Martin Guitar Strings

For all the advice that I got about buying a guitar for my friends, I learned very little about guitar strings. I had always assumed that the guitar alone determines the sound you get out of it. With an acoustic guitar, the main thing is how the body is constructed and what materials are used. If you had good tone woods, solid construction, and a large enough body to resonate, you would get a brilliant warm tone. With electric guitars, it had to do with what pickups you used. Different pickups would give sharp tones, mellow tones, or hot distorted sounds.

When I had been playing for about a year, I got sick of my guitar, but I didn’t really have money for another one. It wasn’t a very good model, and it didn’t sound great in the hands of inexperienced player. When one of my friends suggested trying some different guitar strings, I thought he was being silly. I had tried a few different acoustic guitar string brands, and had not noticed any difference. He told me to buy myself some high-quality Martin Guitar Strings and listen again. When I did, I was blown away. They really did sound warmer, brighter, and all around fuller.

That sound was great for me for a while. I have never had anything but good things to say about Martin Guitar Strings.

The problem was that my guitar was a little bit tinny. The Martin strings were too bright for the particular axe that I was using, So I knew that I had to experiment more. I wanted dark guitar strings with a much mellower, lower pitched sound. I was playing my guitar mostly for accompaniment, so I didn’t need it to project out all that much.

When I finally found the perfect set of acoustic strings, I was absolutely overjoyed. They were made by a local manufacturer who hand wound them. Hand wound guitar strings are a little bit expensive, but if you find really good ones they are more than worth it. Unfortunately, he doesn’t make the strings anymore, but fortunately I stockpiled enough for several years to come. I practice using Martin strings still, but I have my special strings waiting in a case for shows. By saving them and using them sparingly, I should be able to make them last for as long as I need them. By that point, maybe I will have bought a better guitar.

You can learn how to restring an accoustic guitar here.

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How To Restring An Acoustic Guitar

Here are a few steps to help you restring an acoustic guitar

1. Remove the old strings by popping out the pin on the bridge and unwinding it from the head.
2. Thread the ball end of a new string through the bridge and anchor it with the pin. It is important that the ball end of the string sits firmly against the bridge plate. (If you have a pinless bridge and the strings simply pass thru the back side of this bridge, put a “hook like” bend on the tip of the string before threading it thru the hole, this way it feeds up and over the saddle.)
3. After attaching the string to the bridge, stretch it up the neck and bring it down the center of the peghead, then thread it thru the tuning shafts hole.
4. Leave a bit of string length to wind around the tuner, and bend the string to help hold it in place on the peg, then turn the tuning peg to tighten it. While you turn, hold the pin firmly to keep the string from popping out. Turn it at least one rotation, but make sure you don’t turn it too tight.
5. Stretch the new string with your fingers, then turn the tuning peg a bit to retighten it.
6. Use wire cutters to clip off the excess string, leaving about 1 or 2 inches.
7. Tune the new string to a guitar tuner.

A great step-by-step guide with photos that show you how to restring your guitar properly can be found at: http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/stringing.htm

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