How to change strings on a steel-string acoustic guitar

Before removing a string, identify how your guitar holds it at both ends. A steel-string acoustic with bridge pins, an electric with a locking bridge and a nylon-string guitar need different fitting methods.

The worked sequence below is for a six-string steel-string acoustic with a pin bridge and conventional non-locking, through-hole tuning posts on a solid headstock. Check that description against your guitar and its manual first. The parts guide helps with the names.

Guidance source-checked on 2 November 2026.

Choose the right method and strings

Match the string type, all the gauges and intended tuning to the instrument. If replacing a suitable set without changing the feel, keep its packet as your specification. Do not put ordinary steel strings on a classical guitar. Read when strings need replacing if the decision is about wear, or the gauge guide before choosing a different size.

Prepare the workspace

Have the correct strings, a tuner, string cutters, a suitable bridge-pin puller and a clean, soft cloth ready. A hand string winder is optional. Use a stable, padded surface and a suitable neck support that does not put the guitar’s weight on its headstock. Keep sharp string ends under control as you work.

For this first-change sequence, replace one string at a time so you can keep track of its post and bridge pin. Follow a different order if your model requires it. Removing all strings is not automatically damaging on every guitar, but some systems need support or a particular removal method.

1. Release the old string’s tension

Start with the sixth, low E string. Trace it to its tuning post, then turn the key slowly in the direction that lowers its pitch until the string is slack. Watch the string rather than relying on “clockwise” or “away from you,” which depend on the layout and viewpoint.

Unwind the slack string from the post. If you need to cut an old string to remove a curled end, first make sure it has no tension, control both ends and use string cutters. Avoid dragging the sharp end across the finish.

2. Remove the bridge pin and string

With the string slack, remove its pin using the appropriate pin puller as directed. Keep that pin with its hole. Lift out the old string. Do not use the saddle as a lever or force a rod into the bridge hole; if the pin or ball end stays stuck, pause and get help with that specific obstruction.

Wipe accessible dirt away with the soft, dry cloth. Deep cleaning is optional and needs the correct care instructions for the finish and fretboard. Lemon oil, solvents, steel wool and polish are not general requirements for a restring.

3. Seat the new string at the bridge

Uncoil the matching replacement without kinking it. Put its ball end into the correct bridge hole and fit the pin using the model’s string path. With a slotted pin, the groove must align with the string as the manufacturer directs; do not assume every pin has a groove.

Seat the pin by hand and draw the string up gently so the ball end seats against the inside of the bridge area, rather than hanging from the bottom of the pin. Do not hammer a pin or try to drive its collar flush because another guitar’s pin looks different. If the pin begins to lift as tension is applied, slacken the string and recheck the seating.

4. Route and wind at the post

Lay the string over the saddle and into its correct nut slot, then pass it through its own tuning post. Use the slack allowance and securing method specified for that post and string. Leave enough length for the required wraps; do not cut to a borrowed measurement from a different headstock.

On the conventional posts covered here, form a tidy coil down the post, keeping successive wraps below the previous one and avoiding overlaps. Follow the maker’s route from post to nut. A single clockwise rule cannot cover both sides of every headstock. Turn slowly and keep the string in its nut slot as it takes tension.

5. Tune slowly and check the attachment

Use the tuning guide to bring the string gradually to its intended open note and register. Watch that it remains seated at the bridge, saddle, nut and post. Stop if a pin rises, a part shifts unexpectedly or the pitch does not respond as expected.

Once the string is secured, trim the free tail at the stage and with the end allowance specified for the string and tuner. Control the cut-off piece and keep sharp ends clear of hands and the finish.

Repeat for the other five strings, keeping each replacement and pin matched to its position.

6. Settle, retune and play

Recheck all six strings after the set is fitted. Follow the string or guitar maker’s settling instructions; if gentle stretching is specified, use that method. Hard strumming, forceful pulling or tuning above the target pitch is not a shortcut. Settling time varies, especially between steel and nylon strings.

Play a familiar passage at your normal attack and check tuning again. A new set does not guarantee that every note will be buzz-free or stay perfectly in tune. Record persistent changes with the tuning-stability checks or fret-buzz guide.

Changing gauge or tuning calls for checking the setup; it does not automatically require a truss-rod adjustment. If the instrument remains difficult to play or something is damaged, the setup-assessment guide explains what to show a repairer.

Manufacturer instructions

Fender’s acoustic manual, in “Changing Strings” and “Re-Stringing Your Guitar,” describes gradual tuning and pin-bridge stringing. Martin’s care guide, printed page 5, explains pin alignment, ball-end seating and avoiding force. These support the sequence’s stated hardware scope; your current model’s instructions take precedence where its details differ.

For other systems, PRS’s locking-tuner guide and Taylor’s nylon-string guide illustrate why attachment and cutting methods need their own instructions. Use them only for the designs they describe.