How to String a Guitar
One of the guitar newsgroups provided the following information: how people shared information on the Internet before the birth of the 'Web'.
The question about getting a guitar to stay in tune dusted off a memory. I went hunting through the archives, and 1996 I wrote a piece about that exact topic. With a little editing, here it is.
Just the night before, a good friend of mine had played his first gig with a newly formed band that had been rehearsing for months. They couldn't have been better prepared. I asked him, "So, how did the gig go last night?". His reply was, "Oh man, it was awful. I made the mistake of putting new strings on the day before the gig, and I was out of tune all night." To which I said, "Mistake? I changed my strings before every gig, and I never go out of tune. Not since Eddie taught me how anyway."
Eddie was a mutual friend. Eddie (Ed Wright) is an excellent Blues guitarist and an expert Luthier. He is among the nicest, kindest, and most generous men I know. He was performing miracles on tele of mine (raising a low fret) when I mentioned something I had seen him do on stage that puzzled me. I saw him flexing his whammy bar (he played a Strat) several times, BETWEEN phrases, when his guitar was silent. "Oh, that.." he responded, "I probably felt like I was going out of tune. That usually puts it back in tune". "Back in tune?" I said, "I always thought that damn thing put you out of tune," Ed said. "Didn't I ever show you how to keep your guitar in tune? When I finish this, I'll restring your guitar for you, and it won't go out of tune."
I will pass on the simple things I learned. To rid yourself of tuning problems, you must faithfully do what he told me. First, go to Radio Shack and buy a tube of Teflon lubricant. It comes in a dispenser that looks like a hypodermic needle. Next, and this is a biggie, wash your hands. You often handle the end of the string that winds around the tuning peg. If your hands are oily, you will defeat the rest of the process by making that end slippery. It doesn't matter if you replace one string at a time or remove all the old ones first. (unless you have a beautiful archtop and your bridge rests on the surface. You probably don't want that to move, so one at a time.) It also doesn't matter what order you do them, either.
Place a tiny drop of the lubricant on every point that touches your strings (except your tuning pegs). Each string slot in the nut, each spot that the string touches the bridge, and if you have a Fender type trem, where the string bends into the trem block. I was taught to do this before I put each string on, but I like to do this to avoid getting any lubricant on the part of the string that will be wrapped around the tuner post. I usually put on each string, leaving enough slack to lift it away and place my drop of lubricant underneath.
Perhaps I should explain what the lubricant is for. It's for the Blues. It's for string benders. When you bend a string, you stretch it, and a tiny string slides over each friction point. If there is too much friction, when you release the string, not all of it slides back over the friction point, and you are "out of tune".
Next, and maybe most important, is never to exceed three turns of string around the tuning peg (2 is plenty). If you are lucky enough to have locking pegs, you don't need to wrap them up more than once. You must learn to make a "locking" loop when threading the string if you have non-locking tuners. This is much easier to show than to describe. I think I'll refer you to an illustration. I have seen a wide variety of recommended ways to thread your strings. This one works.
As each string is put on, using a tuner, bring it up to pitch and a half step beyond. Don't worry. With neck flex and string stretch, you'll lose that half-step quickly. When all the strings are on and "rough tuned," it's time to stretch them. With the guitar lying in front of you, using as many fingers as you need, bend each string several times as far as you can, the high ones towards the low ones and the low ones towards the high ones. Retune the whole guitar to the concert pitch (it will be very flat). Repeat the stretching process and retune (it will be slightly flat). Once more, it may not be flat at all. Please pick it up, play normally for a few minutes, and then check the tuning. It will be smack on if you have done it all by the book. Put it away. It's ready to play and will stay that way.
It's that simple.
If you are playing and suspect you are slightly out of tune, flex the trem once or twice, and you will return to smacking on. I'm not BSing you. After the strings have been stretched, the only thing that makes them go out of tune (if they are locked right at the tuning pegs) is hanging up at the friction points. Flexing the whammy usually frees them, and they are right back at the correct pitch.
Locking tuners are best, but learning to make the "locking loop" is almost as good. If you have Fender vintage slotted tuners, all you have to do is follow Fender's instructions, stay at a three-wrap maximum, and they work perfectly. I wish all my guitars had those slotted tuners.
The following Web sites can provide you with more info about restringing your guitar: