youtube autoplay just showed me a video on how to string a classical guitar. every single instruction in the video was wrong. i went down the rabbit hole for a minute and found that bad advice on stringing classical guitars has been regurgitated in video after video... even some luthiers are getting it wrong.

if you have a classical guitar and a short attention span, the one thing you should never do is wind your strings so far along the rollers that they push on the headstock... you can crack your headstock that way.

as i was restringing my guitar anyway, i thought i'd document the process. follow these steps and you will have a clean professional stringing that is quick to remove during string changes. you will also extend the life of your guitar...

how to tie strings to a standards 6 hole saddle

1) feed the string through the bridge hole

always feed the string from the neck side to the bottom side of the bridge. feeding bass string the other direction can wear out the bridge holes over time.

bass strings often have one end that is poorly wound and flimsy. do not use the flimsy end for the bridge knot. only use the strong end with the clean cut.

2) make a small loop and bring the free end under the string. i make all my loops so the loop is toward the closest edge of the bridge. this ensures all the cut ends will point toward the middle of the bridge in the final stage.

3) bring the free end over and then under the loop 3 times for treble, 2 times for bass strings.

4) pull the knot tight, making sure the last twist of the knot is on the side of the bridge right next to the hole. this will ensure the string cinches down on itself and hold it in place. if the final twist is not on the side as shown below, the know will untwist under load.

5) pinch the loop to make it as narrow as possible and use your thumb to push the loop down close to the hole. this will prevent sudden jumps when tuning the string or playing.

6) leave the loose ends on until the guitar has been tuned. once tuned clip the ends. the final result look very professional.

the strings can easily be removed by cutting a few inches from the saddle and feeding the string through the bridge to release the cinch.

do not burn the ends of the treble strings with a lighter. there is no need to melt the strings. they will not slip. there is no reason to put flames that close to your finish.

do not stitch the strings together by feeding the end of one string thru the loop of another. this will prevent you from being able to change a single string and it will also weaken the knot, as the strings are of differing diameters.

how to attach strings to a roller without knots

1) clean the headstock. make sure to oil the tuning machine once every 6 to 12 months. start with the holes aligned as shown.

2) feed the string through the hole from front to back. do not leave any slack in the line. we're tuning a guitar, not going fishing. excess string can make tuning instability worse as the string is effectively longer. excess string can also cause the string to feed into the headstock, breaking the headstok or damaging the tuning machine.

3) bring the string back around by feeding it through the top side of the roller. never loop your string through the roller twice. this can cause plastic roller to break.

4) bring the free end under the string and then pull it away from from the nut, creating a tight loop right above the hole.

5) treble strings get a double wrap. bass strings only need a single twist. hold the free end and maintain pressure on the twist. we want the pig tail right up against the hole.

6) with your other hand, begin tuning the string. a few turns of the tuning knob should put sufficient pressure on the pig-tail to allow you to release the string. as you continue to wind the string, guide it with your finger to keep the coil tight. note that the low and high E strings both wind outwards toward the tuning machine, while all the other strings are fed inward, toward the center of the head stock. this assures proper string alignment.

if you removed all slack in step 2 and you keep the coil tight, your strings will never reach the edge of the roller. never ever ever ever wind a string so that it jams into the headstock... you can break the headstock.

7) tune

for real gut, bring the guitar to within 3 half steps BELOW the final tuning and allow to sit overnight.

for nylon, tune the guitar to a half step ABOVE the final tuning and allow to set for a half hour. retune, bringing all strings to a quarter step ABOVE final tuning and allow to set for a half hour. retune to final tuning and play. the strings should be stretched properly.

do not tug on the strings to stretch, as this causes uneven stretching that can weaken the string and impact intonation.

tuning a half step sharp will not hurt the guitar or the strings. this will make your guitar playable with stable tuning within an hour or two instead of a day or two.

8) clip the whiskers. and play

the next time you change strings, the cinch will release once the strings are cut and the tension is released. then the string can easily be pulled through the roller and removed without having to untie bound-up knots.

play thirsty my friends.