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How To Change Your Guitar Strings
Did you know that Les Paul took all the strings on the market and tested the metal alloy in the guitar strings to understand what worked best. He found that the material that provided the best tone and reliability was "pure nickel" From then on, Les became a supporter and a user of nickel wound strings. Today Gibson Les Paul electric guitar strings are manufactured using a pure nickel wrap. Eric Clapton earned the nickname "Slowhand" because his aggressive string-bending often resulted in broken guitar strings. He would replace his guitar strings right onstage while the fans in the crowd did a slow hand-clapping until Eric was ready to go. Jimmy Page would also play the guitar strings with a violin bow, a technique he adapted during his years as a studio session guitarist, and continued later during his live performances of "Dazed and Confused" In 1965 at Sacramento California Kieth Richards almost electrocuted himself when he accidentally touched an ungrounded mike with his guitar strings and knocked himself unconusious until waking up in the hospital an hour later. Jamorama – The Ultimate Guitar Learning Kit.
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How To Change your Guitar Strings
1. Which way do you have to turn the tuning keys to tighten or loosen the guitar strings? 2. How are the strings aligned from the nut to the bridge? 3. Which is the heaviest string? Below you will find some helpful steps to follow for changing your strings. Once you've changed your guitar strings a couple of times your confidence should begin to grow and you won't need to refer to these steps any longer. I like to remove all of the guitar strings in order to give my guitar a thorough cleaning, but you can remove and replace them one at a time if you prefer. Guitar Care and Maintenance Tools: - Needle-nose Plyers (to cut string ends) REMOVING THE GUITAR STRINGS Acoustic Steel String Guitar 1. Using the string winder , begin slowly loosening the string(s) until completely slack. 2. With the needle-nose plyers, carefully grab the string from the capstan (the part it winds around) and pull through the hole until it is free. 3. Taking the string winder again, use the cut-out at the end of it to grab the pin at the bridge. Gently pull the pin until it comes out of the hole. 4. Continue this process until all the guitar strings are removed. 5. Clean guitar surface thoroughly. Classic Nylon String Guitar Follow steps one and two above. When you come to step three, take your needle-nose plyers and carefully loosen the figure eight knot at the bridge. Pull the string free. Electric Guitar Follow the same procedure as described for an acoustic steel string guitar. However, if you have an electric guitar with a movable bridge you may want to take it to your local music store and have them show you how to do it safely. If the bridge is moved from it's correct position you will not be able to tune your guitar after restringing it. RE-STRINGING YOUR GUITAR Acoustic Steel String Guitar 1. Bend the ball end of the string slightly and place it inside the hole below the bridge. Some steel string guitars do not have pins. When this is the case, just pull the string throught the hole. 2. Line up the string with any grooves in the pin. Insert the pin into the hole, making sure it is secure. 3. Take the other end and insert into the hole on the capstan. 4. Pull the string through leaving a fair amount of slack between the capstan and the bridge. 5. Bend the string at the point it comes through the capstan to keep it secure. 6. Watching out for your eyes, begin turning the key with your left hand. Once you get it started it may be easier to use the string winder. (For safety reasons, you might want to cut off any excess string. I usually wait until after they're all on to do this). 7. As you are winding, apply some tension to the string with your right hand to help keep it taught. Make sure you are winding in the right direction! On the bass strings you will be winding counter-clockwise (away from you). On the treble strings you will go the opposite direction. 8. Continue to wind each guitar string until all the slack is taken up. Do not worry about tuning yet. 9. Cut off all excess string length. Classic Nylon String Guitar 1. Put the string through the top of the hole found just below the bridge. 2. Pull about 3 inches through. 3. Bringing the string up over the tie block, pass it underneath itself at the original point of entry. 4. Come down over the tie block again and wrap the end of the string around itself in a figure eight type pattern. 5. Insert the other end of the string down through the hole on the capstan. 6. Wrap the string around the back and then underneath itself in order to secure it in place. 7. As described above, begin turning the key with your left hand while maintaining some tension with the other until all the slack is taken up. With a classical guitar you will wind clockwise on the bass strings and the treble strings. 8. Keep the string as straight as possible as it continues from the capstan through the nut and down onto the neck. 9. You should not have any excess string length, but if you do, cut it off. Electric Guitar Follow the same procedure as described for the acoustic steel string guitar. I hope you found this information to be helpful. Remember, establishing a good guitar care routine including changing your guitar strings regularly will insure many long years of musical fun and enjoyment! Kathy Unruh is a singer/songwriter and webmaster of ABC Learn Guitar. She has been writing songs and providing guitar lessons to students of all ages for over 20 years. For free guitar lessons, plus tips and resources on songwriting, recording and creating a music career, please visit: www.abclearnguitar.com Article Source: EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kathy_Unruh Are you looking for the best prices for music equipment, guitars, guitar strings, effects and the lowest shipping costs around then check out Zzounds they offer the widest selection of name-brand instruments, including Gibson guitars, at the guaranteed lowest prices . You can browse over 125,000 different music related products from the Zzounds website 24 hours a day...you can't beat that?  
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