How To Restring a Left Handed Guitar

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Restringing your guitar is an essential skill for all guitarists. You might want to restring your guitar for cleaning, or to put on a new set of strings, or maybe to replace a broken string. You may also have a right handed strung guitar that you want to be strung left handed. If any of these applies, this is the guide for you.

The process of restringing a left handed guitar is very similar to restringing a right handed guitar. To restring a right handed guitar to be played left handed, one needs to restring the guitar strings in reverse order. Restringing a left handed guitar is a relatively simple process that most people can accomplish at home. You can either reuse the strings already on the guitar, or put on a new set of strings.

Stap 1 Guitar Strings

How To Restring a Left Handed Guitar, Guitar Strings: stap 1, afbeelding 1 van 3

How To Restring a Left Handed Guitar, Guitar Strings: stap 1, afbeelding 2 van 3

How To Restring a Left Handed Guitar, Guitar Strings: stap 1, afbeelding 3 van 3

For each string, turn its tuning nob so that the string is slack, then uncoil it from the tuning peg.

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Stap 2

How To Restring a Left Handed Guitar: stap 2, afbeelding 3 van 3

Untie the loops connecting the three thinner strings to the bridge and remove the strings.
Apply force away from the neck on the three thicker strings to unseat them from the bridge, then remove the strings.
Once each string is out, coil it up.
Make sure to be careful of the sharp edges on the strings.
For restringing a guitar, it is helpful to label the strings in some way such as placing each string on a labeled note card.

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Stap 3

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To restring the guitar for a left-handed guitar player, flip the guitar so that the strings can be put on in reverse. The guitar's neck should face to the right when the guitar is sitting on your lap.
Pull each string through the bridge.
Retie each of the three thinner strings to the bridge.
Push each of the three thicker strings through the bottom of the bridge, locking it in place.
It is essential to make sure the strings are in the right order when restringing a guitar. The thickest string, the low E, should be highest from the ground when playing the guitar. The order goes: low E on the top, followed by A, D, G, B, and then high E, the thinnest string, on the bottom.

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Stap 4

How To Restring a Left Handed Guitar: stap 4, afbeelding 3 van 3

Feed each string through the guitar and into its respective tuning peg, then tighten the tuning peg.

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Stap 5

How To Restring a Left Handed Guitar: stap 5, afbeelding 3 van 3

Tune the guitar, using either your ears or an electric tuner.
If you want to improve the sound quality of the left-handed strung guitar, the guitar's nut can be replaced with a left-handed guitar nut for better sound quality.
If the guitar uses a saddle, the saddle and its slots can be adjusted to help the strings fit better. One could also buy and install a new left-handed bridge for the same effect.