Ask any professional guitarist and they’ll tell you they stretch their new strings before playing. But guitar strings are made of steel: does steel even stretch? If so, is this something you should be doing too?
Let’s find out!
Do Guitar Strings Stretch?
Guitar strings actually do stretch. Most guitar strings are made from steel, which has elastic properties (that’s why you can bend strings while playing). Stretching newly installed strings helps stabilize them on your guitar so they hold a tune much better and don’t go flat as often.
The above summary applies to the majority of guitar strings, but some guitars use nylon instead of steel strings, so let’s quickly address that also.
Do Nylon Guitar Strings Stretch?
Nylon strings for classical guitars do stretch as well, but they do so much slower than steel strings. This means they take longer to settle on your guitar: therefore, they’ll go flat more often and will need frequent re-tuning during the first few practice sessions.
Where steel strings might require a few hours of playing to settle in and hold a tune, nylon strings could take up to a week…something to note if you’ve just replaced your nylon strings and are wondering why you’re re-tuning so often!
Why Guitar Strings Stretch Over Time
You’ve probably noticed that every now and then you have to re-tune your guitar. Is it because the tuning pegs are somehow unwinding themselves, making your strings go slack?
Nope…well, hopefully it’s not. It’s more likely because your guitar strings will stretch naturally over time.
Steel strings are relatively elastic: they’re able to be stretched and bent a great deal from their original position before they break, and will return to their normal resting length. But the more you manipulate them, the less readily they’ll rebound to their resting position.
The constant picking, strumming, bending and vibrating will cause your strings to stretch out and become loose over time. A loose string will seem to have dropped in tune, even though the tuning peg hasn’t been touched.
Strings will also lose their elasticity as they age and become brittle. They may have stretched unevenly as well, which can lead to an inconsistent tone. An old, uneven string won’t vibrate constantly and will just sound…off. This effect can be compounded if you don’t clean and lubricate your strings frequently!
How Long It Takes for Guitar Strings to Stretch (On Their Own)
So after reading the section above, it may seem like string stretch is a bad thing that only negatively affects your playing.
But this isn’t the case!
Strings need time to break in to sound their best. Strings that have been given time to stretch out will have a better tone and hold their tune longer.
Your strings will stretch out naturally through normal playing. On average, steel strings may require several good practice sessions to break in and start sounding their best.
This could take several hours or several days depending on how much you play, as well as the style of music you play: music genres that use more aggressive playing techniques will tend to break strings in faster than slower, more melodic music genres.
Nylon strings on the other hand, will take significantly longer: sometimes up to a week to fully break in. Again, this is heavily dependent on how much you play and the styles of music you prefer.
Should You Stretch New Guitar Strings?
So now we know strings will stretch on their own, and that stretching actually enhances their tone and playability and keeps them in tune longer.
But that can take a little while. So can we speed up the process by stretching new guitar strings by hand?
Absolutely!
Stretching brand new strings by hand will help them settle onto your guitar faster so they’ll sound better right from the first practice session. When done properly, this improves sound quality without compromising string integrity.
Anytime you put new strings on your guitar, whether you’re replacing a single broken string or a whole new set, you should take the time to stretch them.
Can You Over Stretch Guitar Strings?
When stretching your guitar strings by hand, you do want to make sure you avoid over stretching them.
Steel strings may be strong, but they can still be damaged if you’re not careful. Pulling on them too aggressively can weaken them, kink them or cause uneven wear. All of these will significantly reduce the playability and lifespan of your strings.
Damaging or breaking a new string is annoying: you either have to open a whole new set just to use one string or go buy a single replacement string. While strings aren’t that expensive, a trip back to the music store when all you want to do is play doesn’t improve your vibe!
But it’s not just your strings you might damage if you overstretch them. Consider two places your strings contact your guitar: the tuning pegs on the guitar head and bridge on the guitar body. Over stretching your strings can pull on the guitar neck and the bridge, which could damage them.
If you have an acoustic guitar, be extra careful when stretching your strings. With an electric guitar, strings are threaded through the metal bridge, which is bolted right to the guitar body. On an acoustic guitar, the strings are held in place with bridge pins. These are not as durable and could pop out when you’re stretching the strings.
To avoid this, it’s good practice to place a finger over the bridge pin holding the string you’re stretching. You can also hold the string in place near the bridge and stretch the rest of it with your other hand. This will prevent the bridge pin from popping out or breaking under pressure.
How to Stretch Your Guitar Strings
Stretching your guitar strings by hand is a straightforward process, but takes a little practice to get right.
The GuitarAnswerGuy shows how to do it in the following video:
You’ll want to repeat this 2-3 times for each string, and remember that you’ll need to re-tune your guitar after stretching.
