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When and how to change steel and nylon strings.
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Nylon-String Guitars
If you’re restringing a nylon-string guitar, the procedure described above varies in several ways. The major differences are that most nylon strings don’t come with ball ends and that the unwound treble strings are slippery, requiring special tying techniques. Also, because the solid-nylon treble strings can take a long time to stretch and stay in tune, many nylon-string players will change them far less often than the three bass strings, often going through three to five sets of basses before touching the trebles.
Start by taking the old strings off the guitar. Push the end of the sixth (thickest) string through the hole in the bridge’s tie block and leave about three inches sticking out behind the bridge (some bass strings are wound less on one end and thus more flexible; in this case, use this end to tie the string). Take the short end sticking out behind the bridge and bend it toward the saddle. Feed the string under the section that passes over the saddle and loop it back around facing the back of the guitar. Run the short end of the string between the first loop and the tie block, just above the hole. If the string is very stiff, put a little kink in it where it rests against the back of the bridge. You can now gently pull the string toward the neck of the guitar to tighten the loop around the tie block. Hold the loop down with a finger as you tighten the string to keep the knot from unraveling. When you change an unwound treble string, loop the string around itself twice. This will create a more secure lock that will keep the string from slipping as it’s tuned up.
Once you’ve tied the string to the bridge, move on to the headstock. Start by turning the peg so that the hole faces the nut. Because the rollers on the tuning machines of nylon-string guitars are thicker than those on steel-strings, you’ll have to leave more slack in the string. About five inches should do the trick. Push the string through the hole in the peg and pull it back around from behind, looping it around the headstock side of the peg. Then feed the string through its own loop, creating what looks like a simple knot that locks itself into place. Now start turning the peg counter-clockwise so that the string winds around the inside of the post. By the time the string reaches the desired tension, it should have wound around the post at least three times but not enough to cross over itself. Cut off the excess string with a pair of wire clippers and bend the remaining stub back so it doesn’t poke you. In order to make the strings follow a straight line from the nut to the tuners, it’s best to wind strings 1, 2, 5, and 6 toward the outside of the peg hole (toward the gears) and wind strings 3 and 4 toward the inside of the peg (toward the center of the headstock).
Once you’re tuned up and stretched out (it can take a couple of days before nylon strings become stable), clip off the excess string ends at the bridge and headstock.
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