I love watching anyone talk about what they're good at.

Mate been stringing my guitars all my life and you have educated me with your method of threading the string and wrapping it then bend it back over, *fantastic* thanks

I have learnt a new tip, Thanx. I have been playing guitar since I was 6 years old (1976) & have always done it the old fashioned way, & always had grief threading & getting enough string wound on before tightening, without it springing off & pricking the hell out of my fingers. I love the tip of finger at first fret, fold string back on itself & under thus locking it into position. I have a crank winder somewhere, but can never find it when I need it. Gonna by myself a mechanical winder and be done with the messing around once and for all. Much appreciated.

I have been playing and changing my strings for many years, and have used a few different ways to measure the length of the strings and wind them, but this seems to be the best I have seen. Thank You so much!

Thanks. I like the way you lock the strings. You can't blame any de-tuning on strings slipping.

Ha - thank you Mr Doll I was halfway through re-stringing a 40-year old EKO Rio Grande 12-string and the pins kept flying out. Honestly - I had got a hammer out to put them in "proper". I realised this was a bad move, found your video, and learned of "rolling the strings in". That has worked lovely. I have a gig in three days and the EKO is incredibly loud - I'd be lost without it. Thanks you for your excellent video - it's great to see a craftsman at work Tony

Absolutely spot on, some great tips in there, I've played 12 for many years and this makes it well faster and better for the guitar. Cheers from the Scottish Highlands.

I always snip the strings before tightening lest they scratch the head stock, the neck, or sting the back of my hand! Awesome video, really informative.

This is a very helpful video thanks for the input, it will give me more technique even for the six string, Thank You!

I always put my bridge pins in a little rack in order when changing acoustic strings

Thank you so much for sharing with us your method, it is been a great help. Cheers from Madrid, Spain!

A superb guide. I'm terrible at restringing and was about to hand my recently-purchased used 12-string to a tech to do it properly, but I decided to risk it myself after watching this. So glad I did - it was easy. I used a manual string winding crank; electric winder is fine if you have one but no real need. No hitches in the procedure at all and it holds tune very well. Many thanks for uploading this.

Thanks Dave. I have just taken off my old strings and cleaned up the guitar. Replacing the strings was gonna be a nightmare, but after this I'm looking forward to it. Was never quite sure how much slack to leave before winding on the new strings, but I like your technique of thumb at the first fret. Respect.

Excellent video Dave. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

Well done video! I don't restring my guitars often enough to remember all of the tricks and techniques that make it easier. I used to dread replacing strings, but your excellent video has made that a thing of the past. Thanks Dave!

I've just set-up and re-strung a 12 string using this method and it's so quick and easy! Brillaint! :D

Thanks for the video and all the handy tips, especially explaining the bridge pins !

Best video i've seen yet on restringing a 12 string too!

Thanx much! First string change on my D12-28 and wanted to make sure to get it right. One thing that threw me for a sec was my bridge is different from the video in that the lower strings have to go on the row closest to the saddle. For some reason, the back row is offset different;y than the video. Figured it out and moved on. Thanx for the help!

you are a very authentic and sympathic guy mr. doll

You video was super helpful. I never knew the high G was placed in the middle of the strings or as you, stated on the top treble side of the guitar. Thx Dave....You're a Doll ;-)

thanx ...brotha..always learn a little kool tip from your vids..helpful,,Happy Holidays

Awesome video and now have great new and faster way to string my Simon & Patrick Lefty 12 string. LOVE the "locking in" feature in this video. Wish I'd thought of that a long time ago. I'm betting on a lot less tune loss with this technique. THANK YOU!

great quality tutorial. thank you dave!

First time restringing my 12 acoustic , thanks so much for your method

Sure takes me longer! I enjoy all your how to videos Dave!

Truly excellent video - a really helpful guide. Many thanks.

I have been restringing my Guild F212 since 1967 and I never stumbled across Dave's simple technique for setting the length of the string. My eye got pretty darned good in the first decade. Nowadays, not so much. Old dawgs need new tricks, and I'm not too proud to say that Dave's way beats my way, hands down. Getting the strings on and close takes a good 10 minutes less now, but mimicking Dave's whole procedure (except the octave strings are in the rear on the F212) has tamed a most ornery guitar that always took its own sweet time settling in to new strings.

Great video,thanks for posting it. I could have used that trick for placing the strings in the posts a long time ago. Cheers.

Really helpful guide! Thanks so much

Thanks very much. A daunting task made a bit easier!

thank you! u gave me a courage to replace them for the first time!

Brilliant! Very helpful tips!

rebuilding a smashed up 12 string. your advice is great. thanks from Christchurch, New Zealand

thanks for the tutorial very helpful

totally helpful. Thank you very much.

With my 12 string it is not possible to put all the larger string on the lower pins and harmonics on the top row of pins or the order running to the winders is backwards. Other wise good example.

Excellent! Thank you!

I don't like the idea of taking all the strings off at once. All the tension off the neck at the same time. Huge change in tension on the neck and body. I do one set of six and then the other. Alternating every other string.

Thank you very much and greetings from Cologne in Germany :-) René

i love you martin & co!!!!

Thank you for the help. High 5.

I have used the diagonals to remove the pegs but I always lay a soft cloth on the guitar to make sure that I don't mar the finish on my instrument. I now us an inexpensive tool from fender to do the job.

great guide

Thanks Dave!

This is great advice! Thanks! By the way, at the beginning of the video, what song was that being played?

this helped me so much thanks for posting. also what was the riff that you played at the end of the vid Thanks

i usually take one string off at a time . to give the neck some strain .

I play a 12 and nothing but a 12. Thanks for the tutorial. Great work!

is it possible to only put 6 strings on a 12 string? would it do some weird things to the wood? i'm talking about a 335 style guitar by the way. I just want to try being able to play lead guitar on it. Thanks

This was really helpful, the technique for locking the strings is awesome. Thanks

Then too there is the over/under method that initially lock the string by wrapping up one time, then moving down the post.I string my 12's (I own several 12-strings) much differently, usually working from the outside strings in to the center. All 4 E strings, moving on to the A's/B's, then finally the D's/G's. This helps prevent the long, uncut ends from getting tangled together as they are being wound.

Does Martin sell that compensated saddle for a 12 string? I have a J-12 40M and am interested in the compensated saddle Thanks for any info.

Dave, whats the order of the strings when you get to the octaves? low high or high low?

Are you sure it's safe to take all the strings off at once? I find that if i take all that tension off at once it causes problems in the raise of the action. Like the bridge will rise.

Hi Dave, great video! Thanks. I have a question. You mention that you should make sure that the bridge pins are not too high or too low ('fall in') but you don't mention what we should do if they aren't even. In my case, most are at the same level, but I have one that is higher and one that is lower. Should I do anything about them if they seem to hold the strings in securely?

my guitar is a cort MR710F-12 and the pins are in diferent order so the thick strings go on the front? is that ok?

what was the opening song?

Seen another martin video on how to string a 12 with a slightly different technique but it had the same end result. Just Like my Newtons theory. The end result can be predicted. What strings do you recommend for a 12 string electric and tips for setting intonation?

I wanted to restring my 12 guitar to start with low strings first, but it seems to be impossible to do :(

Wouldn't removing all the strings at once affect the neck's tension??

Thank you!

Thank you - Appreciated.

You know I might go and brave buying a 12 string after watching that..... just as soon as you send me that turbotune doodaa... ;) Thanks chap...

REALLY GOOD

Do you think that the end of the string shouldn't be cranked over (as recommended by Dan Erlewine and others)? Oh and great vids by the way - thanks tons!

What is the song in the beginning?

thank you very much indeed man ;)

very nice. i was always told to leave tension on the neck when removing strings but you didn't do that. Have I been mislead? My 12 string has a bow where the space from fretboard to string is much larger at the body. Does the neck need adjustment or will it correct itself once all strings are tuned? Thanks for the great video. david

thanks sir

grazie!

Thanks

Well done - THANK YOU!

Yeah you can do that. Shouldn't do anything to the wood, but you'll want to get it properly set up as the tension will be quite a bit less.

Can you do a video on restringing a split (slotted ) head stock thanks

Thanks!! PS Cool pompadour!

No problem with it. Enjoy.