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1. Find a flat, clear surface on which to work. If you are concerned about damaging the finish on your instrument or table, lay a towel beneath the guitar. Gather a string winder, wire cutters and fresh strings.
2. Using a string winder, unwind the tuning post and loosen the old string. Be careful as you pull the old string through the tuner—the cut end can be as sharp as a needle!
3. Using a bridge pin puller (this tool is safer for your guitar than pliers), pull up the pin and pull out the old string. It’s best to wind the old string on itself before discarding it—if dropped, thin strings can be difficult to find!
4. Insert the new string into the bridge and replace the pin, making sure to push it down firmly while tugging lightly on the string. If your pins have a groove in them, the groove should face toward the sound hole.
5. At the headstock end, measure the string needed by pulling it taut and putting a bend in it about one inch past the tuning post. Carefully feed the new string through the post hole so that the string beyond the bend points toward the tuning peg.
6. The first wrap should be at the top of the post and subsequent wraps should be made down the post and under the end of the string.
7. Turn the tuning peg counterclockwise to wind the string up. Keep tension on the string as you wind it by holding the string and tugging on it gently, making sure that it wraps neatly around the sound post. Poorly wound strings make tuning difficult.
8. As you make final tuning adjustments, stretch the string by pulling on it about half way down the fingerboard. This will prevent the new string from stretching later as you play it. You may find that after initially stretching the string, you have to retune it immediately; if so, keep retuning and stretching until the string settles.
9. Using wire cutters, snip off the excess string at the sound post, leaving about 1/4 inch protruding. Remember to keep track of the snipped end—you don’t want a dog or toddler to step on it!
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