A Beginners Guide to Stringing a Ukulele

A Beginner’s Guide to Stringing a Ukulele

We’ve discussed the many types of ukulele strings before at Strings and Beyond. But no matter what strings you’re using, you need to know how to change them. All strings eventually wear out, losing their tone and stability in the process. Putting a new set of strings on is a fast and affordable way to restore its tone. You can also give a ukulele a new tone, such as by switching from warm-sounding nylon strings to bright-sounding fluorocarbon strings.

Depending on the string material, how often you play and other factors, you may need to change your ukulele strings every 3 to 12 months. When the time comes — or if you break one mid-song — follow the guide below to get your Hawaiian guitar sounding new again.

How to Change Ukulele Strings

• 1.On a flat surface, fully loosen the lowest string by unwinding the tuning peg using a string winder. Then either unwrap the string from the tuning post and bridge or cut it off using wire cutters or nail clippers.
• 2.Remove the replacement string from the package — check the label to be sure you have the correct string — and secure it to the bridge. For slotted bridges, you simply tie a knot around one end of the string, place it in the appropriate slot and pull it tight. With classical-style bridges, you insert the string end through the correct hole, loop it over the top of the bridge and tie a double knot.
• 3.Insert the tip of the string into the appropriate tuning post, leaving 1-2 inches of slack.
• 4.Slowly turn the tuning peg to tighten the string. It should wind down the tuning post, which means turning counterclockwise on the two lowest strings and clockwise on the two highest strings.

• 5.Roughly tune the string using a tuner. We suggest leaving it a little below pitch at first to ease it into having tension.
• 6.Use the clippers to trim off any excess string.
• 7.Repeat steps one through six for the remaining strings. (You can remove all the strings at once for cleaning and maintenance, but put the new strings on as soon as possible so the neck doesn’t warp from lack of tension.)
• 8.Tune all the strings to the correct pitch.
• 9.If you like, you can gently twist the strings to speed up the break-in process. Remember to re-tune the ukulele after doing so. (If you skip this step, the strings will stretch naturally over several days.)
• 10.Check the intonation of each string by playing the note or harmonic on the 12^th fret to verify the tuning. It’s estimated the intonation will be off on about one out of 50 strings with it being more frequent on the higher strings. If a string’s intonation is off, you should replace it, so keep an extra ukulele string pack or some single strings handy. (If the intonation is consistently off for one or all the string positions, you need to bring the ukulele to a luthier for adjustments.)