# Guitar strings backwards
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-strings-backwards/968923
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Tags:** music
**Created:** [August 1, 2022, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-strings-backwards/968923 "2022-08-01T14:35:01Z")
**Posts on this page:** 15
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2022, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-strings-backwards/968923/1 "2022-08-01T14:35:01Z")
This is Tom Morello Looks like he has the bottom of the strings at the top of the guitar. Any reason to do that?
[https://twitter.com/PNCArena/status/1553955799663362049/photo/3](https://twitter.com/PNCArena/status/1553955799663362049/photo/3)
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### Author:  [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2022, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-strings-backwards/968923/2 "2022-08-01T14:40:49Z")
He’s got a Floyd Rose-style double-locking bridge, which means the strings are “locked” into place at both ends, so it doesn’t matter which way the strings go on.
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### Author:  [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2022, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-strings-backwards/968923/3 "2022-08-01T14:42:37Z")
Both pics look to me like he has the fattest strings further from the ground. That’s the standard way.
When I first saw the thread title, I though that either he played left-handed (which he apparently does not), or that he had picked up the guitar of someone who played left-handed.
But as I said, the strings don’t look backwards, in either picture.
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### Author:  [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2022, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-strings-backwards/968923/4 "2022-08-01T14:45:56Z")
I thought maybe the locking bridge was the answer . Why does he not trim the strings?
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### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2022, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-strings-backwards/968923/5 "2022-08-01T14:46:34Z")
There was a fad in the 1970’s to leave the strings uncut. Strange woo that you got better tone.
I played like that for a few years. Never put my strings on backwards.
It was debunked long ago. The strings are cut from a large spool at the factory. Cutting them again does nothing except avoid poking yourself .
But some players like the look.
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### Author:  [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2022, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-strings-backwards/968923/6 "2022-08-01T14:47:33Z")
Tom uses a Floyd Rose (or similar) bridge on that guitar. That’s a bridge designed for tuning stability even if the player does huge divebombs and pull-ups with the whammy bar. One of the ways the Floyd does that is by positively locking the strings by screwing down little bits of hardware that pinch the strings in place. For that to work, the ‘clean’ way to string the guitar is to start by cutting off the ball ends since the y have no place in this system.
The fast way is to run the strings backward, and since a guitar with a Floyd setup almost certainly has locking tuners, there’s no need for wraps around the string post, manhunt that the ball end is not in the way of getting the strings to wrap correctly. And if you’re inclined to do things the fast way, maybe you don’t bother cutting off the excess string at the tuners.
A practical reason to do this takes into consideration the fact that his strings likely break right at the bridge. In that case, you just unlock the tuner, feed a little more of the uncut string through, tighten both ends back up, and you’re back in business.
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### Author:  [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2022, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-strings-backwards/968923/7 "2022-08-01T14:47:51Z")
Ah, OK, my mistake. By “backwards”, the OP is noting that the ball end of the strings are at the head of the guitar, not the bridge.
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2022, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-strings-backwards/968923/8 "2022-08-01T14:48:56Z")
I assume it just “looks cool.”
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### Author:  [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2022, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-strings-backwards/968923/9 "2022-08-01T15:46:29Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#):
>
> …manhunt that the ball end…
That’s a fun autocorrect error! _ **Meaning** _, not manhunt, you dumb iPhone!
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### Author:  [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2022, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-strings-backwards/968923/10 "2022-08-01T17:25:20Z")
I have questions…
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### Author:  [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2022, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-strings-backwards/968923/11 "2022-08-01T17:27:58Z")
Also, thank you, all, for this thread. I am not a guitarist, and I know only the basics of how they work. TIL that guitar strings have different ends to them. I always just assumed the strings were just lengths of the appropriate thickness string.
Good. I learned something new today. I can shut down my brain now.
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### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2022, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-strings-backwards/968923/12 "2022-08-01T17:48:31Z")
You can’t always explain things you do in a Rage.
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2022, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-strings-backwards/968923/13 "2022-08-01T18:33:05Z")
> [@carlb](#):
>
> Good. I learned something new today. I can shut down my brain now.
However, you’ve forgotten the date of your anniversary in exchange.
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### Author:  [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2022, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-strings-backwards/968923/14 "2022-08-01T19:00:47Z")
and strings are made of many materials such as nickel , steel , and nickel plated steel. For acoustic you can get phosphor bronze or nylon strings and other materials. And then there is the thickness you can choose from.
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### Author:  [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2022, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitar-strings-backwards/968923/15 "2022-08-01T23:11:57Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#):
>
> Ah, OK, my mistake. By “backwards”, the OP is noting that the ball end of the strings are at the head of the guitar, not the bridge.
Me too. When I read the title I figured Morello was playing some old school Albert King.