Restringing the 12 string guitar

It seems to me that I spend more time tuning the guitar than I do playing it. A few weeks ago, I was tuning it once again when a string broke - this was probably the high G string, the highest of all the strings and the one under most pressure. I wasn't overly surprised; in the eight years¹ that I've owned this guitar, I've never changed a string. So I ordered a set of strings for a 12 string, and they arrived a few days ago.

Before putting the new strings on, of course I had to remove the old ones. This was quite easily done; first I reduced the tension on every string and then I cut it. One half of the string had to be unwound (as on an electric), but the other half had to have the pin that holds it removed first. This isn't something that is very easy to do; the pins have to be firm in order to anchor the strings. I used a pair of pliers to extract the pins and the second half of the string.

I then cleaned the guitar thoroughly, getting rid of all the accumulated dust and grime, eventually oiling the fretboard. I left the guitar unstrung for about half an hour before I started putting the new strings on. I think that for the octave strings, the high string is supposed to be below the low string - if one strikes from top to bottom, then first the high E string will be struck (the 12^th string) and then the low E string. I decided to change this order and have the low E string first. I suspect that the bridge and nut weren't cut for this possibility.

As I was restringing, I remembered that one of my first orders from Temu was a string winder. I've never used it (it was still in its wrapping) and at first I wasn't sure how to use it. The gap on the head fits onto the machine head, then one turns the handle in a rotary fashion, like a rattle. This makes turning the head much easier, and I found that I had to turn the heads a great deal. The winder also is supposed to have the capability of removing the bridge pins, but as I had already taken these out, I couldn't test this.

I tightened the strings to a moderate level at first; then a few hours later I came back and tuned the strings more accurately. At the moment, all the strings (bar that pesky high G) are near enough in tune - at least, they're at the approximately correct tension but not necessarily exactly in tune. That high G string keeps on slipping but hopefully it will soon settle down. I think that I'll order another set of string shortly, not because I think that a string might break but because I may restring the guitar again in a few months, this time with the order of strings (high vs low) reversed.

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