broke a string!

ahh i was pratcicing my guitar and um i broke a string...the 1st one! um, so im assuming u jus go buy some strings but how the heck do u put it bak in the guitar????

 

you should just go to your local music or guitar store and buy strings... if you dont have a tuner you can ask the guitar store people if they will string your guitar- its not expenisve around here. thats what i had to do my first time when i didnt know what i was doing and put the e string in the a spot. silly me.

 

First off, it depends what kind of guitar you've got; is it electric or acoustic, and what type of bridge and machine heads does it have?

You can buy different types of strings as well. You should ask at a music shop which gauge your guitar has on it at the minute, because different string gauges make the guitar sound different and feel different to play.

 

If one string broke it's probably best to buy all new ones... If you bought the guitar at the shop you take it to you just buy the strings and they'll put them on for free.

 

If it's an electric, I suggest trying Ernie Ball... I like Elixers on my acoustic (They're buy their strings from D'Addario and coat them)... they run about $10.00 a set on average. Only problem is that I play so much, in a couple weeks the plastic coating has flaked off.

 

ooh well its an electric....i dont reely noe much about guitars.haha i feel like a dork. so i buy some, and ask them to put them in for me? can u put them in yourself? my dad says he knows how but i dont know if i beileve him hehe.

 

Yeah you can put them on yourself, just be careful. Those damn things are sharp as hell and I have a HUGE scar running down my palm from when I was learning to re-string my bass. I did that one on my acoustic, too. Maybe if you ask kindly enough someone at a local music shop will show you how to put them on yourself while they put them on your guitar, that way you wont have to ask anyone to do it anymore It's really quite a simple thing, just a little clumsy at first. Make sure you have a good strong pair of wire cutters so you dont have excess string hanging off... I've cut myself on accident on those too! Maybe I'm just not that swift...:&


But good luck dear


Ps - Yeah, As George said, Ernie Ball strings are GREAT. I use their bass series (which is actaully expensive as hell) but they work really really great. I assume they'd be just as great for guitar, too...

 

btw... ernie balls are about $4.00 a set where I get them.

 

Ok here's what you do.

1. Buy a string.

Tell the clerk it's your first time buying strings and that you don't know what to get. They'll ask you what guitar you've got and ask you which string broke. Tell them and they'll most probably get you something appriate.

2. Take the old string off.

This is easy, just take it out at the head, this may take a little unwinding. If it's electric you just feed the string through the bridge and when the ball (you'll know what I mean when you see it) comes out just grb that and take it out.

With an acoustic it's little trickier. There are little pegs which you've got to take out first (for thicker strings you may want some sort of tool, these can get very stuck sometimes). Once it's out you can just take the string out. With a few you have to put your hand on the inside and take it out like that.

3. Take string out of packet and put them on.

With acoustics, you can feed the ball into the bridge through the front.

With electrics you have to feed it into the back of the bridge where the ball comes out.

Take the end of the string to the head and then give yourself about 1.5 - 2 inches of string poking out of the top. Hold it in place and turn peg as if you are tuning up.

4. Tighten.

Hold onto ball into you have to let go.

For the first rotation you've got to keep hold of the string but after that it's normally fine. Carry on tightening until you have to let go of the ball. Now start playing the string until its in concert tuning.

5. Get rid of slack.

For this bit you take hold of the string at roughly the middle (twelveth fret) and you pull outwards. Be gentle enough to not snap the bugger, but be firm at the same time.

This gets rid of any kinks in the string that you cannot see.

You then tune it again (it'll go very flat), and repeat 2 or 3 times.

6. Congratulate yourself on your first restringing.

Blessings

Sebbi

 

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