GUITAR
HOW TO REPLACE AN ACOUSTIC GUITAR STRING | David Harsh
Today , I ’ m going to take you step-by-step through my process for replacing a broken acoustic guitar string . I encourage you to watch the video version of this article , because , well , you really need to see what I ’ m talking about ! Plus , there ’ s a pro tip I ’ ve included at the end of the video that ’ s not in the article .
The video is available by clicking here or on the thumbnail .
Step 1 : Don ’ t freak out . I used to draw way too much attention to the broken string . I ’ d stop playing , apologize , and it got awkward . I ’ m not denying the fact that when a string breaks , it can be startling . It is startling . But if we ’ re subtle about it , we can keep the focus on the Lord and allow the song set to continue with minimal interruptions .
Step 2 : Assemble a toolkit . The five tools you ’ ll need are : a tuner , a spare set of strings , a pencil , a cloth for cleaning the fretboard , and a tool for winding and cutting the strings . I unpack each of these tools in the video .
Step 3 : Open and label the strings . Depending on the brand you use , the name of the string may or may not be on the packet . Elixir has chosen to label their medium strings 13 gauge to 56 gauge . The numbers in between sometimes get mixed up for me . To get around this , I lay out the strings in descending gauge order and label them from low open bass E to high treble E . ( See the video for why I label them .)
Step 4 : Grab the packet for the string you need . Once I ’ ve got the replacement string ready , to avoid confusion , I set the other strings aside .
Step 5 : Remove the broken string . My strings come right out without much work at all . File that fact away for later . Trust me . Now I ’ ll remove the bridge pin , and side note – don ’ t lose this bridge pin – you ’ ll need it if you want to put the next string on .
Step 6 : Use a cloth to clean the fretboard where the string was . This is something that can be done especially if you take all the strings off – which I don ’ t recommend doing except for a short amount of time , so that your truss rod isn ’ t out of balance with no opposition .
Step 7 : Use the pencil to create some powdered graphite lubrication in the slot of the nut . This reduces drag . There are products out there you can drip into the nut slot , but a pencil works just fine for me .
Step 8 : Anchor the new string by in the bridge hole .
Step 9 : Secure the string with the bridge pin . You can lightly slide the bridge pin back into the hole , but pull up on the string so it catches and doesn ’ t have any slack . You don ’ t want to
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