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Time for strings, remove all at once or one by one ?


SteveT2

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How do you think I learned the "one string at a time" and "tape down" method...... by bouncing the stoptail across the body of my Les Paul...... ON THE FIRST STRING CHANGE WHEN IT WAS BRAND NEW.

 

 

Ouch !

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Only guitar I don't take all the strings off at once is my Ric 325. Only did that once and it was living hell to get the vibrato back together when it came all apart. That was very entertaining to the other forum members to ask about on the Ric forums as everyone's done it ONCE and they take glee in all laughing about the new NEWB being initiated. [biggrin] It was/is pretty funny when no harm is done to anything but your ego/pride. :rolleyes:

 

I do like to wipe things down well once all the strings are off and the Bridge too esp. if wood.

 

Just me

 

Aster

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I wouldn't remove them all at once. if you do you'll only need to literally touch the tune-o-matic thumbwheels to mess up your action......

 

I leave the bottom and top E on until last, just to make sure the bridge is held down. If you need to clean the fretboard you can still do it between the two E's.

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Guest Farnsbarns

I take it all apart sometimes. It only takes a minute or 2 to set the bridge height again.

 

On the other hand, for a quick string change I might leave one on or I might do them one at a time.

 

I think some people over think this. As long as you end the process with new strings and the guitar set up right who really gives a poop.

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I take it all apart sometimes. It only takes a minute or 2 to set the bridge height again.

 

On the other hand, for a quick string change I might leave one on or I might do them one at a time.

 

I think some people over think this. As long as you end the process with new strings and the guitar set up right who really gives a poop.

This is it.

 

I ALWAYS take 'em all off and usually give the guitar some sort of clean as well.

Re-setting intonation, action etc is no trouble at all if you know how to do it. Completely logical.

 

Re-check your intonation after a few days....

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How do you think I learned the "one string at a time" and "tape down" method...... by bouncing the stoptail across the body of my Les Paul...... ON THE FIRST STRING CHANGE WHEN IT WAS BRAND NEW.

 

Hello!

 

I slacken all the strings while holding the stopbar. Then, I remove the stopbar, and put is aside. I cut the strings, so I can remove them from the stopbar easily. I remove the remaining pieces from the tuning posts.

 

This is a safe and easy way.

 

Bence.

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I just changed the strings on an electric guitar for a young friend.

Devon is a lifeguard at one of the local indoor pools where I go to get my cardio swim.

 

He let me know last week that he had bought the guitar when he was a kid, never really learned how to play, and now the guitar was just languishing in a closet in the back of the house.

 

I asked him to bring it in, so that I could clean it up, set the action and intonation, and restring it for him.

(My logic was that if the guitar was set up properly, and had light gauge strings, he might pick it up and enjoy learning to play.)

 

Devon reported that it was a Stratocaster-style guitar, but he wasn't sure.

I figured it was an old Squier.

 

Sure enough, when I went to pick the guitar up on Wednesday morning, it was a Squier.

But it was one that I had never seen before.

It was black with a white pick-guard, maple neck, and some really odd features;

It has a basically Strat-shaped body,

a telecaster neck,

two pickups, a neck single-coil and a bridge humbucker, space quite far apart,

P-bass-shaped pick-guard,

and chrome knobs similar to a Tele or P-bass.

And the guitar jack hole is on the lower bout, not recessed into the front of the guitar on an angle.

 

There are only two knurled chrome knobs, one for volume, and one for pickup selection.

And the volume knob clicks upward for either tone or coil-tapping, I didn't explore long enough with it plugged in to figure out which.

Most unusual!!

 

I got the guitar home that afternoon, tore it apart, cleaned it, used metal polish to get the gungy fret wires clean and shiny, waxed it down, restrung it, set the action, neck, and intonation.

I installed Ernie Ball Extra Sinky's.

Then I got into the books to try and figure out what the heck kind of guitar it really is.

 

Turns out it is a 2005 Squier 51.

(One of the only original designs ever to come out of Squier.)

This funky hybrid configuration became so intriguing to Fender owners that Fender corporation eventually issued the Fender model 51 for a few years.

 

I played it plugged into a Crate amp, both clean and distorted, and got some really nice tones out of it.

The humbucker is really hot for a Squier. I was impressed with the fat harmonics I got out of it.

 

Anyway, I returned the guitar to Devon yesterday morning, and the temptation was strong for me to buy it off of him.

(You know what an addict I am.)

 

But I was good;

I raved about what a unique axe he had, and I told him what the Blue Book and the internet said it was worth, in case he ever wanted to sell it some day.

 

God help me if he calls me up soon, and offers to sell it to me.

I have no idea where I would put it!

[scared]

 

276306.jpg

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It’s obviously the 51st crossbred child of Telepa & Stratma. The first 50 being strangled at birth by the instrument cord snagging around their necks.

 

This one will need nurture and love to fend off future identity crises.

 

 

 

 

BTW, Nice rescue job Sparq!

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Hey I'm back, My first Les Paul, a Standard Plus Top, had a clip that held the tailpiece in place with no strings on. Don't really need to mention that it was an Epiphone right? Well, Doesn't Gibson have this available for the REAL DEAL....or what? Maybe the Epi part would work ! msp_confused.gif

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It was the stretching I wondered about. On my Fenders I yank them pretty good. But you never hear about the Fender headstock despair like you do Gibson. And good grief, that change was way overdue btw

 

Just rip ' em all off, clean that baby up, and slap some new ones on. Stretching? My local Authorized Gibson repair guy says best to do some full step bends on the bottom 3 and some step and a half bends on the high 3. What you don't really want to do is tug on the strings directly away from the fretboard like you would on that chunk of Fender Maple. If you go to the Gibson website, they'll tell you to take 'em all off. Then they'll warn you about what's about to happen with that tailpiece when you do !msp_thumbup.gif

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I do pull the treble strings up off the neck at the 12th fret, but put a strong magnet on the back of the neck next to a dumbell to counteract the stress on the neck.

 

Kidding aside, interesting point about not pulling the strings straight up. But can a one second pull 2 inches up REALLY damage a guitar neck, other than in theory? And Evans, if you hold the string down at the nut, will there not still be stress on the actual neck?

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And Evans, if you hold the string down at the nut, will there not still be stress on the actual neck?

 

Yes, but the pull will be at the correct angle. I close my entire hand around the neck & strings to ensure that.

 

I only recently started stretching strings away from the neck. Its better to stretch using the thumb on one side of the string and the forefinger on the other, so you can push in opposite directions. This pressure (up & down) is parallel to the neck. Sadly my thumbs are no longer strong enough to do this.

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Where on the neck do you place your (I assume) left hand?

 

I do the thumbs and index finger for the wound strings, but heard that you shouldn't do that on the treble side (kinks a s o).

 

Good advice btw, Larry and Evans - thanks for that :)

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I remove them all if a good cleaning is required (not often), one by one otherwise. It doors take long to tweak the bridge if I knock a thumb wheel. Although the tape trick is a great idea for those none locking bridges and tail pieces (got a couple EPIs with the "tone local" which keeps everything in place). For restringing and stretching, I will slip the string through the machine head and measure enough for a xcouple wraps on thee post (fire me a couple finger widths), mark it with a little bend and slide the string back to the bend to start winding. While winding with my left hand (I'm a eighty) I'll keep tension on the string with my right thumb pushing down just behind the but while using fingers of my right to pull up on the string. This keeps the tension in a localized spot while winding. Once fully restrung a couple of tugs during tuning and its rock solid.

 

PS I also lock the winds on themselves with the over/under on the first wrap.

 

Johnny

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