Every musician must learn how to take proper care of their instrument. One of the first things every new guitarist must do is purchase the necessary tools and learn how to restring his/her guitar. Here I will give simple step-by-step instructions on the process of restringing your acoustic guitar.
When preparing to restring your guitar, be sure you have a large, clean work area. Next, locate your winder, your clippers, your string stretcher, your tuner, and, of course, your new strings. These will be used later on. Also, be sure to have a waste basket or other container close at hand for the old strings and the left over clippings. If you are working at a table, fold towels to place beneath the body and neck of your guitar so as to avoid any unintentional damage during this process. Once your work area has been prepared, you are ready to begin. Carefully set your guitar in a way that the headstock is elevated and easily accessible.
Before you can put your new strings on, obviously you must remove the old ones. Do not remove them all at once! This may cause warping and bowing of the neck. Instead, I recommend changing strings two at a time. Start by removing the E (6th) string and the G (3rd) strings. To do this, start by following the E (6th) string to its corresponding tuning post. Carefully examine the tuning post to be sure that the string wraps around the side of the post facing the inside of the headstock. Then, using your winder, turn the tuning key CLOCKWISE to loosen the string. If the string wraps around the side of the post facing the OUTSIDE of the headstock, then, using your winder, turn the tuning key COUNTER-CLOCKWISE to loosen the string.
Once the string is completely loosened unwrap the string from the tuning post and remove it so that it is attached only to the bridge. Repeat this process for the G (3rd) string. Now the strings must be removed from the bridge. To do this is quite simple. Start by following the E (6th) string down to its...