How to Remove Broken Strings from Your Guitar

Video Transcript

MATT GRAHAM: Okay, when you break a string, you can actually go to a music store and generally at guitar stores especially, they'll sell individual strings. So you could say, "I want just an E string or .013 gauge E string," or whatever it is you need. Generally, I recommend if you break a string to just replace the whole set because breaking strings are either an indicator that your guitar isn't set up correctly and has some rough edges on it, or your strings are just old and they're probably already dead. They've probably already lost their sound and the string breakage is just an indicator that it's time to change strings. So the two places the strings primarily break are down here at the bridge. This white part where the strings rest on the bridge is called the "saddle." And as you can see that's the point of contact of the string and this high E-string has broken right there at the saddle. And so what you want to do is be really careful when you remove the bridge pin. But often, what happens is when a string breaks there, it slips down inside the guitar either before or after you remove the bridge pin. See that I'm taking the bridge pin off. And if I'm careful I can grab it and get it out of there, but oftentimes what will happen is it will fall through the hole in the bridge into the guitar. I'm sure you just heard it hit. And so what you'll do with all the strings off, I can look down in there and see it and you just reach in and get it out. You might have to flip the guitar over and shake it a lot to get this out. But it's an important step because you don't want these little guys rattling around inside your guitar especially if you're playing an acoustic-electric guitar that's amplified. You get two or three of these and they're rattling it's really going to add some unwanted character to your tone. Now coming down to the headstock, the same thing as before, I'd just like to illustrate the nut, this white part where the strings rest in these grooves down here at the headstock, is generally the other major place where strings break. And just like before, you'll want to get your pliers and unwrap it from the tuning post. Sometimes, the string will break at the tuning post and so you'll have just a small wrapping of string. I'm going to show you what it would look like, like that, where it's really just--and tied around the tuning post. And again, that's the time where you really--it's not a great idea to do it with your bare hands--you can--but you just want to grab it with your pliers. Once you can get it, you can just pull it out just like that.

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