Taking All Strings Off for cleaning purposes

incubusdmb5 · Unread post by **incubusdmb5** » Sun Apr 11, 2004 3:28 pm

the next time i put new strings on my guitar i want to clean it. is it ok to take off all of the strings and clean and then put them back on again? i hear it screws up the bridg e

MWR · Unread post by **MWR** » Sun Apr 11, 2004 3:35 pm

It's a wives tale but people on here will tell you not to do it anyway. When a luthier replaces frets or a saddle he has to take the strings off right? If your worried about it you can always switch three at a time.

souna · Unread post by **souna** » Sun Apr 11, 2004 6:53 pm

true that. I do it all the time and it works fine for me and my guitar. Anyway welcome to the boards great nickname long live incubus bigspeen and me will be your friends.

incubusdmb5 · Unread post by **incubusdmb5** » Sun Apr 11, 2004 7:09 pm

do what each time? take 3 off at a time or all at once?

souna · Unread post by **souna** » Sun Apr 11, 2004 7:11 pm

no all at once

incubusdmb5 · Unread post by **incubusdmb5** » Sun Apr 11, 2004 7:12 pm

souna · Unread post by **souna** » Sun Apr 11, 2004 7:14 pm

no probs dude anytime

gravesRR7 · Unread post by **gravesRR7** » Sun Apr 11, 2004 8:17 pm

it shouldn't do too much damage. the only thing that could happen would be that if the tension is taken off for a long time (if you are really slow at changing strings) then the neck could curve a bit. but it is totally fixable, you would just need to crank the truss rod a very little bit to fix it (be careful if you do that)

it should be fine though, just dont' take forever doing it

DT · Unread post by DT » Mon Apr 12, 2004 1:02 am

yea, the only concern is if you leave it like that for a long time... the time it takes to do cleaning and stuff definitely isnt long enough to cause any neck damage.

incubusdmb5 · Unread post by **incubusdmb5** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 9:46 am

thanks everyone

Speenis · Unread post by **Speenis** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 2:32 pm

souna wrote:true that. I do it all the time and it works fine for me and my guitar. Anyway welcome to the boards great nickname long live incubus bigspeen and me will be your friends.

This is true. Anywho, like everyone else said, don't have them all off for a long time. Also, what is the necessity to take them all off? I can clean anything I want with them all on. I guess I just like to be safe than sorry.

incubusdmb5 · Unread post by **incubusdmb5** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 11:37 pm

just the fretboard...it isnt that bad so im gonna hold off till it gets real bad

grock · Unread post by **grock** » Tue Apr 13, 2004 12:01 am

it will cause no damage to have the strings off for an indefinate period of time. basically when the strings are on they are putting tension on the neck. this tension is countered by the wood and the truss rod. when the strings are off then the wood and truss rod are not at tension either. so it is actually safer to leave strings off than keep them on!

if you ever decide to store your guitar or travel with your guitar it is optimal to loosen the strings really loose so there is no tension on the neck. this will prevent warping and other damage.

i know everyone seems to think that you have to keep the strings tight, but as long as you keep even tension (don't just leave the three bass strings on for a long time cuz it will warp it) and you allow for the wood to flex in between changing (don't take the strings on and off and on and off over and over, tightening and untighting cuz this will cause wear and weakening), you'll be fine.

6_strings_for_life · Unread post by **6_strings_for_life** » Tue Apr 13, 2004 11:35 am

I have a lot of gunk on my fretboard to. What do u guys recomend to take all that nasty shit off and not hurt the finish or wood of my guitar??

Ry_ · Unread post by **Ry_** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 10:30 pm

Time for some educated contreversy. Big no no. Never take all the strings off your guitar. It's true that guitars are made with a "bow" and the truss rod is there to resist the tension of the strings. I once took all my strings off before I took my guitar in for a tune-up, and the first thing the luthier said was "oh oh... your guitar is NOT gonna like that" HAHA but yeah... trust me on this one, never take all the strings off your guitar. The truss rod is basically put in to resist the tension of the strings by pushing the other way to even out the pressure. Imagine what would happen to the neck of your guitar if the tension was suddenly totally relseased from the guitar?? But yeah, to sum up my argument.... never.

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Taking All Strings Off for cleaning purposes

Taking All Strings Off for cleaning purposes

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