We all remember when we got our first guitar. But the thrill quickly dissipated the minute we broke our first guitar string. In that split second, we recognized the importance of knowing how to restring a guitar. So we learned. And we’re probably still restringing our guitars the same way today. But did you know there are other ways to do it? Let’s look at some and show you how to do them.

The 5 Ways

While there is a “standard” way to restring an electric guitar, there are other restringing methods worth investigating. We’ll cover five of our favorites, including standard, top wrapping, and more. And we’ll explain the benefits of each. Who knows, we may even teach you, guitar vets, something new.

• The Standard Method
• Top Wrapping
• String-Through-Body
• The Locking Method
• Stringing a Floyd Rose Backwards

The Standard Method

Restringing a guitar with standard stringing is the method most people use. We’ve been restringing electric guitars this way since their invention. It works great, and it’s easy to do with a little practice.

1. Push the string through your bridge and pull until there is no slack.
2. Pull the string tightly across the string nut and push it tough the post of your tuning machine.
3. Add approximately 1.5″-2″ of slack to the string.
4. Tighten the tuning machine, ensuring the string wraps in a uniform coil moving down the string post.

Tech Tips: You’ll want about three winds around the post for the best tuning stability. If you’re left with fewer than 3: Loosen the string, add more slack, and re-tune. If you’re left with more than 3: Loosen the string, remove some slack, and re-tune.

Top Wrapping

Many players who prefer Tune-o-Matic bridges and stop bar tailpieces rely on a method called top wrapping. Instead of pushing the strings through the tailpiece from back to front, you push them through the other direction. You then wrap them back over the top of the tailpiece, over the bridge saddles and string nut, then string them through the tuners as you usually would.

When you restring a guitar with top wrapping, it lets you lower your tailpiece until it touches the top of your guitar. This offers two main benefits: It lowers the break angle of the string over your bridge saddles for a slinkier feel. And it offers better energy transfer from the tailpiece to the top of your guitar. Many players swear by the added warmth and sustain they notice in their tone.

Learn more about top wrapping here.

String-Through-Body

String-through-body stringing is less of a technique and more of a design choice. Most famously used on the Fender Telecaster, string-through-body restringing requires you to put your strings through holes in the back of your guitar. You pull the strings through the top of the guitar, across your bridge saddles, and string them through your tuners in the usual manner.

Some Telecasters even offer both string-through-body and through-the-bridge options. So why choose string-through-body? It’s a widely held belief that, by anchoring the strings inside the wood of your guitar, you increase resonance, attack, and add sustain. Because of this, Teles aren’t the only string-through-body guitars. Many manufacturers offer an assortment of different electric guitar designs with this feature.

The Locking Method

The standard stringing method serves many people just fine. But there’s nothing other than the winds around the post holding your string in place. This can lead to string slip and tuning stability issues. To combat that, many guitarists utilize the locking method.

There are many different locking methods, but they’re all some form of wrapping the string around its loose end and securing it tightly to the post. By “locking” the string against the post, this method can significantly reduce string slip and keep your guitar in tune, longer.

Here’s one of our favorite, easy-to-do locking methods. You’ll find that as your string tightens around the post, it will grab on to itself and “lock” firmly into place.

1. Push the string through your bridge and pull until there is no slack.
2. Pull the string tightly across the string nut and push it tough the post of your tuning machine.
3. Add approximately 1.5″-2″ of slack to the string.
4. When you tighten your tuning machine, ensure one wind of the string is above the excess string you pulled through the post.
5. Wrap the rest underneath in a uniform coil moving down the string post
6. Tighten the tuning machine until the string is in tune.

Stringing a Floyd Rose Backward

“How do you restring a Floyd Rose?” It’s one of the most asked string questions out there. That’s because, when it comes to restringing a guitar, Floyds are a whole different world. They involve multiple locking mechanisms, balancing a floating tremolo, and even fine tuners located at the bridge. And even with Floyds, there are different ways to restring them.

The usual way involves cutting the ball end off of the string, locking the cut end into the bridge, a bit of standard stringing, and then locking the string nut. This unlocks Floyds’ rock-solid tuning stability. But the process requires experience and precision.

That’s why many Floyd devotees prefer stringing a Floyd Rose backward. To do so, you stick the ball end of the string through the tuner post and run it back toward the bridge. That might sound counterintuitive, but there are a few benefits.

• You don’t have to cut the ball end off your string, giving you some room for error.
• If your string breaks near the bridge, you can unwind some from the tuner and restring it with ease.
• It’s an incredibly secure connection at the headstock. Add in the locking nut, and those strings aren’t going anywhere.

Let’s talk tone!

If you have any other questions about guitar stringing, maintenance, or modification, check out our Knowledge Base here. You can also email us here. And don’t forget to dig deeper into the Seymour Duncan blog! There’s a ton of in-depth info, how-tos, tone demonstrations, and a lot more.