The Importance of Stretching Your Strings

It’s no big secret that new strings can drastically improve your guitar’s tone. But many players overlook a very easy step that can speed up how fast the tuning stabilizes – stretching the strings. Simply tune the guitar to pitch and gently pull up on each string individually at the 12th fret and release it, slapping the string against the fingerboard. After all six strings have been pulled and released, tune to pitch again (keeping in mind the Tech Tip from 2/15/2007 and tuning up to pitch). Repeat the procedure until the string stays in tune after being pulled and released.