Dogwood Guitars

  • Home
  • About
  • Guitars
    • Dogwood Models
    • Guitar Galleries
    • Ordering your Dogwood Guitar
    • FAQ’s
  • Services
  • Lutherie Classes
  • Pictorials
    • Repairs
    • How to Correctly String a Guitar
    • Building A Monarch
    • Making a Spalted Maple Rosette
    • Pearl and Abalone Inlay
  • Articles
    • Technical
    • Viewpoint
  • Testimonials
  • YouTube
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Pictorials / How to Correctly String a Guitar

How to Correctly String a Guitar

When I went to lutherie school I discovered that, like many guitarists, I was stringing my guitars incorrectly. And judging from the inspections that I give to all the guitars that come into my shop, this is a very common problem. I can hear some players saying, “You’ve got to be kidding! I’ve been stringing up guitars since I was a teenager and I have managed to do just fine, thanks.” I held this same attitude… until I learned what incorrect stringing can do to a guitar’s bridge plate. This is the small piece of Rosewood or Maple inside of the guitar and located directly under the bridge. The ball end of the strings pull into place against this plate, preventing them from tearing through the soft spruce top when under tension. It is very easy to string a guitar correctly, and frankly there is no excuse not to. Failure to do so will, over time, wear the bridge plate holes to the point that an expensive and completely avoidable repair must be made.

The most important element of stringing correctly is aligning the ball ends of the string parallel with the body of the guitar, and seating them firmly against the bridge plate before you bring them to tension. It is poor technique to use the bridge pins to push the ball ends into the holes and then pull up on the string to seat the ball. Doing so literally uses the winding on the string like a miniature saw, ripping a groove into the plate that gets worse each time this is repeated. And allowing the ball end to sit perpendicular to the guitar body also eats away at the plate. When you see a guitar with the windings on the string ends protruding through the top of the bridge to the point they are nearing the saddle, you can know that the guitar’s bridge plate has been worn and needs a repair to save more damage. The good news is that a bridge plate will stay as good as new for decades if the simple steps in the photo gallery below are followed.

For those who are interested, there is a video that goes into detail showing how to install strings correctly. This video is part of my online Setup and Repair Series, available through Robbie Obrien’s Lutherie Academy. Follow this link to access my class on installing strings, as well as many other topics.

Also, check out this quick video showing the fast and easy way to install your strings on the peghead tuning posts:

[Show as slideshow]
tools
dscn1284
bend_1

bend_2
insert
insert_2

ball_1
length_1
wrap_1

wrap_2
wrap_3
ball_2

ball_3
dogwoodguitars_gibsonrepair_06
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • YouTube

Building a Monarch: The Neck

Guitar construction can be divided into to major sections: The body and the neck. Neck construction begins with gluing up a blank. Although some guitar necks are made from one solid piece of wood, many builders make necks using a laminated blank. … [Read More...]

Bolt-On Necks: High Tongue Frets

I am including this article as a special page in the Services Menu because of the frequency with which the issue of high tongue frets arises. The tongue is the part of the fretboard that extends into the body of the guitar. On acoustic guitars, the … [Read More...]

Blog: Jumbo Neck Set

It is always exciting to arrive at neck setting day when working on a new build. Several weeks of careful work precede setting the neck: Rosette making; bending and boxing; bindings and purflings; inlay work; voicing and tuning; all separate skills … [Read More...]

How to Correctly String a Guitar

When I went to lutherie school I discovered that, like many guitarists, I was stringing my guitars incorrectly. And judging from the inspections that I give to all the guitars that come into my shop, this is a very common problem. I can hear some … [Read More...]

Repair and Restoration

Greg's deep knowledge of guitar design and construction means your acoustic or electric guitar will play better after he has worked on it. As a graduate of the esteemed Galloup School of Lutherie, Greg studied under master repairman Bryan Galloup. … [Read More...]

The Importance of a Good Setup, Part One

I've played guitar since I was in high school, which was longer ago than I care to dwell on! I am also the sort of person who lives by the axiom, "If it ain't broke don't fix it!" Because of this, I did not understand the benefits of having my … [Read More...]

Visit us on YouTube…

Follow Dogwood Guitars

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Technical Articles

Voicing and Tap Tuning of Acoustic Guitars

Voicing and tuning are important elements of great tone. A great guitar has great tone, great playability, and great appearance, in that order. Fancy wood, a high gloss finish, and lots of Abalone inlay are visually beautiful but have … [Read More...]

More Technical Articles

Viewpoint Articles

The Three Elements of a Great Guitar

Guitar players and collectors have so many choices available to them. New, used, factory brands, custom hand built...how do you narrow down the choices to the best option for you? In my opinion, any guitar should be measured by three … [Read More...]

More Viewpoint Articles

Copyright © 2025 Dogwood Guitars