Skip to main content
Music Radar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
  • Guitars
  • Amps
  • Pedals
  • Drums
  • Synths
  • Software
  • Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Recording
  • Buyer’s guides
  • Live
  • DJ
  • Advice
  • Acoustic
  • Bass
  • About us
  • More
    • Reviews
Magazines
  • Computer Music
  • Electronic Musician
  • Future Music
  • Keyboard Magazine
  • Guitarist
  • Guitar Techniques
  • Total Guitar
  • Bass Player
More
  • How to make an AI cover song
  • 84000+ free music samples
  • Foo Fighters' new drummer
  • Ken Scott on recording The Beatles
  • First EVH Jump synth recording

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  1. Home
  2. Tuition
  3. Total Guitar

Guitar setup: how to restring a nylon-string classical guitar

By Ed Mitchell
( Total Guitar )
last updated 25 April 2020

Restring with success using our classic method

Introduction

Introduction

If your strings sound dull, suffer from poor intonation, are hard to keep in tune or look rustier than a fisherman’s lunchbox, replace them.

Nylon classical strings are available in two formats: tie-on and ball end. Both types are covered in our guide ahead.

If you care about tone, buy a quality set of ‘normal tension’ classical strings from the likes of Rotosound, D’Addario or Dean Markley.

Oh, and never fit steel strings to a classical guitar. Most nylon-strung guitars don’t have trussrods to protect their necks from the increased tension of steel strings, which means the neck on your guitar will warp.

With that out the way, here's how to restring your nylon-string guitar, classical style…

Page 1 of 13
Page 1 of 13
1. Remove and replace

1. Remove and replace

When you’re restringing your classical guitar, remove then replace the strings, one by one.

You definitely need a string winder for this. Trust us, it will save you a lot of time.

Page 2 of 13
Page 2 of 13
2. Ball-end bliss

2. Ball-end bliss

If you’ve gone with the ball-end jobs, simply run the string through the correct hole in the guitar’s bridge.

With that done, you can jump to step 9 for the rest of the stringing process.

Page 3 of 13
Page 3 of 13
3. Tricky tie-ons

3. Tricky tie-ons

Fitting tie-on classical strings is a little more involved. Begin by poking the end of the string through its corresponding hole in the bridge. Allow yourself a couple of inches of string to work with.

Page 4 of 13
Page 4 of 13
4. Double back

4. Double back

Next, double back across the bridge and pass the end of the string under itself. Take a good look at the pic to make sure that you are doing this properly. Nail it, then move on.

Page 5 of 13
Page 5 of 13
5. Feed the string

5. Feed the string

Feed the string under itself again. You can do this once or twice. We prefer to do it twice so that we end up with a more secure knot when we’ve finished fitting the string.

Page 6 of 13
Page 6 of 13
6. Lock the knot

6. Lock the knot

Hold down the string on the soundboard (aka ‘face’) of the guitar as shown. Next, pull on the rest of the string to lock the knot in place. Make sure you give it a good hard tug.

Page 7 of 13
Page 7 of 13
7. Leave the loose ends

7. Leave the loose ends

You should end up with a tight, tidy knot. Don’t be tempted to tidy up the loose end. If the knot slips during tuning you might need that half inch of excess string to save the day.

Page 8 of 13
Page 8 of 13
8. Double wraps

8. Double wraps

When you fit the three high strings you must double the number of wraps in the knot. These plain nylon strings are more prone to slippage than the wound lower strings.

Page 9 of 13
Page 9 of 13
9. It's a trap

9. It's a trap

Poke the string through the hole in its machinehead post. As you wind it on, trap the loose end between the windings and post to prevent the string slipping when you tune the guitar.

Page 10 of 13
Page 10 of 13
10. Double up

10. Double up

When you’re slipping a plain nylon string through its hole in the machinehead post, do it twice for some extra grip. Again, trap the loose end of the string between the windings and the post.

Page 11 of 13
Page 11 of 13
11. Tune up, stretch out

11. Tune up, stretch out

It’s now time to tune the guitar to pitch. As ever, you’ll save a lot of time if you stretch the strings. Remember the old guitar restringing mantra: tune, stretch, then tune again until the tuning settles.

Page 12 of 13
Page 12 of 13
12. Trim the strings

12. Trim the strings

When the tuning has settled down you can trim any excess string from the machineheads.

You should now have a guitar that has better tone, intonation and tuning stability than you started with.

Page 13 of 13
Page 13 of 13
Ed Mitchell
Social Links Navigation
More about guitars
Josh Homme

Funny Little Boxes has revealed its follow-up to the 1991 overdrive pedal and QOTSA / Josh Homme fans are going to want one

Epiphone Dave Grohl DG-335 Trini Lopez

Dave Grohl signature Epiphone DG-335 confirmed in new Foo Fighters promo shot

Latest
TC Electronic Mini Infinite Sample Sustainer

TC Electronic unveils the Infinite Mini Sample Sustainer – a mini-sized version of the John Mayer pedalboard fave

See more latest ►
Most Popular
Led Zeppelin II: Jimmy Page guitar lesson

By Total Guitar17 April 2023

Bored by your own guitar chord playing? Try inversions!

By Rob Laing17 April 2023

Learn 5 essential blues guitar turnaround licks for your solos

By MusicRadar15 April 2023

Computer Music 321 June 2023: free downloads

By Computer Music11 April 2023

Learn 7 extended jazz guitar chords

By MusicRadar11 April 2023

Learn 20 blues, prog rock, folk and funk guitar chords

By MusicRadar6 April 2023

Learn to play 4 awkward but awesome-sounding chords

By Leigh Fuge5 April 2023

How to use the '3 reverb approach' to nail reverb in almost any mixing scenario

By Jon Musgrave29 March 2023

How to optimize your PC for music production

By Matt McCracken27 March 2023

22 essential reggaeton production tips to help you sound like Bad Bunny

By MusicRadar22 March 2023

How to start playing rockabilly guitar now

By MusicRadar16 March 2023

  1. Josh Freese
    1
    5 songs featuring Josh Freese on drums (that you might not know were him)
  2. 2
    Steve Albini recalls the secrecy around the Nirvana In Utero sessions: "I had to do everything I could to keep it under wraps to make sure that we didn’t get overrun by fans and the added nonsense"
  3. 3
    Watch: the time Josh Freese sat in on drums for Blink-182 at Warped Tour ’99
  4. 4
    The 6 non-album Noel Gallagher Oasis songs you need to hear (that aren't on The Masterplan)
  5. 5
    "It's not fair on the fans" – Noel Gallagher again tells brother Liam to "call him" about an Oasis reunion or stop playing with fans' emotions
  1. When Travis Barker couldn't play, four drummers on the line-up stepped up, including the new Foo Fighters member
    1
    Watch: the time Josh Freese sat in on drums for Blink-182 at Warped Tour ’99
  2. 2
    5 songs featuring Josh Freese on drums (that you might not know were him)
  3. 3
    Here’s how the synth bass sound for Michael Jackson’s PYT was programmed on an ARP 2600
  4. 4
    Dave Matthews explains how Robert Fripp inspired his hit song Satellite and developed the guitar's role in his writing
  5. 5
    Steve Albini recalls the secrecy around the Nirvana In Utero sessions: "I had to do everything I could to keep it under wraps to make sure that we didn’t get overrun by fans and the added nonsense"

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.