Do it at the kitchen table and the arithmetic changes. Your first change costs a set of strings plus one $12.99 tool that winds the pegs, snips the ends and pops the bridge pins out: $22.98 for both items, before any tax or delivery. Every change after that is the price of a set alone. Which route is right for you turns on something no price list says out loud. We'll get to it.
On this page
- The short answer, in dollars
- What six repair shops charge for a standard six string guitar
- What a set of strings costs
- A restring is not a setup, and that gap is most of the bill
- Doing it yourself: the real cost and the real time
- How often you actually need to change strings
- If you are restringing because you are picking the guitar back up
- Frequently asked questions
The short answer, in dollars
Two routes, priced completely differently. A shop sells you labor, and three of the shops in our sample clearly charge extra for strings. At home you do the same labor for free and buy one tool once. Neither number is large. The difference shows up over a year: the shop route repeats at full price every time, while the home route drops to the price of a set.
What you pay a shop
Twenty dollars at Anzalone Guitars in Blauvelt, New York, fifty at Third Coast Guitar Repair in Chicago, and the other four between at $25, $35, $40 and $40. The median of the six is $37.50. Some prices are starting points. Anchor Guitar Works lists a $35 starting price, Reno's electric restring is "$25 and up," and Anzalone's setup is "$70 and up." Certain bridges and other work cost extra. Anchor includes standard strings. Three say plainly that strings are extra. Anzalone and Willow River Music don't say either way for a standalone restring, which is worth asking at the counter.
What you pay doing it yourself
Your first change is a set of strings plus a winder: a D'Addario EJ16 acoustic set is $9.99 and the Pro-Winder is $12.99, so $22.98 buys both. After that, every change is $9.99 for acoustic or $8.49 for electric, because you already own the tool. For a $20 labor-only quote plus $9.99 for the set, you save $20.00 a change. The winder has paid for itself with $7.01 to spare before the first string is tuned. A clip-on tuner is $21.99 and entirely optional. Your phone does the same job for nothing.
What six repair shops charge for a standard six string guitar
Six independent US shops that publish their prices on their own websites, two of them in Chicago. That's a sample, not a national survey, so it shows you the spread and the reasons behind it rather than an average you can carry to your own town. Check whether the strings are included before you compare prices. A $20 labor-only quote with a $9.99 set on top and a $35 restring with the strings already inside it are closer than they look.
| Shop | Where | Standard six string restring | Strings included | The shop's own setup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anzalone Guitars | Blauvelt, NY | $20 | Not stated for a standalone restring | $70 and up, restring included |
| Reno Guitar Repair | Reno, NV | $25 acoustic, $25 and up electric | No, and same day work is charged double | Action adjustment only, $80. A string change is optional |
| Anchor Guitar Works | Norman, OK | $35 and up | Yes, standard six string sets included | Basic setup $100, so $135 with the restring |
| Willow River Music | Loveland, CO | $40, plus a five percent supply charge | Not stated for a standalone restring | $125 plus strings for acoustic, $145 plus strings for electric |
| Chicago Fret Works | Chicago, IL | $40 | No, strings and parts are extra | Quick Set $110, restring included |
| Third Coast Guitar Repair | Chicago, IL | $50 | No | Restring and Adjust, $70, which the shop calls most shops' setup |
Why the same job runs twenty dollars in one shop and fifty in another
Three things move the number. The first is whether the strings are in the price, which is worth about ten dollars. The second is scheduling. Reno Guitar Repair does all its restrings on Friday mornings before eleven, and doing yours on the day you walk in costs double. Batching is cheap. Interrupting a bench isn't. The third is what the shop does while the strings are off. Anzalone lists twenty dollars for a steel string guitar or bass. Anchor's thirty five buys removal, an inspection and clean of the string path and contact points, installation, proper stretching, tuning and a final look over. Different jobs, same word.
Worth knowing if there's a second instrument in the house: Willow River restrings a violin, viola or cello for $35 off the same list.
The add-ons that are easy to miss
This is where a quoted price and a paid price part company. Willow River puts a five percent supply charge on every repair, so its $40 restring becomes $42.00, and it sets a $35 bench minimum. Rush work adds a $45 fee plus $100 an hour on the bench. Reno's same day charge takes a $25 restring to $50, or $65 with a deep clean. Chicago Fret Works states that prices exclude strings and parts unless it says so. And when Anzalone replaces a complete tuner set, re-using your old strings still leaves the restring charge. That's the single most useful sentence on any of these price lists: you're buying the labor, not the hardware.
Ask these questions before you hand over the guitar
- Is the price you quoted labor only, or does it include a set of strings?
- If I bring my own strings, does the price change?
- Is there a rush charge if I need it back today?
- Is a cleaning, a supply charge or a bench minimum added on top?
- Would you tell me if this guitar needs a setup rather than a restring?
What a set of strings costs
Two things decide the number: what the guitar is, and whether the strings are coated. All four prices come from one maker's own store, deliberately, so they're comparable rather than a mix of brands and retailers. These are D'Addario's prices. Your local shop or an online retailer may sell the identical set for more or less, and a shop that supplies the set as part of the job will charge its own figure again.
| Set | What it is | Coating | Price from the maker |
|---|---|---|---|
| D'Addario EJ16, 12 to 53 | Acoustic phosphor bronze, light | Uncoated | $9.99 |
| D'Addario EXL110, 10 to 46 | Electric nickel wound, regular light | Uncoated | $8.49 |
| D'Addario XTABR1253, 12 to 53 | Acoustic 80/20 bronze, light | Coated | $15.99 |
| D'Addario XSAPB1253, 12 to 53 | Acoustic phosphor bronze, light | Premium coated | $19.99 |
Are coated strings worth the extra money
The coated acoustic set costs $6.00 more than the plain one, and the premium coated set $10.00 more. D'Addario's pitch for a coating is that it protects the string and extends its life. The honest test of that is arithmetic, not opinion. If one $15.99 coated set lasts as long as two $9.99 plain sets, it saves $3.99. The $19.99 set needs to outlast two plain sets to save money. We'd put them on the guitar you play occasionally. For daily playing, the choice turns on how long they last you.
A restring is not a setup, and that gap is most of the bill
No price list says this out loud. It's why people overpay. A restring puts new strings on the instrument, and some shops include cleaning or adjustments. A full setup adjusts the instrument and includes a string change, but the shop may bill that change separately. Anchor Guitar Works spells it out: $100 for the basic setup, $135 for the setup and the restring as a standard total. Chicago Fret Works folds a restring into its $110 Quick Set. Third Coast is blunter still, calling its $70 "Restring and Adjust" tier, in the shop's own capitals, "MOST SHOPS 'SETUP'." So check what the quote includes before adding a restring charge. Buy a restring today and a full setup next month and you're paying for two separate string changes.
What the setup quote covers
A setup combines adjustments to the neck, string height and tuning along the neck. You measure action and relief with the strings tuned to pitch. You check neck relief with the strings tuned to pitch. The fresh strings are part of checking those adjustments, and that's why a full setup involves more work than a restring. Here's the work, in the shops' own terms.
What the setup quote covers
- A truss rod adjustment, which sets the amount of relief in the neck
- String height at the saddle or bridge, which is what action means
- Nut slot depth and shape, filed where the strings sit too high
- Intonation, so the guitar plays in tune with itself up the neck
- Cleaning and polishing the fretboard and hardware
- A string change, with the new set or labor billed separately if the shop says so
What a fresh set may leave unresolved
Buzzing. A neck that fights you above the fifth fret. Notes that drift out of tune after the set has had a day to settle. Those symptoms can come from worn or faulty strings, as well as setup or repair problems. There's one more tell, and it's a common one. If strings keep breaking at the same spot, the culprit may be a rough edge on a saddle, nut, fret or tuning post, which makes it a repair rather than a restring. High action on an acoustic belongs on somebody's bench too.
When a restring is the wrong purchase
If the guitar buzzes, feels hard to play or won't hold tune after a string change, have the cause checked. It may need a setup or repair, but worn or faulty strings can also cause trouble. Ask whether the quote includes a restring.
Doing it yourself: the real cost and the real time
Changing strings is a job a beginner can learn, but careful fitting matters. A loose nylon string can damage the guitar's top. Overshooting the pitch can also snap a string, so buy two sets rather than one. D'Addario's care notes say the same thing: it's "always good to have a backup set on hand in case you break one." Strings pop on the way up, while you're seating them or tuning them for the first time. A spare turns a ruined evening into a shrug.
The three tools, and what they cost
One of the three costs nothing.
The three tools
- A winder that also cuts and pulls bridge pins, $12.99 from D'Addario
- A clip-on tuner, $21.99, or a free tuner app on your phone
- A set of strings, from $8.49
The winder is the one that matters. Turning six tuning pegs by hand is what makes people decide restringing is a chore, and the cutter and pin puller on the same tool are what you reach for at the two moments a first timer gets stuck. If you've never done it, watch someone do it first. A 25 minute step by step change on an acoustic shows the three things that go wrong on a first attempt: seating the bridge pins, winding the string neatly down the post, and stretching the set before you tune it.
Why a new set sounds wrong for the first day
Because it isn't finished yet. A new string is still stretching, the winds are still bedding onto the post, and the whole set sags in pitch every time you play it for the first few hours. D'Addario's advice is to give yourself a few hours or a day of stretching and playing before you judge the result. Retune, play, retune, play. If it settles, you did it right. If it still won't hold pitch after a day, check how the strings are fitted before paying for a setup.
How often you actually need to change strings
There is no universal schedule for changing strings. So go by two things instead: the signs that tell you a set is finished, and the rough intervals that tell you when to expect them.
The signs that decide it
An aging set can stop holding tune or lose its tone. Strings that feel rough and rusty are another sign to check. If you find grime underneath them, try cleaning them before deciding they need replacing. D'Addario is refreshingly relaxed in the other direction: if your strings "sound clear, stay in tune, and don't look or feel dirty," they've probably got life left in them and you can leave them alone.
Rough intervals, by how much you play
D'Addario gives starting points by playing time: every one to three months at one or two hours a week, and every one to two months at three to seven hours. For gigging musicians playing eight hours a week or more, it suggests every one to four weeks. Coated strings can last longer. Sweat, humidity and playing habits change the result, so let the signs overrule the calendar.
If you are restringing because you are picking the guitar back up
Then the restring is the cheapest part of what you're about to spend. It's worth knowing the rest first. Across 754 cost profiles for guitar lessons in our own data, our displayed price range is $101 to $253. Our category pages price to a location, not to a fixed national line, so read that as a snapshot rather than a rate card. If you want to know how those figures get built, we set out how we rank the instructors we list.
A weekly private hour and a weekly group class are different products at different prices, and we've put private and group lessons compared side by side. The other fork is format, in person or over a screen, which is a real decision now rather than a compromise, and we've written separately on whether online music lessons hold up.
Picking a first teacher is simpler than it sounds. Ask what the first month covers, ask whether they teach the music you actually want to play, and take one trial lesson before you commit to a term. Then find guitar teachers near you and book that trial. And if the instrument that came out of the closet turned out to have four strings and a bow, we rank violin teachers the same way.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to restring a guitar?
At a shop, ask about the bench queue before counting on a quick turnaround. Reno Guitar Repair does its restrings on Friday mornings and charges double to do yours the same day. At home the change itself is short. What takes time is afterward: D'Addario says to let a new set stretch, settle and be retuned over a few hours or a day before you judge how it sounds.
Can you restring a guitar yourself?
Yes, and it's an inexpensive guitar job to learn. A set of strings from $8.49 and a $12.99 winder cover everything you need, and after that first purchase each change costs you only the set. Buy two sets the first time in case one pops while you're fitting it. Careful fitting protects the guitar as well as the strings.
How much does it cost to restring a guitar at Guitar Center?
There's no national number to give you. Guitar Center lists a standard restring among its repair services and publishes no price for it anywhere we could find. Its store repair pages tell you to contact your local store for repair packages and options. So call the store you'd actually use, and ask two things: whether the quote includes a set of strings, and whether same day work costs extra.
Do you need a setup after changing string gauge?
A gauge change may call for a setup. Heavier or lighter strings change the pull on the neck, so check the neck relief and adjust it if needed. D'Addario puts it plainly: a change of gauge "may require some adjustment of your guitar and a professional setup could be in order." Even the same gauge can need an adjustment if the neck relief changes.
Do you have to change all six strings at once?
No. Taking them all off together doesn't hurt the neck, whatever you were told. But one bright new string beside five tired ones won't sound or feel like the rest, so changing the set avoids that mismatch. The sensible exception is a string that snaps early in a set's life: replace that one and carry on. The six sampled shops list full set restring prices.
Why does my guitar sound bad after changing strings?
It may be because the set hasn't settled yet. New strings stretch, the winds bed down onto the posts, and the pitch keeps sagging for the first few hours of playing. D'Addario's own guidance is to give it a few hours or a day of stretching and retuning. If it still sounds wrong and won't hold pitch after that, check the fitting, setup and strings.