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2008 Standard strings question


cricchise

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Bought the 2008 Standard. Gorgeous piece of wood and love the way mine plays. I've played guitar for many years, but one thing I never took the time to do was properly set up a guitar. That said, I'd like to remove all the strings so i can apply some fret and fingerboard conditioner, but most instructions say to only remove one string at a time or risk messing up the setup. I don't live near a guitar store, so having to have the guitar setup again would be inconvenient.

Any suggestions?

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Bought the 2008 Standard. Gorgeous piece of wood and love the way mine plays. I've played guitar for many years' date=' but one thing I never took the time to do was properly set up a guitar. That said, I'd like to remove all the strings so i can apply some fret and fingerboard conditioner, but most instructions say to only remove one string at a time or risk messing up the setup. I don't live near a guitar store, so having to have the guitar setup again would be inconvenient.

Any suggestions?[/quote']

 

 

Yeah...try removing three strings at a time instead. THat will give you enough access to half the fretboard at a time.

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I just got my LP Push-Tone and i removed all strings to clean it up. No problem.

This is what i have been doing with the other guitars i own and never notised setup issues. Unless ofcourse you mess with the bridge, which you have no reason to. I think also that you may have problems if you select other gauge strings than the initial setup, for example going from 009's to 010's the fretboard might need a little alignment, but this has nothing to do with removing the strings 1 by 1 or altogether.

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Remove the 4 inner strings and loosen the 2 outer strings slightly (so they can me moved out of the way for cleaning). Nothing falls off and you can get all your cleaning done. Replace inner strings, remove/replace outter strings ... all done!

 

 

Wait ... don't the new Standards come with TonePros ??

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Just take it apart and clean, polish, etc. Then put it back together. Once you learn how to do this you will be glad you did. If you are really afraid of the bridge thumb wheels moving use tape to hold them in place (though it doesn't sound like you love the way it's set up now).

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The guys are right. Take it all apart BUT remember how to put it back the same way;-)

I just bought a 1980 strat and took it to pieces - all the screws, etc. Sounds and feels even better now that it's been cleaned, polished, oiled, etc....

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Hm. I hadn't considered this yet.

 

I think I may take my guitar apart. Especially since I am getting a professional set up next week.

I won't be fiddling with that truss rod so I will take it apart and put it back together right before I take it in.

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Take them all off except for one or two so the tailpiece doesn't fall off and there's enough tension to keep it all intact. Do what you want to do (don't worry about goobering up the strings - they're the old ones), then replace the missing strings and finish off with the ones you left in place to do the work.

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Hm. I hadn't considered this yet.

 

I think I may take my guitar apart. Especially since I am getting a professional set up next week.

I won't be fiddling with that truss rod so I will take it apart and put it back together right before I take it in.

 

Why replace the strings if you are getting a setup next week?

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Bought the 2008 Standard. Gorgeous piece of wood and love the way mine plays. I've played guitar for many years' date=' but one thing I never took the time to do was properly set up a guitar. That said, I'd like to remove all the strings so i can apply some fret and fingerboard conditioner, but most instructions say to only remove one string at a time or risk messing up the setup. I don't live near a guitar store, so having to have the guitar setup again would be inconvenient.

Any suggestions?[/quote']

 

First thing to do is get a book called How To Make Your Electric Guitar Play Great by Dan Erlewine.

book.jpg

 

Available at Amazon for about $14.

 

Everything you need to know about setting up your guitar. If you play guitar you should know how to properly set it up, and it's not tough.

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Removing and replacing one string at a time preserves the tension on the neck. Six strings tuned to pitch is alot of forward pull on that skinny piece of wood, the truss rod counteracts and balances the pull of the strings keeping the neck straight. When you remove all the strings at once the tension on the neck relaxes and the truss rod has no resistance. This can throw the neck out of whack slightly, but once the new set of strings (same gauge) is on and tuned up things generally work themselves back into place. You may notice some string rattle temporarily if your action is set low enough but it will work itself out.

If I'm just doing a string change, I'll do 'em one at a time. But if I plan on cleaning/conditioning the neck I just pull them all off and do what I need to do. Usually I'll do it at night with a beer or three then let it sit overnight, by the next day things are back to normal.

 

Take a look down the length of the neck with the strings on, then remove them and take another look after a few minutes. You'll probably notice the neck is bending back somewhat since the string tension is released. String it up and take another look later, it should be back to "normal".

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