Today, I want to talk about winding strings as I think many players are frustrated with keeping their guitars in tune. We all, at least at some point, experience frustration with keeping it in tune.

A lot of the time this has to do with (a) how we put the strings on the guitar and (b) the winding of the string on the tuning keys.

As a general rule, I like to have 2 windings of the string on the tuning key post. I feel that too many windings and you just add too much string and the numerous windings keep stretching (very slightly) as you play and you loose some tension. You NEVER want to double up on the windings so they lay on top of each other of course, but I think everyone here knows that already.

I never feel comfortable with only one loop of the string around the key peg not because it would not work in theory, but it just does not seem “enough” for me. So, I stay at the 2 loops method. Sometimes I get get it exact, sometimes it’s close. (As you can see in the pic, the string below has 3 loops. I am also ok with that. I strive for 2 or 3 loops – this seems to be the happy medium.)

One thing everyone should keep in mind is that when you are tuning – you should always come up to pitch. What I mean is that when, for example, you are tuning your 4th string “D” and you are a little sharp, do not lower your string so it hits D exactly. What you want to do is actually lower the pitch so it is slightly lower than D and tune into the exact D. This method keeps the string nice and tight and it helps to keep your guitar nicely in tune.This is the only way to tune successfully.

Last thought. I used to tie my top 3 strings (G, B and E) on the little pegs, but I never do that that anymore and have not done it in 10 years. I never experienced tuning issues because of it, in case anyone wondered about that.