Recommended Article: A Visual Step-By-Step Guide to Changing Your Acoustic Guitar Strings Always change the strings when setting up a guitar. This creates wonky tension which fundamentally changes the configuration of the instrument. In fact, older strings will start to distort and become inconsistent in their diameter. As strings wear out the way they vibrate and the way they intonate changes. I never set up a guitar without first replacing the strings. I like these style of mats because they have a soft material for the guitar to sit on, but more importantly make it really easy to spot metal shavings or other debris that could scratch your guitar. I vacuum the top thoroughly before setting a guitar on it to ensure no debris scratches the guitar’s finish.
My workbench top is covered in carpet remnants that I replace as needed. Make sure your area is clean and well lit. I use a workbench that I can stand comfortably at and not bend over. Just make sure that you have plenty of space to work and you’re in a comfortable position. If you don’t have a workbench you can use a clear table. This provides back-pressure on the tuner that will keep the string in place and in tune.
If a note is sharp, tune down below the intended note and tune back up to the note you want. This is true when tuning your guitar too.
When you loosen a screw, if you simply stop turning it, the force that’s being put on that screw will keep turning it past where you left it.įor example, if you loosen your truss rod but don’t add any back-pressure, over the next week or so the truss rod in the neck will continue to loosen slightly adding more relief to the neck than you originally wanted. Whenever you are working with any type of screw, threaded rod, or machine tuner, it’s important to always apply back pressure.