Does it matter which way you wind the tuning knobs when stringing?
 

I just kind of do it willy nilly when stringing my acoustic. Does it matter which way you turn the tuning nobs to tighten the strings??

I hope not...don't wanna do it again..

yes, it matters. With the guitar on your lap as you tighten. The strings on the bottom, 1-3, turn the knobs and tighten towards you, the strings on the top, 4-6, turn those knobs away from you.

It would matter to me, because I sometimes have to tune quickly while performing. If the direction I turn to make a string sharper is reliably consistent, the process is quicker and easier. That's a big deal for me.

I don't thing the strings really care one way or the other. ;)

cotten

Why does it matter?

Will it damage my guitar if I just leave them as is?

I think most people string their guitars (not slot headed) with the strings ending up on the inside (closer to the center of the head plate) of the post. This means if you are facing the side of the guitar with the tuners, you will always tune the guitar sharp by turning the tuner counter clockwise (CC), that is you are looking directly at the axis of the tuner. If your point of view is like most peoples when playing, the tuners on the bass side will turn CC to tune sharp, and the treble tuners will be turned clockwise to tune sharp. (note that the turning direction is entirely based on your reference frame, if you look from the bass side only, then the direction changes for each side.)

I don't think it is a good idea to wind the string on the outside of the post because if you switch back and forth you will ream out the nut slots with the strings because the angle of attack in the nut slot increases slightly. Also you run the risk of having the string hit another tuning post which could affect tone with buzzing, and might also throw off the string tension so you cant stay in tune.

I could be wrong, and it could be entirely up to personal preference, but I stick to my way.

Good luck!
-Rich

Yes, it does. If you wind the string up the wrong way you're potentially looking at the string binding up in the nut slot and potentially leading to the string snapping at that point. At best it will make it physically more difficult to tune the guitar

BTW, this is the wrong way taken to an extreme:
http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Musi...glestrings.jpg

(Here's the source page: http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Musi...tringing2.html)

It wont damage your guitar but you should get used to winding them the correct way simply,because if you go to any guitar store or play a friends guitar they will all be uniform.it will also make tunning easier if your strings are wound on the same way.

I would probably leave the current set on, the way they are. However, for the next set, I'd try to do it "right."

cotten

If you have a plastic nut, yes. I replace a number of plastic nuts, about 1 every 2 weeks, because the strings were put on wrong and the tension pulling to the outside of the posts instead of the inside will break the nut at the 1st and the 6th string quite easily. That's not to say it's going to break for certain, but your chances are quite high. It's not easy, but if you left yourself enough wraps on the posts you can unwind your strings and put them back on the right way without any problem. The biggest caution in this is to look out for the 1st - 3rd strings that they don't kink or cross themselves. Kink = break and crossing over or under themselves could lead to a break. Unless you've gotten Elixiers, a pack of strings is less than $7; having a new nut installed on your guitar at a shop will be at least $20 and probably even higher.

It says a lot about how you approach playing and taking care of your guitar.
Doing it right will eliminate a lot of potential to break strings, damage the nut or the headstock, or just generally have a guitar that's impossible to properly tune. Take the time to learn to do it right. It doesn't take a lot of effort to figure it out. It's time well spent.

Yes it does matter. Low E through D are tuned so that turning the peg clockwise, looking at the button from the side, (toward the body of the guitar) increases the pitch. Strings G through high E are tuned so that turning the peg counter-clockwise, looking at the button from the side, (toward the body of the guitar) increases the pitch.

This aligns the string with the tuning peg and the nut slots. Nothing spells "newbie" more clearly than a sloppy job of stringing the guitar. Check out this link for how to do it right ...

http://frets.com/FRETSPages/Musician...tringing1.html

and a link to Taylor's method ... click on Steel strings when you get there.

http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars...echsheets.html

A universal truth........there is a right way to do everything. Strings are cheep. Restring the correct way today.

Guitars are designed to have the strings wound from the inside of the post. If luthiers have come to the consensus that that's the best way to do it, I'll go along with them :)

My son put new strings on my Yamaha a few months ago. He's a lefty - it's hard to get the turns right when tuning now!