Leaving your strings off your guitar for a while.. bad?

[guitarrocka205]

I heard this from more than one person. What's the deal? There isn't any tension, and I'm sure the truss rod can be adjusted....

 

One of my guitars' have had the strings off for some time.

[ColoradoFenderB]

You are fine.

[hecticone]

My reply is guitars are ment to have strings on them.

[GreatDane]

an unstrung guitar is no more at risk for damage than an unmounted guitar neck.

[guitarrocka205]

 

an unstrung guitar is no more at risk for damage than an unmounted guitar neck.

 

 

niiiiiice

[headless]

The only negative thing I have to say about removing the strings is that often inexperienced people who do this, find that when they put the strings back on their set-up has changed and they freak-out.

 

When you put the strings back on, there's going to be a period of time where guitar "settles" back to it's tensioned state, and there may well be adjustments needed after that period, to get the instrument in it's best playing condition.

 

If you're familiar with these adjustments, then I wouldn't worry about it.

[Ralph onion]

I have a 50 year old Jag that has never had the strings removed, no problem.

[WRGKMC]

Strings put appox 120lbs of pull on the neck. The truss is the counterbalance to that pull. If no strings are present, the neck can backbow depending on the neck thickness. (Thin necks rely on the truss more than a thicker neck)

 

When you say have you strings off for awhile, if its a few days, its unlikely any perminant damage will occur. If you're talking months or years, the truss should be loosened to avoid backbow. unless its a piece of junk you dont care about, you always want to avoid extreme changes in truss pressure like that. Once moisture sets into the wood, just putting strings may not allow for enough forward bow to occur and heat may be nessasary.

 

I do alot of guitar restorations. Getting instruments left in a closet half strung is a pretty common thing. On an acoustic, Loostening the strings about 1/2 way helps prevent the top from collapsing over time yet still leaves some cpounterbalance to the truss. On an electric is always neck issues. It can do anything from make the neck twist to causing frets to pop out. Frets are held in place by the forward relief of a neck. Having reverse bow the frets are free to pop out. Storage with say only the heavy strings on (which is really common because beople break the thin strings) can cause the neck to twist. Neck twist is the absolute worst of all evils and is often a lost cause to correct. Best you can do is remove all frets and level the fretboard, but thats only good if the problem is mild.

 

So my best advice is, dont remove the strings unless you're changing them and replace strings one at a time if you want to maintain your setup. If you're going to store it for long periods without strings, loosen the truss.

[Virgman]

I've done it but the guitar doesn't have good tone without strings.

[Orange Jackson]

If it was my guitar with out strings, I would for sure loosen the truss rod till the neck showed that it was straight with a level.

['s mel gibson]

I wouldn't do it to a Gibson with a set neck. Maybe I'm superstitious, scared of messing with what's right or just plain misinformed but I wouldn't leave any of my Gibsons for any amount of time without strings on. At their proper tension.

 

A bolt on necked guitar is less of a risk I think. But I still wouldn't let it happen. I don't need the pending hassle.

[imbuedblue]

Strings put appox 120lbs of pull on the neck. The truss is the counterbalance to that pull. If no strings are present, the neck can backbow depending on the neck thickness. (Thin necks rely on the truss more than a thicker neck) When you say have you strings off for awhile, if its a few days, its unlikely any perminant damage will occur. If you're talking months or years, the truss should be loosened to avoid backbow. unless its a piece of junk you dont care about, you always want to avoid extreme changes in truss pressure like that. Once moisture sets into the wood, just putting strings may not allow for enough forward bow to occur and heat may be nessasary. I do alot of guitar restorations. Getting instruments left in a closet half strung is a pretty common thing. On an acoustic, Loostening the strings about 1/2 way helps prevent the top from collapsing over time yet still leaves some cpounterbalance to the truss. On an electric is always neck issues. It can do anything from make the neck twist to causing frets to pop out. Frets are held in place by the forward relief of a neck. Having reverse bow the frets are free to pop out. Storage with say only the heavy strings on (which is really common because beople break the thin strings) can cause the neck to twist. Neck twist is the absolute worst of all evils and is often a lost cause to correct. Best you can do is remove all frets and level the fretboard, but thats only good if the problem is mild. So my best advice is, dont remove the strings unless you're changing them and replace strings one at a time if you want to maintain your setup. If you're going to store it for long periods without strings, loosen the truss.

 

This.

[Emory]

"the guitar doesn't have good tone without strings." Maybe true, but they are SOOO much easier to play! The action is incredible! Fretless wonder? Stringless wonders rule!

I generally leave guitars unstrung because here in Thailand the high ones will break on their own if you turn your back, then you would have that nasty twisted neck problem.

I have yet to have a problem with them bending any direction (knock on rosewood). This applies to acoustic and electric guitars.... but why would you take them off if you live in a decent climate anyway?

[bluesguitar65]

 

If it was my guitar with out strings, I would for sure loosen the truss rod till the neck showed that it was straight with a level.

 

 

Huh?????? If the strings were removed the neck will naturally back bow because you just removed the tension from the strings to counter the tension of the truss rod. If you loosen the truss rod any further, you will make the neck back bow even further.

 

 

Stringed musical instruments were made to have strings installed, so leave the strings on even for long storage.

[tienlo]

 

an unstrung guitar is no more at risk for damage than an unmounted guitar neck.

 

 

Absolutely correct.

 

 

You could, in fact, argue that having strings ON the guitar, at tension, makes it MORE likely to damage the guitar if it sustains impact.

 

This is a well known issue with Gibsons that crack at the neck joint where the truss rod pulls the neck into back-bow at a different point to where the strings pull the neck into relief. Not helped by the fact that the headstock bends back whereas the woodgrain remains straight.

 

Long story short, keeping strings off the neck is 100% safe. Keeping a guitar strung at pitch in the absence of any physical impact is 100% safe. Probably a good idea to consider detuning strings when shipping a guitar etc.

[Spike Li]

No, just loosen the truss rod.

[twotimingpete]

no, not bad. myth. move on

 

I've LITERALLY had guitars sitting unstrung for YEARS and later strung them up

[Belva]

I thinks you'd have many necks that haven't been used yet that would be junque if they never had string tension on them. I'm guessing this is an urban myth that's right up there with only changing one string at a time. Or how about this one: Don't cut the strings & they will last longer.

[StillRock]

I had strings off my tele for 3 years. It's been strung now for 6 months continuously and it plays great.

[Alecto]

 

Strings put appox 120lbs of pull on the neck. The truss is the counterbalance to that pull. If no strings are present, the neck can backbow depending on the neck thickness. (Thin necks rely on the truss more than a thicker neck) When you say have you strings off for awhile, if its a few days, its unlikely any perminant damage will occur. If you're talking months or years, the truss should be loosened to avoid backbow. unless its a piece of junk you dont care about, you always want to avoid extreme changes in truss pressure like that. Once moisture sets into the wood, just putting strings may not allow for enough forward bow to occur and heat may be nessasary. I do alot of guitar restorations. Getting instruments left in a closet half strung is a pretty common thing. On an acoustic, Loostening the strings about 1/2 way helps prevent the top from collapsing over time yet still leaves some cpounterbalance to the truss. On an electric is always neck issues. It can do anything from make the neck twist to causing frets to pop out. Frets are held in place by the forward relief of a neck. Having reverse bow the frets are free to pop out. Storage with say only the heavy strings on (which is really common because beople break the thin strings) can cause the neck to twist. Neck twist is the absolute worst of all evils and is often a lost cause to correct. Best you can do is remove all frets and level the fretboard, but thats only good if the problem is mild. So my best advice is, dont remove the strings unless you're changing them and replace strings one at a time if you want to maintain your setup. If you're going to store it for long periods without strings, loosen the truss.

 

 

And another 'this.'

[poolshark]

 

Huh?????? If the strings were removed the neck will naturally back bow because you just removed the tension from the strings to counter the tension of the truss rod. If you loosen the truss rod any further, you will make the neck back bow even further.

 

 

You've got it backwards there, chief.

[Angry Tele]

just mark the rod where its at now and then loosen it 1/4 turn. Its not like disarming a bomb jeese.

[Guitarczar]

When you remove the strings, the truss rod bends the neck back. That backbow can become permanent if you leave it that way for a long time. It is NOT safe to leave the strings loose or off for extended periods while the truss rod is tightened.

[DeepEnd]

Both your posts have resurrected old threads. You have decent advice but please pay attention to the date of the last post.

[GAS Man]

I'd also think it's prudent to loosen the truss rod a bit. I don't think the analogy of the effect on the neck (without strings) to be the same as an unmounted neck, because I don't think you'd find unmounted necks to have their truss rods as tight as you may find on a set-up strung instrument. (I have quite a few guitars and I find that on some, the necks can have a fairly proper amount of neck relief while the truss rod is darn near "floppy loose" and some others have had to have the truss rod tightened to a point where you are wincing with each additional 1/4 turn for fear of hurting the rod or fretboard - so it's the tighter ones that I'd be more worried about) And I do think that's a very easy task to loosen truss rod (assuming it doesn't require loosening or removing the neck) and I do think that taking off old strings on an electric might be a good idea for long storage since corrosion can set in to the strings and mess other things up a bit.