Guitar String...Help?!?

Question:http://www.lyonguitars.com/acoustics_lc2...

This is the guitar I have. My 1st E String broke last night and I am trying to put on a new string. I know how to, but how do I get the white circles off from the bottom? My friend and I tried to pull it off and we can't get it. How do I do it?

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This is the guitar I have. My 1st E String broke last night and I am trying to put on a new string. I know how to, but how do I get the white circles off from the bottom? My friend and I tried to pull it off and we can't get it. How do I do it?

First, loosen the string and take it completely of the tuning peg. You are going to have to do this anyway and it will make your life so much easier to perform this step first.

The peg at the bottom can be unreasonable at times. If you buy a peg winder, it has a little slot at the end to slide around the peg so it can be gently lifted straight up. If you don't have a peg winder, you should probably consider getting one since it will make changing strings a whole lot easier. They cost anywhere from between one to five dollars. If it costs five dollars and it isn't made of some space age material and doesn't include something great like a coffee maker however, you should probably buy the less expensive one.

You can also use a pair of needle nose pliers, but be careful to slide the pliers around the peg and pull straight up, do not pry the peg out. It will bend the peg and possible put the pliers through some part of the wood you don't want them to go through (this actually happened to one of my students, I am not just being dramatic here)

Once you get the peg out, the string will also be difficult. It has been sitting there for several weeks to several months and it may have bonded to the surrounding material. You have to wiggle it around a little, and on rare occasions, you will have to push down and wiggle it around. This is when you will be glad that the string is really loose.

Once you get the string removed from the bridge, you are going to want to place the new string in there. Some people guide the string down along the slot of the peg and wedge the ball end in at the bottom before they place the peg back in the hole. I just stuff it all in and make sure the peg is tight before I try to put the string back in the tuning peg. I am usually aiming for speed since I am generally replacing that string about five minutes (if I'm lucky) before class starts while the student makes up fantastic stories about why he or she couldn't get to school a little bit earlier so we'd actually have time to do this right! (but I'm not bitter) If the peg is loose, don't just shove it in and hope for the best. MaAke sure the peg is seated before you go on. If you absolutely have to, (and sometimes I do) you can even shove the peg in with the slot to the back so the string provides the extra friction you need to seat the peg. It isn't elegant, but it works.

Once the peg is seated, turn your attention to the tuning peg. You only need three windings around that peg to seat the string properly at the top. Extra winding just mean extra time to change the string next time it breaks, and it will break. Pull the string through the guide hole of the tuning peg, making sure that the wrap will be inwards (the string should come off the tuning peg into the center of the guitar, not towards the outside) Once the string is through, you have two choices:

1. Crimp the string with those needle nose pliers, (make a sharp bend so that the string will stick straight up) and catch the string against the winding during your first time around.

2. Shove that string through the hole twice. This is what I do and it generally saves me a lot of time, both when I am changing the string, and when the student detunes it and I don't have to catch the crimp all over again. If you have any friends who offer to tune guitars for you, this will happen to you at least once a week until you get up the moral courage to tell them to leave their greasy fingers off your tuning pegs. Your tuning pegs are sacred and nobody but your teacher, a professional musician, or you should touch them unless they are willing to buy you a set (not just one) of strings when they screw it up! (and they will!) The crimping thing is more elegant and it does save time when you are trying to get the string back off. You also cannot generally shove that sixth string (and sometimes the fifth) in twice so you will end up crimping or tyeing that one anyway. (Tyeing the string involves making the same kind of knot you start to tie your shoes with and pulling as tight as you can. If the crimping doesn't work, the tyeing always does, although it is kind of ugly and does make removing the string take a little longer.)

As you wind the string, keep your finger on the loose part and push down. You want the windings to lie tight against each strand. Don't let the string go all over the place or you may get unusual noises (sympathetic vibrations) when you try to play it later. After you are all done, and the string is up to pitch (it will go out of tune constantly for a couple of days by the way) cut the excess string off with a pair of wire cutters. Do not use scissors unless you are dealing with nylon strings, and resist the urge to use your parents toenail cutters. It really makes it difficult to cut toenails afterwards and they will worry that their toenails are getting harder to cut. Do not cause your parents any additional worries, as you may have to ask them or strings someday! By the way, this is when you wished you had taken my advice about the peg winder.
When you pick up a new E string (so you have one in the case the next time it breaks) pick up a pegwinder and a D string as well. This is the next most likely string to break, or have the windings break around the third to fourth fret. You might as well get one now because you will go through two to three D strings for every set of wtrings you buy, unless you are really fussy and replace the whole set every time, in which case you are very rich and should have someone replace those strings for you. You can afford it!

Caution: Do not try to pull the tuning peg out by pulling the string. It does not work (most of the time) and sometimes the whole bridge comes with it (rarely, and if it does, you already had a problem with the bridge, but why take chances?)

Do not hook your peg winder up to your dad's drill, even at the low setting. DO not use your mom's electric screwdriver either. These are all things that my students have done and in every single case, they left it on too long and broke the new string.

It doesn't hurt to spray a little tiny bit of WD-40 on those gears (only if they are exposed) before you try to turn them a lot. Your mom or dad have a can around somewhere. It is probably empty, but you can be that helpful person that helps them to remember to get some more for just in case they need it. they will hate you for this, but only until they really need it and they discover that they actually have a can that is not empty. They will then think you are wise, until you prove otherwise.

If any of this intimidates you, take the guitar to your teacher, your local music store, or to a friend who really can change his or her own strings. There is no shame in asking for help (just not over and over) and it can save you lots of money when you don't break your guitar or your string trying to do it yourself.

Slide it back down through the bottom. The white part is attached to the string.

the little white circle is a peg. you'll need pry it out, a small pair of needle nose pliers usually does the trick, don't use the bridge for leverage as you may damage it, a small wooden dowel as a fulcrum is best. once out it will make sense to you.

Tom B is right. Pull the peg out (carefully so as not to damage the bridge). Remove the pieces of old string from the tuning machine at the headstock and the bridge, then stuff the little washer or ball end of the string down the hole in the bridge, push the peg back in all the way (there's a groove on one side of the peg that should face toward the headstock to accomodate the string) and wind the other end of the string onto the tuner at the headstock.