How to restring a Puerto Rican cuatro
The Puerto Rican cuatro has ten steel strings in five courses. The top three courses are unison pairs and the two bass courses, B and E, pair a wound string with a thin string an octave higher. Most restringing mistakes happen there, with the octave string in the wrong place or the wrong gauge.
Puerto Rican cuatro standard tuning, course by course
From the 5th course (lowest) to the 1st, at A 440 Hz; the B and E courses are octave pairs.
| String | Note | Hz |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | B2 + B3 | 123.47 + 246.94 |
| 4 | E3 + E4 | 164.81 + 329.63 |
| 3 | A3 | 220.00 |
| 2 | D4 | 293.66 |
| 1 | G4 | 392.00 |
How to use it
- Open the Puerto Rican cuatro guide and tick each step; your progress is saved on this device.
- When every step is ticked, the page scrolls to the tuner in standard B E A D G.
- Pluck one string at a time and turn its key until the needle centers. Start over clears the list.
Help and explanations
Follow the steps course by course and tick them off. At the end, the tuner checks every string, from B2 (123.47 Hz) to G4 (392.00 Hz).
The two octave courses
On the B course, a .042 wound string on B2 shares the course with a .024 on B3; on the E course, a .032 wound on E3 pairs with a .014 on E4 (D'Addario EJ96 gauges). The thin octave strings look like the treble strings, so keep them in their envelopes until they go on.
The A, D and G courses are unison pairs: .024 wound on A3, .014 on D4 and .011 on G4. A full set adds up to over 210 lb (about 96 kg), so change one course at a time.
Ball ends and the bridge
Sets like the La Bella 700C come with ball ends, which stop against the bridge when the string is pulled through. Bridges differ from builder to builder, so look at how the old strings are fixed before you take them off, and fit the new ones the same way.
Tips
- Comparing sets? See the gauges and tension of each string in the Puerto Rican cuatro string tension calculator.
- With the new set settled, check the octave at the 12th fret with the intonation checker.
- Never cut a steel string under tension: the loose end whips and can scratch the top.
Frequently asked questions
How do you string a Puerto Rican cuatro?
One course at a time, starting with the low B. Fix the ball end at the bridge as the old string was, leave about 2 inches (5 cm) of slack at the tuner, wind 2 to 3 wraps on wound strings and 3 to 4 on plain ones, and tune each pair before moving on.
What are the notes of the Puerto Rican cuatro strings?
From the lowest course: B2 + B3 (123.47 + 246.94 Hz), E3 + E4 (164.81 + 329.63 Hz), A3 + A3 (220.00 Hz), D4 + D4 (293.66 Hz) and G4 + G4 (392.00 Hz), at A 440 Hz.
How many strings are on a Puerto Rican cuatro?
Ten, in five pairs. Despite the name, the modern cuatro has five courses; the older cuatro antiguo had four.
Which strings of a cuatro are octaves?
The two lowest courses, B and E. Each has a wound bass string and a thin string tuned an octave higher. The A, D and G courses are in unison.
Why does a new cuatro string keep going flat?
New strings stretch for the first hours. Stretch each string gently at mid-length, retune two or three times and check again the next day.