The best instruments and players will sound dull and suffer intonation problems with poor or worn strings. To get the most out of your guitar, use quality strings and change them regularly.
When to Change Strings?
A question I hear constantly in my classes and studio is "when should I change my strings?" The answer is simple: change your strings when they sound bad!
Fret and finger abrasion, sweat, oil, and dirt eventually cause a reduction in upper frequencies (treble response) and volume. In other words, the strings sound dull. At this point you'll see fret wear—black marks—on the strings and intonation will suffer as you shift up the neck. If they're really worn, trebles will be scratched rough where you pluck and basses discolored and corroded. In extreme cases, basses turn greenish-black and smell like toe jam!
D'Addario Pro Arté Strings | EXP and Dynacores are my favorite strings.
How Long do Strings Last?
A typical hobbyist playing an hour daily should expect a month of good tone from standard strings. On the other hand, playing guitar four or five hours daily will wear out strings within a week. Players with dirty and/or sweaty hands may kill the tone of fresh strings within minutes. The good news is D'Addario XT and coated strings last about twice as long as standard uncoated strings.
Of course, you can choose to leave strings on for months if you don't mind lifeless tone and poor intonation.
Traditional String Changing
So, your strings are worn and it's time to change them. For your classical or nylon string guitar, purchase a set of classical guitar strings: trebles of clear nylon and basses of nylon thread with metal wrap. Never use steel strings on a classical guitar or you'll damage your instrument.
"Never use steel-strings on a classical guitar"
I recommend normal tension D'Addario XT, D'Addario Pro Arté Dynacore, or D'Addario Pro Arté Composites (EJ45C) classical guitar strings. These D'Addario string models all sound excellent: XT and EXP basses are coated for longer life but mellower in tone while Dynacore and Composites are brighter but uncoated. The basses from all three sets reach pitch faster (fewer cranks) and stretch less than traditional nylon or gut core basses.
Yes, you can buy cheaper strings than EXP, Dynacore or Composites. In the long term, cheap strings are more expensive because they must be changed more often. Plus, higher quality strings have better tone and dynamics, and more accurate intonation.
D'Addario String Winder | This device is used to turn the tuning pegs and speed up string changes.
Removing Strings
Many students and amateurs go to a music store and pay them to change their strings. While that certainly works, you should learn to change them yourself if you are even halfway serious about playing guitar.
Begin by removing the old strings. Use a string winder to wind and unwind the strings. It's faster than winding by hand. Turn the winder towards the body to loosen the string and towards the head stock to tighten the string.
Don't remove all the strings at once. Instead, remove and install one string at a time. Removing all the strings traumatizes the neck and sound board. How? The strings exert a total force of 75 to 90 pounds of tension on the sound board and neck. If you release all the tension, the wood flexes. After reinstalling the strings, it takes several hours for the sound board to flex back to optimal shape. Thus, you'll notice a loss of volume and tone until the sound board returns to normal.
Attaching Strings to Bridge
Once you've removed a string, the string may be secured to the bridge with a traditional tie:
Thread the string through the bridge hole and loop it around itself.
Insert the string under itself at the rear of the bridge so that it locks on itself as you tighten the string.
Once threaded and looped, hold the string in place with your finger and take up the slack by pulling smartly on the string (pull towards the head stock).
Finished Head Stock Ties | Kremona 7-string classical guitar ready to play!
Attaching Strings to Tuning Heads
After the bridge
tie is secure, attach the opposite end of the
string to the tuning head roller as illustrated
in the diagram:
Thread the string through the hole on the roller.
Pull the string tip out of the hole and twist (loop) around the string: twist once for basses and two times for trebles.
Pull the slack end of the string towards the rollers while tightening the string (turn tuning key clockwise). The string end should be caught between the string and roller—runs over itself.
Finally, use the string winder to bring the string up to pitch by rotating the tuning key towards the head stock, i.e., away from the body of the guitar. Pluck the string so you can hear the pitch change. Keep a watchful eye on the bridge tie. If it begins to slip, slack the string and tie it again. Repeat the above procedure with the remaining strings.
Alternative Bridge Tie Methods
Knot Tie
Instead of a traditional tie, a knot may be used to secure
the strings to the bridge:
The main requirement is the knot must be large enough not to pull through the hole once at pitch. You can be creative and tie little hearts and bows if you wish. The advantages of this method are fourfold:
The string is better secured than the traditional tie and, thus, less likely to slip.
Tension is focused on the end of the bridge, resulting in better vibration transfer.
There is less wear on the bridge's tie block and holes.
Cleaner and more attractive than a bridge traditional tie.
To secure the strings, I begin with a half hitch knot. Keeping the knot loose, I thread the end through again, leaving enough slack to form a loop. Finally, I pull the string towards the head stock to tighten the knot. For the first string, I loop through twice to make the knot big enough not to pull through under tension.
Knot with Gasket Tie
When you tie strings on the bridge, the bridge holes gradually enlarge due to string pressure and abrasion. To protect bridge holes, place a small plastic gasket between the knot and bridge. I've found tiny nylon gaskets at electronic parts stores that worked well as string gaskets, but you can also make your own.
To make a string gasket, begin by drilling six holes in a thin plastic sheet: 4 holes with a 1/16" drill bit and 2 holes with a 1/32" bit. The larger holes are for the four lower (thicker) strings and the smaller holes are for the first two strings. Next, I use wire cutters to clip out the six gaskets. Finally, trim each gasket to fit.
Caution: if the gaskets are too big or have sharp corners they may eat into the sound board. The plastic gaskets should survive two or three string changes.
String Gasket Making Tools | (left to right) Exacto hand drills with 1/16" and 1/32" bits, string caskets drilled and cut from a credit card and wire cutters.
Knot with Bead
Some guitarists use glass beads as gaskets and claim they enhance treble response. In the image below, I used jade beads purchased in Honolulu's Chinatown. I've also had good results with plastic, wood and glass beads. Buy beads with the smallest hole diameter the string will pass through. Make sure the knot is large enough to prevent the string from slipping through the bridge hole.
Knot with Bead Tie | My favorite method of securing strings to the bridge.
BridgeBeads
Rosette Guitar Products BridgeBeads are a more elegant solution than using ordinary beads and gaskets. They lie flush against the back edge of the bridge and made be used with a knot or traditional bridge tie. I found BridgeBeads ideal for older guitars with worn string holes on the bridge (prevents further erosion).
BridgeBeads | I need another BridgeBead for this 7-string guitar!
Making Strings Last
Many students have commented their instrument sounds wonderful after a string change but quickly lose its sparkle. There are four factors that influence string life: personal hygiene, technique, frequency of playing and string quality.
Hygiene
Personal hygiene is the easiest factor to control. Washing your hands before playing has a major impact on string life. Dirty and/or sweaty mitts can kill fresh bass strings in mere minutes! After a session, you can extend string life by wiping your strings with a clean micro fiber cloth. Micro fiber picks up sweat and oil better than most other fabrics.
Technique
Poor technique such as excess finger pressure, accelerates string and fret wear. I've seen the metal wrap tear off a D string after a couple hours of twanging by heavy handed players. A light touch—the least amount of pressure to hold the string down—is not only good for your strings and frets, but is better for your body and music.
Frequency
The more you play, the faster you wear out your strings. That's a fact of life. Nevertheless, the enjoyment of beautiful tone and dynamic response is worth a string change every month or even every week or two.
String Quality
Finally, better quality strings last longer and sound better than budget strings. D'Addario XT, D'Addario Pro Arté Dynacore and D'Addario Pro Arté Composites, last at least twice as long as standard nylon strings. Increased tonal response and reduced frequency of string changes is worth paying more for.
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"Never use steel-strings on a classical guitar"
Alternative Bridge Tie Methods
Making Strings Last
