Encore Lounge Music Gear

Many first-time guitar owners have their strings changed—and get all other maintenance work done—by a professional or at a local shop. As you become more experienced, however, it’s often useful to learn how to do it yourself. For one thing, it’ll save you a lot of time and money. For another, you want to be able to feel your way around it and know when it’s time for a new set of strings.

You can change your strings using just a pair of pliers. Some people use a tuning fork or tuning winder, which you may find useful if you’re new to the craft but aren’t really imperative. Always start by removing the top three strings—the bass strings—so that some tension is left on the guitar to help you finish the job. Use the pliers to loosen and then pull out the pegs holding the string to the surface.

Once the strings are off, clean the area underneath using a good-quality guitar polish. Use a soft, smooth cloth to avoid scratching the surface. Make sure to clean not just the fret board and the wood under the strings, but also the head, neck, and the space next to the bridge. Many people just do a quick swipe over these areas, but they actually tend to collect a lot of dust and they can be hard to clean if there’s too much buildup.

When installing the new strings, start with the bass strings again and then move down. Starting with the E, place the string with the nut end in the peg hole, then follow up with the A and the D. Then replace the peg and push it down to hold the string in place. Next, thread the other end of the string through the peg tuner or machine head, keeping it just loose enough to wrap twice or thrice around the tuner. Place a finger on the part being tuned to keep it flat until the string has tightened enough. You may want to use a hand-held winder to speed things up at this step.

Finally, wind up the string, starting over the threaded end to keep it in place. Make sure you’ve strung inside the peg tuners. Do the same with the next three strings, starting with the G and followed by the B and the E. Pluck the strings individually to make sure they’re properly tuned, using your other tools if necessary, and your guitar is good as new!

Not everyone likes changing guitar strings, but it’s well worth doing—and doing regularly—if you want consistently good performance. Strings on both acoustic and electric guitars go through regular wear and tear, although some wear off faster than others depending on how much they’re used. The problem most musicians have is knowing when it’s time to change strings; often, the change in sound quality and playability is so gradual that you don’t hear it yourself.

First, what makes guitar strings lose quality? Much of the damage comes from your own hands. When you play, you transfer dirt, oil, and sweat from your hands onto the strings, whether or not you use a pick. Strings will then start sounding dull or out of tune. At first, you may notice that you need more force to get the right sound or volume out of them. Most players will take this to mean the guitar needs tuning, but you know it’s time to change the strings when you need to retune more often than usual.

Another factor in string wear-out is humidity. This is especially true with metal strings, which corrode when exposed to wet or humid conditions for too long. Avoid playing with sweaty hands, or wipe your hands on a clean towel before playing. Of course, this would be unavoidable during long performances. Your best bet in this case is to take breaks as often as you can, and try to play with lighter hands—heavy-handed playing can strengthen the damaging effects of humid air.

Most guitar strings, when played regularly, will last a few months before the quality gets drastically altered. If you’re not sensitive to changes in sound quality, try feeling for changes in texture. Dirty strings tend to feel more slippery than usual as oil builds up on the surface. You can also run a white rag or piece of paper over the strings; if it comes out a little discoloured, then there’s probably enough dirt to merit a new set of strings.

Sometimes you’ll even want to change the strings on a brand-new guitar. It’s safe to assume that an instrument gets tested by dozens of people every day—that’s dozens of dirty hands handling your guitar even before you start playing it. This tends to happen in large music shops. You can buy a new set of strings on the spot and have them put them in while you wait; at a decent shop you might even get this service for free.

Electronic guitar tuners have made it possible even for beginners to keep their instruments pitch-perfect. But while this has made the job faster, many professionals complain that it hinders a musician’s ability to listen. They still swear by the tried and tested method of tuning by ear; to them, using your own ears to listen for frequency allows you not just to keep your guitar sounding the way you want it, but also helps you become a better listener and better musician.

Most tuners use the default frequency of 440 as a benchmark for measuring and adjusting frequency. With the machine doing the “listening,” new players risk becoming too dependent on it, losing their sensitivity to sound. This doesn’t affect the instrument’s sound quality at all, but it can desensitize you to frequency changes and make it hard to tell when it’s time to tune your guitar. Listening, after all, is one of those skills that need to be practiced regularly.

If you’re not ready to go old-school just yet, start by combining old and new methods—a system that even many music greats swear by. Start by using a tuning fork to tune your guitar by ear, then check your accuracy by running the electric tuner. If you’ve never tuned manually before, the differences may be a little disappointing at first, but that’s part of the process. As you start getting used to it, you’ll find that the gap is getting smaller and smaller and you’re becoming more precise.

The theory behind this is that the tuner serves not to do the job for you, but as a reference for your own perception. As you rely on it less and less, you develop a stronger listening ability and a better ear for music in general. You also become more familiar with the sounds your guitar makes, and thus will be able to tell when something is off. This is the same concept used by music and voice coaches to help students develop perfect pitch.

There’s nothing wrong with using an electronic tuner, especially when you’re pressed for time or simply want the convenience. Even professionals use them from time to time. What matters is that you don’t lose touch with your instrument and become a “technical” player, following the notes but not making the music. If you think you can benefit from electronic tuning, use your ears to choose the right one—if it sounds right for you, it probably is.

Pickguards can be a thorny issue with guitarists. On the one hand, you’ve got those who think they’re no more than fancy plates that don’t do much to protect your instrument. On the other, you have guitarists who find it practical to spend just a bit more to prevent the nips and scratches that build up over time. If you’re new to the craft, you’ll find guitars that come with pickguards and others where it’s optional. And truth be told, there’s really no straight answer—it has its good and bad sides, and it’s a matter of which factors outweigh the other.

A pickguard is a plate placed over the body of a guitar to prevent the pick from scratching the surface as you play. Since it’s in plain sight, it often serves a decorative purpose as well, and that’s where the issues come in. Some people like a “pristine” look and do away with the pickguard, while others prefer custom-made ones that better reflect their character.

One thing to consider is whether the pickguard interferes with sound quality and performance. This boils down to the material used. Early guitars came with plastic or celluloid pickguards, which were a little thick and tended to interfere with the vibrations. You may have seen pickguards that look like shells or mother-of-pearl; this is actually a material called pearloid, which was chosen more for its look than for durability. When hit by a pick, they would often make a scratching sound that distracted from the music.

Modern pickguards are made of hard plastic or acrylic, often made transparent so they don’t interfere with the look of the guitar. They are also much lighter and thinner, so they don’t get in the way of playing. High-end guitars sometimes come with exotic pickguards made with expensive wood or fancy synthetic materials. Despite claims that these materials enhance your performance, they often don’t—as long as they protect the surface, there’s really not much of a difference between ordinary plastic and imported wood.

If you’re installing a pickguard on your own, make sure to position it properly. It should go right on top of the sound hole, where pick scratches are most common. Use the right kind of adhesive; a mild but high-quality wood glue is usually appropriate. Most shops can usually install the pickguard for you when you buy it, or at least give you tips on what materials to use.

Even if you are left-handed, you can find a custom designed left handed electric guitar to suit your natural ability. Left-handed people do not have to play right-handed guitars, so can choose a guitar based on their hand strengths. While most of the guitar scene performs on right-handed instruments, left-handed guitars are similarly used with the same features in reverse. This is so the pick end is played with the left hand, and the fretting end is played with the right hand. When a left-handed electric guitarist plays, the neck is pointed to the right of the body, with the guitar appearing as a mirror image of a right-handed electric guitar.

As with any electric guitar, ensure your guitar is properly tuned before playing it. It is best to select a simple method and stick with it, until you are able to learn other learning methods with experience. When playing an electric guitar upside down, be careful of the knobs as they may prevent you from strumming. Famous left handed electric guitar players include Jimi Hendrix and Albert King.  Albert King played upside down with a right handed guitar with his left hands, which is also another suitable option. This results in the normal low E string being the highest string, and the high E string becoming the lowest string. Jimi Hendrix similarly played guitar left-handed, however took a right-handed guitar and restrung it to be played left-handed.

A restrung or specifically left-handed electric guitar has the strings in the correct position, with the low chord on top and the high on the bottom. The bridge is altered to make the lower strings longer than the top strings. A nut is changed to handle new widths also. The controls are reversed on electric guitars to handle the strings naturally, just as a right-hander would play a normal guitar. To hold the left handed electric guitar, hold the guitar pick in your left hand between the knuckles of your thumb. Position is over the guitar’s sound hold, by striking the lowest string with the edge of the pick. Practice using your wrist only, by ensuring the pick strikes the string in a downward motion, and then an upwards motion. Play simple scales, with your right index finger held firmly on the first fret to strike the bottom string with the pick and then alternate playing consecutive strings. Lastly, learn how to play chords, which are sequences of two or more notes with G major being the easiest.

Overall left handed electric guitars are suitable for both left-handed people and those who play electric guitar upside down as they rock to the music.