Patent ID: 7098391

Claim:
In an electric guitar of the type that is strung with guitar strings that terminate with end caps, wherein the guitar has a body with a front surface, a back surface and a plurality of cylindrical string apertures that extend through the body between the front surface and the back surface, wherein the cylindrical string apertures are sized to enable the guitar strings, but not the end caps, to pass therethrough, a method for preventing wear on each guitar string as it passes into one of the cylindrical string apertures, said method comprising the steps of: providing a tubular sleeve having a neck section of a first external diameter and a head section of a larger second diameter, wherein said tubular sleeve defines a central conduit that passes through both said neck section and said head section; sliding said neck section of said tubular sleeve within a cylindrical string aperture of the guitar, wherein said neck section passes freely into said cylindrical string aperture and said head section of said tubular sleeve remains external of said cylindrical string aperture on said front surface of the guitar; passing a guitar string into said central conduit of said tubular sleeve through said neck section until the end cap of the guitar string contacts the back surface of the guitar; and tightening said guitar string to a proper tuned tension, wherein said string bends over said head section of said tubular sleeve.