Changing Your Strings
The experts at Taylor have put together detailed guides to help you change strings quickly and easily. Click here to download Changing Steel Strings or Changing Nylon Strings.

Tuning
Some people have problems keeping their guitars in tune because they fail to remember one simple fact: The gears in any tuners—even those of the highest quality—have built-in slack that must be compensated for when fine-tuning a string. For example, if one of your strings sounds sharp, don't just back the tuner off until the string is in tune, because the slack remaining in the tuning gear soon will cause the string to go flat. Instead, back the tuner off until the string sounds flat, then tune it back up to pitch, thus removing the slack. [It always helps to give the string a gentle tug before tuning it back up to pitch.]

According to one old musty guitar myth, strings must be in place on a guitar for a brief period before they "stay in tune." That's entirely false. When installing your strings, tune them all to pitch, then gently tug on each string, in turn, and re-tune it. Repeat this sequence until each string holds its pitch. Guitar techs who work for professional players are very familiar with this procedure, because they have to install brand new strings moments before the artist goes on stage.

Maintaining Your Strings
Most guitarists can get away with simply wiping their strings with a clean cloth after playing, and their strings will last a long time. Some people, however, have more acidic perspiration, which can cause a set of strings to go dead after only a little playing time. Everyone agrees that the secret to long-lasting strings is washing one's hands before playing. When the grooves of the strings fill up with dirt and sweat, they do not vibrate as freely. So, clean those fingers!