Strings
Contents
Materials/Types
Materials
- Electric
- Nickel/Steel - Standard electric strings
- Cobalt - Provides higher output due to greater magnetic properties; tone is slightly brighter; feel is more "buttery"
- Acoustic/Classical
- Nylon - smooth surface and darker, hollower tone
- Brass
Types
- Round-Wound - Typical wound strings; outer string is cynlindrical
- Flat-Wound - outer string is flat, giving the entire string a "flatter" feel more similar to an unwound string; however, the edges between windings are sharper and more noticeable
Changing Strings
How Often
You should be changing your strings at least every 2-3 months, more often if you play them a lot. Generally, it's a good idea to change them once a month, or even more frequently if you are a professional. Many popular artists with dedicated guitar techs will put a new set of strings on after every show! New strings will stay in tune better, have longer sustain, produce a richer and brighter tone, and be easier to play. If you want to get more life from your strings, wash your hands before playing and wipe the strings down with some rubbing alcohol every now and then. You don’t want them to get covered in dirt and corrosive materials.
How to Remove Strings
I like to remove two adjacent old strings at a time. If you have a locking nut, be sure to use an allen wrench to loosen or completely remove the clamps first. It doesn't matter if you start with the thick or thin ones. I loosen the tension using the tuner until they are are completely flappy and loose. If there are still a fair number of winds around the tuning peg, I use the slack in the string to simply unwind the string around the peg, rather than keep turning the tuning peg. Once completely unwound, you should be able to pull the string through the tuning peg hole (loosen locking tuners to do so, if you have them). If the string is tied onto the tuning peg hole, you will have to untie it or cut it to get it off. I don't recommend that you tie the strings onto the pegs - it's not necessary to prevent slippage.
Once the strings are removed from the tuners, it's time to remove them from the bridge. If you have a floating Floyd Rose style locking bridge, you will need to use an allen wrench to loosen the string clamps. Most other electric bridges use the ball end of the string to hold the string firmly in the bridge. For a Stratocaster type bridge, you simply push the strings near the bridge saddles, pushing the ball ends of the string out the rear cavity of the guitar. Most such guitars will have a cavity cover with holes for each string, and you should see the ball end protrude through. Once you can grab the ball end, use it to pull the rest of the string through the bridge and out the guitar.
Cleaning the Fretboard/Pickups
With the strings off the guitar, you can really see and reach the areas that the string normally hovers over, including the pickups and the fretboard. This is a good time to clean these things off - mainly for cosmetic reasons. If you don't care about the look of the guitar or any fretboard funk, you can skip this step. I like to use tissue or rags with some rubbing alcohol on them - just enough to dampen the tissue or rags. If you're leaving large droplets or puddles of rubbing alcohol, that's way too much. Once you've cleaned the fretboard, you may want to use some oil on it to keep it from getting too dry and giving it a rich, lively look. My recommendation is Fret Doctor. One bottle will last a lifetime.
Putting New Strings on
Now for restringing...we are going to repeat the process in reverse.
Attaching one end to the bridge
If you have a Floyd Rose style bridge, cut the ball ends off the string, and clamp them into the bridge saddles using an allen wrench - make sure you have them clamped nice and tight.
If you have another style bridge, thread the non-ball-end part of the string through the appropriate hole in the rear side of the bridge (or the body). You should see it protrude through the bridge and saddle hole on the front side of the guitar (or body). Pull it all the way through so the ball end is held firmly inside the bridge.
Locking tuners
If your guitar does not have locking tuners, skip to the next section. If your guitar has a string tree, thread the string under the string tree. Thread it through the appropriate tuner peg hole, and grip it on the other side with your left hand. Pull the string so it is pretty tight. Make sure the string falls in the correct nut groove and is under any applicable string tree. Lock/clamp the string in the locking tuner. Tighten the string to pitch - you shouldn't need to tighten the tuning peg more than 3/4 turn (which is about 12 turns of the tuning knob). If you need to do more turns, you probably didn't tighten it enough before clamping it - start over. Skip the next section for non-locking tuners.
Non-locking tuners
If your guitar has a string tree, thread the string under the string tree. Thread it through the appropriate tuner peg hole, and grip it on the other side with your left hand. Don't pull it totally tight yet. Put your right hand on top of the 12th fret, as though you are karate chopping the neck in half. Pull the string with your left hand until the string tightens, pressing against the thumb side of your right hand. You want the string to have a little slack before you start to wind the tuner.
Hold the string in place with your left hand and use your right hand to pinch the string on the tuning peg, bending the string in a right angle on each side of the peg. This will help the peg "hold" the string while you wind it. Continue to hold it in place with your left hand and start winding the peg with your right hand. Make sure you are winding the correct direction - the side of the peg that the string comes off of should line up with the nut (this depends on the style of headstock your guitar has). Always make sure each new winding is lower (closer to the headstock) than the prior winding. Once you've made about 2 windings, you should be able to release the string with your left hand.
Now use your right hand to maintain tension on the string. Take your thumb and put it on top the string, pressing it close to the fretboard. Hook under the string with your pinky and pull it away from the fretboard. Your thumb holds the headstock side of the string close to the fretboard while the pinky side is further away from the fretboard. There should be light to medium tension on the string from your right hand thumb to the tuning peg, which will force the string to wind correctly.
Make sure the string is in the appropriate nut groove and string tree if applicable. Start tightening the string by turning the tuning peg. Again, make sure each wind goes under the previous one. The tension should start forcing your right hand pinky to get closer and closer to the fretboard. Once it is no longer needed to maintain tension, you can let go of the string. Now make sure you have a reference pitch or are using a tuner to prevent over-tightening.
If you have a locking nut, don't clamp the strings yet. Wait until all strings have been replaced and they are all in-tune.
Slipping
Sometimes when you get close to being in tune, the string will slip. This can either occur at the bridge or the tuning peg. If it slips from a Floyd style bridge, you will have to unwind the tuner a bit to get more length to the string and re-clamp it - make sure you have enough of the string in the block and are tightening the block hard enough. Also make sure the clamp block itself is not damaged, preventing it from working properly. For a Stratocaster style bridge, sometimes the ball end catches on part of the bridge before getting all the way to the place it's supposed to be. Just keep tightening the tuning peg. If the string slipped at the tuning peg, you basically have to start over - unwind the string until you can repinch it and start winding again. Some people may say to tie a knot in the string on the peg. I think it's unnecessary - I've only had the string slip off the peg a handful of times. If you follow the advice about starting with a karate chop's worth of slack, get a good pinch on the peg, keep tension while tuning up, and make sure each wind rests under than the prior one, it should not slip.
Breaking New Strings In
Once you've put new strings on the guitar, you have to break them in. This is best done by bending the strings all over the fretboard. I like to bend each string at about 4-5 locations on the fretboard per string, and I bend about 3-4 times per location. That's 4 locations x 3 bends x 6 string = 72 bends. A good workout. After going through the process once, the strings are going to be way out-of-tune - this is why they need to be broken in! Retune and repeat the bending process one more time, then retune again. That should suffice. Now go play - listen to the stellar sound of that new set of strings!
String Gauge
Most stock guitars come in standard E tuning with 9's (.009-.042). These are easy to bend and are good for lead work, but I find them a bit lacking if you want a heavy rhythm sound. Because they are relatively loose, you'll get a strong attack on them that quickly fades to a whimper. In my mind, that sounds kind of vintage, not modern and heavy. For standard E tuning, I prefer 10's (.010-.046). If you like to play in drop D tuning, you may prefer strings with a heavy bottom (.010-.052). The heavy bottom is nice, even if you don't play in a drop tuning - you generally don't need to make as strong bends on your thicker strings as you do on the thinner ones. Given that I'm a Petrucci nut, I basically use the exact same string gauges (Scroll down a little and there's a chart for all his tunings with the gauges used).
Also, thinner strings are easier to mute. This is mostly why I like them for lead work - you are less likely to have an unwanted string ring out. I find I sometimes like the sharper attack too, but not always. You will also have an easier time playing legato (hammer-ons and pull-offs) with thinner strings. I have two guitars tuned to standard E. One has 9's, the other 10's.
If you are tuning all your guitar strings down, you don't want 9's, or even 10's. I find I need at least 11's to play in standard D, at least 12's to play in standard C, and at least 13's to play in standard B. If you are additionally going to drop the 6th string a full step, I highly recommend getting a set of heavy bottoms. Again, see the chart on the Petrucci site linked above, or visit this website, which has a Java Applet to calculate string tension using gauges and tunings. Here are the values I use for most of my guitars: notice you can specify the scale length, tuning, and type of strings. The first is D'Addario EXL120's, then D'Addario EXL110's, then D'Addario EXL110-7's with an additional .080 nickel wound string (for my Ibanez RGA8 8 string). Notice the 8 string has a longer scale length, but I tune it down a half step, acheiving roughly the same string tension.
len 25.5" E4 .009" PL == 13.13# B3 .011" PL == 11.01# G3 .016" PL == 14.68# D3 .024" NW == 15.77# A2 .032" NW == 15.77# E2 .042" NW == 14.77# total == 85.13#
E4 .010" PL == 16.21# B3 .013" PL == 15.38# G3 .017" PL == 16.57# D3 .026" NW == 18.41# A2 .036" NW == 19.54# E2 .046" NW == 17.48# total == 103.59#
len 27" E4b .010" PL == 16.2# B3b .013" PL == 15.36# G3b .017" PL == 16.55# D3b .026" NW == 18.38# A2b .036" NW == 19.51# E2b .046" NW == 17.46# B1b .059" NW == 16.46# F1 .080" NW == 16.55# total == 136.49#
Another point on string gauge - the thinner your strings, the less tension they'll have which means the more you'll stretch them when you pick them. This will cause them to go sharp initially and gradually lower their pitch until they find their natural sustaining volume. The harder you pick them, the sharper they'll go. For metal, where you often have to play fast and aggressively, picking hard will cause the initial attack to be sharper than the note you desire. This is another reason to use thicker strings for aggressive music like metal - otherwise, you can sound out of tune, even when you aren’t.
Lately much ado has been made about balanced tension between the strings - basically each string having near identical tension when tuned up. There's nothing wrong with unbalanced tension. Of course, a wide imbalance is going to feel awkward. I consider balanced tension a good ideal, but I find most commercial sets are close enough not to nitpick. D'Addario actually took notice and makes true balanced tension sets now, but the price is a bit too high right now for me to switch to them. Keep in mind also that the link above to the tension calculator is not perfect and should only be used as a rough estimate.
And a final point - thin strings are more likely to have fret buzz with the attack. As I just mentioned, they will stretch more and thus be more likely to slap against frets above the one you are fretting. This can sound kind of nice for blues work, where you aren't always picking aggressively - it really emphasizes when you do. For metal, where you are constantly picking quickly and aggressively, it will make your playing sound like noise; it will be near impossible to hear the desired note pitch. This also depends on your setup.
Broken Strings
The older strings get and the more corrosion you allow to occur on them, the more likely they are to break. Usually this occurs when higher-than-usual tension is placed on the string, such as over-tightening it, bending it, or picking it aggressively. Your first broken string can take you by surprise. It's kind of like an adult version of jack-in-the-box. Don't worry - you just need to replace the string.
I always keep a cache of .009, .010, .011, and .013 gauge strings around, as these are the most likely to break. (.009 or .010 is the high E string and .011 and .013 is the high B string, depending on if I'm using a guitar with 9's or 10's.) That said, I additionally keep extra packs of strings around in case one of my other strings break. Sometimes a broken string indicates it's time to replace the entire set. If you have a Floyd Rose style bridge, you will need an allen wrench to change the strings, so make sure you have the appropriate one on hand, especially if you are at a gig.
If the same string keeps breaking repeatedly, take note of where it is breaking, which is almost always on the bridge saddle or the nut. This may indicate a burr in the metal (or other material) that is causing the string to break and will need to be fixed. It may be as simple as sanding it off or down using sandpaper, or it may require a professional fix. If it's a cheap bridge saddle, you may be able to simply replace it. If your guitar is still under warranty, you may be able to have it fixed for free; but it's probably not worth the turnaroud time.
You may also consider moving to a thicker set of string gauges if you are often breaking your strings. It may take a little time getting used to the increased tension, especially for bends; but it will decrease the liklihood of broken strings.