strings all the way up. Loose strings under the bridge are bad.

Originally Posted by Seb_274

and other tutorials where they take off a couple of strings at a time, maintaining tension in the neck/head/bridge. . . .

That's best if you have a tailpiece or floating (that is, unattached) bridge. Depending on how the guitar is built, capoing loose strings or taping ball ends in place can also help.

[tbirdman]

Just take off all strings at once. Clean the guitar. I never cut the strings until length until I have them up to pitch. Then I gently stretch the strings manually, tuning them each time. I do this 3-4 times so the pitches will stabilize.

[Nickster]

I replace the first three high strings and then replace the last three. That’s my compromise.

[Gryf]

There is not one "right" way. There is only personal preference and whatever is easiest to you.

I've been changing strings for well over 50 years, and they all come off at the same time, the guitar gets a decent general cleaning up, and then the new strings go on. Never a problem of any sort encountered.

Some like to change one or two strings at a time. That's ok, too. I guess....

[Wardo]

Back off the tension.
Cut the strings roughly in the middle.
Remove all of them.
Install new string at bridge, measure about 1 1/4 inch past the capstan.
90° bend on the string and shove it through the hole.
One wrap over the top hit it with a winder and wrap under.
Bring it up to tension and cut off the excess.
Tune or close to and then stretch the strings.
Do that again and stretch the strings. Do that one more time.
Then it should be good to go.

However, the true guitar afficionado might wait until the night of a full moon before changing strings.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by Nickster

I replace the first three high strings and then replace the last three. That’s my compromise.

A good compromise it is, Nickster.

To the O.P.:

I've been playing for 60 years and building instruments for around 30 years.

Some guitars benefit from not having the neck tension completed removed, and doing it 3 strings at a time usually keeps normal relief the same and allows you to do any cleaning or maintenance on half of the fretboard at a time.

Some that are relatively new to the vagarities of stringed instruments just blaze ahead and follow advice that may not be in their best interest.

You get to come back with the "Why are the strings buzzing after installing new ones?" It happens, so follow the advice here that seems right to you.

[67goat]

I don't know if it's the "right" way, but the best way is to have a roadie/tech at your beck and call.

[Bluenose]

It's not rocket science. You'll figure it out.

[rounder]

I change them one at a time from bass to treble and that is the way I have always done it. Probably, a long time ago I was told that if you take all the strings off at one time it can result in a decrease in tension on the neck which is BAD. I still change them one at a time because, for me, it is easier to tune the new strings when I do them one at a time.

[birdsong]

Originally Posted by rounder

Probably, a long time ago I was told that if you take all the strings off at one time it can result in a decrease in tension on the neck which is BAD.

This is a myth. But like many, it lives on and on.

[Wade Hampton]

I generally tend to take the strings off one at a time, mainly because the guitar seems to maintain tuning stability better when I do. I start with the low E and progress to the high E, stretching each string two or three times with a marvelously handy gadget called the String Stretcha.

Once I do that the instrument stays in tune remarkably well.


Wade Hampton Miller

[Oxhead]

I’m new to acoustic guitar, so keep that in mind. But…

I have learned that some resonators, i.e., Mules, recommend changing one string at a time because the saddle, which rests on the bridge, and the bridge, which rests on the sound cones, are held in place solely by string tension.

[DougBrock]

I have multiple kinds of tuner winders, but I recently bought a DeWalt electric screw driver (the one with the gyro action to change rotation direction and speed) and it has greatly sped up string removal and installation. I remove all strings first. I loosen all strings and remove them from the tuners, then pull the pins and remove the strings. I don’t cut them. I clean the fretboard, check fret wear, and clean between the bridge and sound hole where the strings usually prevent easy cleaning. I then put all strings into the pin holes and make sure the balls are up tight on the inside. With paddle head guitars, I string from low E to high E. With slot heads, I string the closest tuners first, working to the farthest tuners. I start winding each string, wind one turn over itself, then get a good start on the string winding before I cut the ends off. Once I cut off the end, I tighten the string to roughly the right pitch. After all strings are in place, I fine tune, tug on the strings, then fine tune again. I do enjoy the process and savor it each time. Probably takes ten or fifteen minutes, depending on how much cleaning I might decide to do.