How to restring your Stratocaster with John Carruthers

[hopworks]

Awesome tutorial! You have me flipping off the neck of my axe with every restring now! I don't know why some people have trouble with this. I follow every step each restring now and my strats stay very much in-tune. John, you rock. I wish you were my neighbor! I'm sure you are glad I am not. hehehe! CHEERS!

[MrDruloXD]

Thanks for the video it was really helpful :)

[morbidangelofdeath1]

this is my first guitar with a floating bridge, thank god i came here first cause i was about to cut them all off like i did with fixed bridges like on bass. thanks john for this video, so now i will do them one at a time.

thanks again

[crayolahalls]

I am doing my first Strat string change tonight. This is exactly what I needed. John communicates very clearly and showed me how to get it done. THANK YOU!

[bartg1000]

John is the man! Great video!

[slashnburner]

I must get the book! Great info, thanks

[g1u1i1t1a1r1i1s1t]

thanks i was really wondering how much slack i should leave

[Ron1954able]

Hi John. You mention your book. Where do I get it?

[ElixirStringsMedia]

@Ron1954able The book title is Alfred's Teach Yourself Guitar Repair & Maintenance. Amazon has it for 9.95. Let us know what you think of it!

[TheLucvD]

Just finished restringing my strat with the help of your video. Very easy and useful. Thank you!!

[mrtechnogorilla]

AMAZING video but why do u have a KEYBOARD in the background

[TreborSirrom2]

Okay this is definitely the best instructional video on stringing a guitar I've been able to find. Well done!

[rrgert4]

does it need some kind of other maintanace if i choose a 10.46 gauge instead of a 11

[rrgert4]

dream job

[thenewestguitarist]

Whenever I restring my bridge is always really high up, shouldn't the be like a centimeter space between the wood and bridge? If so how do I fix this

[Vortax123]

Nice video for newbies like me, just changed all the strings successfully! And I cant believe how different it sounds with new strings :)

[Krono45]

I just wanted to say this video was a huge help and I'm recommending it to anyone who has trouble changing strings. So thanks.

[ElixirStringsMedia]

@Krono45 Thanks! Appreciate that.

[Maafa1619]

This is how I tune my strat, only I hold both ends initially and I use a string-winder. On a vintage Tele, of course, there is a slot and hole that locks the string, so you don't have to go through this. If you're gigging and have to change strings a lot, do yourself a favor and get locking self-trimming tuners.

[TkrB]

really helpful video. thanks a lot. my first diy restringing was a breeze ;)

[kmychalolbb]

Can I use the whammy bar minutes after re-string the guitar or it will become out of tune again?

[fecoboco]

wow...

Very simple thing and it really works. I think you solved my problem.

Thanks.

[pamsdisco]

I did mine and it sounds so much better now. Learning that the strings eventually hold the tune even with pulling on them, is kind of an interesting concept. Very good to know...Thank you!

[jerrypino1114]

I have a start btw

[jerrypino1114]

Could someone help me out, Why is my bridge up as if the whammy is beingpulled all the way up?

[sanfranPinkFloydfan]

great vid!!

ive never restrung a guitar myself before but thanks to you i think im for trying, despite the reports ive gotten from friends on restringing

thanks!!!

[roundaboutwrongway]

I've tried this now on my Ovation Acoustic and Strat.

It works perfectly. Its actually amazing how well it works, and how much faster it is to string than the old winding method.

I'm now at a loss of the usefulness of locking tuners. I've had locking tuners on another guitar and it didn't work any better than this locking method on regulard tuners.

John is a great teacher!

[shawnspeed3]

My Strat has the hole where you feed the end of the string down (vertical), not the standard hole to feed thru horizontally. Can you recommend or do a new video? I can't figure how they did it at the factory...Thx.

[richvaca]

dude he bent the shit out of that neck!

[ADAP7IVE]

Broke my low E string while trying repeatedly to get the right amount of slack. There's $7 wasted.

[ElixirStringsMedia]

@ADAP7IVE Our customer service team would like to help you with that. Please email elixirstrings@wlgore.com, or call 800-367-5533. (Phone 8-5 ET)

[Maafa1619]

@ADAP7IVE Dude, guitar stores sell single strings. Get a grip!

[Mahym]

Perfect video. Just one question, the higher you go, meaning, working your way up to the high E. Do you leave more and more slack to have more turnings on the thinnest string?

[ElixirStringsMedia]

@Mahym Looking at the guitars we have around here, most , but not all, do indeed have 1-2 more wraps on the thinner plain steels. Certainly, if you experience slippage, you'll want to do that, but it's not an absolute hard rule. Good luck!

[Jpbremner]

just restrung my guitar for the first time and it sounds better than before

[eddyboy409]

dude u r epic

[LovezHD]

Thank you for posting this! IMO this looks like the most efficient and most proper way to string a guitar, which is good because I'm planning to restring mine tomorrow. :D

[Mahym]

Thanks a million. I am now going to put my new Elexir strings on my New Olympic White American Maple necked Stratocaster!

[stiehlreddog]

This is the proper way to string most guitars.At least the self locking wrap around.Great tutorial.

[michhill8]

Awesome, not many people know the "wrap around" locking technique and it's SO important, especially on strats.

[slinkyphil]

i find that no kink is better then kink. i kinked and it detuned... i don't kink and it just stays in tune.

[itsgilbertyo]

@slinkyphil to each his own.

[SkirtSoPlain]

Great video. Thanks.

[jma111000]

This is a great tut. Thanks!

[robbdogg75]

Best tutorial on restringing a guitar. Thanks!!

[rocker91352]

what does slack mean? everybody talks about it when they are changing strings but they dont explain what it means.

[robbdogg75]

@rocker91352 When he says to leave some slack it means to leave some of the string loose so it will wrap around the tuning peg

[0ladystardust]

simple and effective. thanks

[ljbeck123]

I have that guitar in that exact same color. Very useful video.

[Backspacer12]

Thanks For all the restringing videos, specially this one because i have an old strat. ;)

[Flybox16]

my tuning pegs have a knob on the back that if you twist it one way it will push up a pin that locks the string into place should i use it and what is it

[TheJayman213]

i just restringed my guitar for the first time. i had some problems getting the strings out of the bridge but it worked in the end.

but my lower strings rattle when i play them on a fret now. why's that?

[dantheamazingful]

hi i want too clean my guitar but im not very expierianced at changing strings and dont want to harm my guitar by taking all the strings out.what shood i do.

[ElixirStringsMedia]

@harleyman20010 If only we had John Carruthers (who's been doing it for 45 years) on staff...! Unfortunately it's almost impossible to give advice on specific guitars because there are so many variables. The best thing to do is to have a conversation with a repair shop that can give you professional advice for your particular guitar. Sorry about that, and best of luck to you!

[olyakovlev]

Hello, I've just put new strings on my Fender Strat with tremolo. I did it one by one. And every time I put new string on, other strings went out of tune. So I have to tune them back. Doesn't tremolo work properly?

Thanks, for a great video.

[ElixirStringsMedia]

@olyakovlev Hmmm... If you followed the steps exactly, it should be good... You may want to take your guitar to a repair shop to be sure.

[daffaz]

ty john

[erkrieger]

Best explanation I have found. Thank you so much for a great video.

[rzr666nl]

thanks it helped really well :) unfortunantly, my strat is not a fender D= oh one day i will have one xd

[doorsforce]

dood....he just flipped me off!!!:O lol

[Lachy101]

yep so ive been restringing incorrectly for a little to long...

[Martyballin]

Thanks for a clear explanation with good video quality, so we can see exactly what you're doing! Very helpful.

[rygyrocks16]

@elixirstringsmedia okay thanks for your help

[rygyrocks16]

hay, i just restrung my strat but I didn't do the kink thing at the end. is that a big problem? thanks.

[ElixirStringsMedia]

@rygyrocks16 The kink helps to "lock" the string in place, which keeps it from slipping and going out of tune. If you're not having a problem with that, then you're OK.

[DarthSubordination]

My issue with stringing my stratocaster is that the bridge rises up from the tension. What does that mean?

[ElixirStringsMedia]

@DarthSubordination Sounds like your guitar might have a tremolo, in which case this is perfectly normal and part of the intended function. (Having said that, there are so many variations and configurations, you may want to take it to a guitar shop for some advice that is specific to your particular guitar.) Best of luck to you!

[Stringprodigy]

I re-string opposite to what this guy is doing - from the high E to the low E.

[ElixirStringsMedia]

@kyleaaron08 Very different for everyone; trust your ears to tell you. When it starts to sound dead or muddy, it may be time for a change. You'll learn to recognize that.

[RedSandStudios]

Thanks fir the video. I don't have a strat, but my Laguna is very very similar in setup.

[24t68Jm1]

what do you recommend to wash/clean a guitar body and neck...body is shiny enamel and the neck is maple

[ElixirStringsMedia]

@24t68Jm1 Any guitar cleaner will do for the enameled body; but for the wooden neck, you can follow the same recommendations that Taylor shared with us in this video: Elixir® Strings Tech Tip: Guitar Cleaning and Maintenance Techniques (Part 1). Hope that helps!

[twolf422]

I tried this recently on a string change on my ESP. This technique worked amazingly well! Thank you for the lesson!

[hellangelzx]

I never knew how to restring them properly until now, thanks!

[Stratocasterfreak]

Thanks Good Teaching



[ToneChaser4Life]

2:25 dedicated to Justin Bieber.