All 6 off at once or not ?

[ted s]

Hey folks, this may sound like a dorky question.. In the past when changing my strings I have pretty much always yanked'em all at once. Now that I have a guitar that actually came with an owners manual ?! (Tele) Fender says only remove the top or bottom 3 at at time. What's up with that ? I want to lift the pick guard while I'm at it. Is there some risk to the neck that I am not aware of ?

thanks

Ted

[Tone2TheBone]

I've taken them all off and restrung them millions of times and I've never broken a guitar. Either bolt on or set necks. No problems. Besides how else are you supposed to take the pickguard off lets say a Strat without loosening all the strings which is the same as taking them all off? If your neck pickup on your Tele is screwed into the body under the PG then you don't have to loosen or take off strings to take the pickguard off. If you have your neck pickup attached to your PG then yeah you have to loosen or take off the strings to access.

[oldguy]

Ted, the owner's manual is trying to prevent folks from suddenly releasing all the string tension off the neck at once. Other methods include leaving theoutside strings on, middle strings, etc. It makes sense to s-l-o-w-l-y let that tension off the neck, letting the wood adjust slowly. And if you ever own a guitar with a Floyd Rose trem, you really don't want to pull all the strings off at once unless you'rewellversed on setting up a Floyd.
That being said, when I want to pull the pickguard off an axe, I let the string tension down slow, a little at a time. Then I take the strings off, then I pull the P.G. I've never had a problem.....and don't know anyone else who has doing it this way..... but that's not to say it can't happen.
Anyone else care to weigh in on this subject?

[Tone2TheBone]

Ted, the owner's manual is trying to prevent folks from suddenly releasing all the string tension off the neck at once.

By this I'm thinking someone cutting their strings off? Releasing tension little at a time and taking them all off while doing so is the method I use. I didn't want to be misunderstood I should have worded it correctly thanks.

[Robert****]

I think the idea behind this is so that neck doesn't get warped. You should also put on the low E first, high E 2nd, A string, then B string, and lastly G and D string, so that the neck gets even "strain" on both sides.

Hope that make sense.

[ted s]

Thanks guys, that's what I figured. I've always let them down easy one at a time, never had any problems. Just checking.
Thanks again for your responses.

[DaveO]

Probably a little more important on an acoustic than an a solid body electric. I usually take off one, put a new one on and tune it. Then do the next string. Makes tuning a little easier. But I have just taken all 6 off at least 1000...... times. No harm no foul.
Dave

[Plank_Spanker]

I loosen the strings uniformly to very loose and then cut them all off. The only guitars I leave old strings on when I restring are the Gibsons, and that's to keep bridge put and not lose the height adjustment. When I need to remove all of the strings on the Gibsons to oil the board or polish the frets, I use 3M painter's masking tape to keep the bridge pinned down.

Teles are at the top of the list of indestructible, tough guitars. You have to work to tear one up.

[Spudman***]

Take em all off baby!

Gotta clean the gunky guitar before you restring it. No harm - no foul. Maybe on an acoustic it's a different thing. I wouldn't worry about it on anything else.

[t_ross33]

I think the idea behind this is so that neck doesn't get warped. You should also put on the low E first, high E 2nd, A string, then B string, and lastly G and D string, so that the neck gets even "strain" on both sides.

Hope that make sense.

I've been changing strings in that order for a few years now (can't remember exactly where I learned it), but it helps keep the tension nice and even and easier to tune up.

[Katastrophe]

If you're going to do truss rod / intonation adjustments, I don't see the problem with taking all 6 strings off, as long as you dont take a set of wire cutters to the strings at full tension.

I usually take all 6 strings off, then replace with new and check the neck for relief after tuning. Works fine for me!

[Plank_Spanker]

Guitars are a lot tougher than most most people give them credit for - particularly electrics. While I don't recommend cutting the strings off at tension, I see see no harm in removing all of the strings on string changes - they are not that delicate.

You're not looking at a Stradovarius...............................you're looking at an axe designed for the rigors of rock and mayhem..............

[tot_Ou_tard]

I always thought that this was an intonation isssue for those gitfiddles with tremolos.

Since I always intonate after changing strings I never thought anything about it.

Of course I let the tension down slowly and evenly across the 6 strings.

[Jimi75]

Ever watched a professional guitar tech? Maybe had the chance to take a glance at one at a concert?

He takes a side cutter, cut through all 6 strings and there he goes!

I heard so much theory talk about how to change strings, how to clean the fretboard after playing, how to cook/boil strings to re-use them.....

I d not belive that you do any wrong taking of the strings at once. Concerning the neck tension it is a good idea to slowly release the strings consistently before cutting them or taking them off..

I for myself always did it that way and I never had any problem with that.

One important point is that each and every instrument, even when coming out of mass production has its own life - what is good for one guitar is not automatically good for another. The more you experiment with your instrument the more you know how to "treat" it.

[oldguy]

Ever watched a professional guitar tech? Maybe had the chance to take a glance at one at a concert?

He takes a side cutter, cut through all 6 strings and there he goes!


One important point is that each and every instrument, even when coming out of mass production has its own life - what is good for one guitar is not automatically good for another. The more you experiment with your instrument the more you know how to "treat" it.

Yes, Jimi, you are right, on both counts! But a manufacturer isn't going to tell anyone to change strings in that manner, they will want the instrument handled gently, if for no other reason than to prevent warranty issues from arising. Also, very good point you make about every instrument having its own life span. My fathers Fender Musicmaster has all the battle scars you would expect for a 50 yr old guitar, yet still plays great. I, however bought a Strat in the early 70's and within 6 mos. the neck was twisted like a dam# corkscrew! No amount of care changing string would've made a bit of difference, the maple neck was bad.
If you get a good one, you're not gonna hurt it by removing all the strings, cleaning it up, restringing it, retuning, etc. I agree.
What I was getting at in my first post is, Fender's not gonna say do it that way.
I personally never (and would never) leave 3 strings on at a time and change the other 3.

[Ro3b]

If you're going to do truss rod / intonation adjustments, I don't see the problem with taking all 6 strings off, as long as you dont take a set of wire cutters to the strings at full tension.

Shouldn't truss rod adjustments be done with the strings tuned up to pitch? That's how I do it, anyway. Ditto my bridge saddles.

When changing strings on an acoustic guitar, you've got tension on the top to worry about as well as the neck. It's easier on the whole system if you change one string at a time. Makes tuning the new set easier too, which is why I do the same thing on my electric guitars.

[oldguy]

[QUOTE=Ro3b]Shouldn't truss rod adjustments be done with the strings tuned up to pitch? That's how I do it, anyway. Ditto my bridge saddles.

Correct. It is easier to clean the crud off a "naked" fingerboard, however.
I usually give mine a good scrubbing with a soft toothbrush and then a coat of lemon oil on the rosewood boards.

[tot_Ou_tard]

Shouldn't truss rod adjustments be done with the strings tuned up to pitch? That's how I do it, anyway. Ditto my bridge saddles.

Really? I've yet to make a truss rod adjustment, but it doesn't look easy to
do so on my guitars with the strings up to pitch.

[SuperSwede]

You have to remove the neck on some Fender strats (older), because the truss rod adjustment screw is under the neck plate. Strange but true.
I usually cut my strings when its still in tune, and I never had any problems with that. As someone else said, guitars are tougher than you think.