Members JoeFatFish Posted March 15, 2010 Members Share Posted March 15, 2010 About 1.5 monthes ago my wife deliverd our 3rd child. Before the new born we had twins who are now almost 3. At the moment I don't have much if any real time to play, and all my guitars are put away in their cases. I am sure it will be a couple of monthes before things get back to "normal".The question is, do I detune the strings so as to avoid bending..warping the neck? My guitars are all American made Fenders. Please advise? Thnx! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members volvo1800 Posted March 15, 2010 Members Share Posted March 15, 2010 yes . . why would you not lower the string tension? it takes like 2 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members volvo1800 Posted March 15, 2010 Members Share Posted March 15, 2010 In fact it literally took you longer to log on, here tell us about, and wait for feed back, then it would have taken to just do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members paulskirocks Posted March 15, 2010 Members Share Posted March 15, 2010 WAIT! Your truss rod is applying tension to offset the string tension... If you store a guitar with no string tension, be sure to loosen the truss rod... Otherwise, the truss rod can warp the neck to a backbow over time... That can be a real problem if you don't have a two-way truss rod... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrbrown49 Posted March 15, 2010 Members Share Posted March 15, 2010 WAIT! Your truss rod is applying tension to offset the string tension... If you store a guitar with no string tension, be sure to loosen the truss rod... Otherwise, the truss rod can warp the neck to a backbow over time... That can be a real problem if you don't have a two-way truss rod... IMO it's better to leave it tuned to standard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoeFatFish Posted March 15, 2010 Author Members Share Posted March 15, 2010 I just needed an answer not a dumb ass comment. I don't know, thats why I ask. Thanks for the feedback Pathagarus. In fact it literally took you longer to log on, here tell us about, and wait for feed back, then it would have taken to just do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoeFatFish Posted March 15, 2010 Author Members Share Posted March 15, 2010 Thank you. Just trying to learn here. Even if it is only 2 or 3 monthes? What is the differance if I were playing the guitars often? Trying to understand, nmot arguing, just want to learn. Why do you not need to detune always and lossen the truss if playing. What is it tha occurs when playing vs NOt playing for an extended amount of time? Thanks! WAIT! Your truss rod is applying tension to offset the string tension... If you store a guitar with no string tension, be sure to loosen the truss rod... Otherwise, the truss rod can warp the neck to a backbow over time... That can be a real problem if you don't have a two-way truss rod... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrbrown49 Posted March 15, 2010 Members Share Posted March 15, 2010 Thank you. Just trying to learn here. Even if it is only 2 or 3 monthes? What is the differance if I were playing the guitars often? Trying to understand, nmot arguing, just want to learn. Why do you not need to detune always and lossen the truss if playing. What is it tha occurs when playing vs NOt playing for an extended amount of time? Thanks! Don't even worry about it. Your guitar won't know the difference if you are playing or not. Guitar necks are more stable when they have pressure from both sides ( strings and truss). Just put a fresh set of strings on and stash it in the case somewhere where the temp and humidity are fairly consistent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members paulskirocks Posted March 15, 2010 Members Share Posted March 15, 2010 Agreed! I always store my guitars fully strung and in key... However, sometimes you have to store it for a while with no strings, and that is when I would loosen the truss rod... Other than that, leave it tuned and put it away... Congrats on the new baby, too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoeFatFish Posted March 15, 2010 Author Members Share Posted March 15, 2010 This is my first guitar. After I graduated High School I went away for college, finished and started working, yada yada yada, I started playing again a few years ago but had bought a Fender US std strat. I dug up my 1st guitar from my parents house. It had been in my old closet since 1988 with no strings but no lossening of the truss rod. It was fine, I took to get set up and tech told me the neck and fret board was in perfect condition. So again, just wondering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoeFatFish Posted March 15, 2010 Author Members Share Posted March 15, 2010 Thank you and mrbrown49 very much, this helps me. Oh and thnx for the baby congrats too! Agreed! I always store my guitars fully strung and in key... However, sometimes you have to store it for a while with no strings, and that is when I would loosen the truss rod... Other than that, leave it tuned and put it away... Congrats on the new baby, too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members paulskirocks Posted March 15, 2010 Members Share Posted March 15, 2010 Thank you. Just trying to learn here. Even if it is only 2 or 3 monthes? What is the differance if I were playing the guitars often? Trying to understand, nmot arguing, just want to learn. Why do you not need to detune always and lossen the truss if playing. What is it tha occurs when playing vs NOt playing for an extended amount of time? Thanks! The truss rod and strings are opposing forces to each other... The strings want to pull an upbow, while the truss rod wants to pull a backbow.. As long as there is equal force, the neck will stay pretty much where it is... So, whether you are playing the guitar, it is sitting on a stand, or it is in the case, it is still good to always have string tension, since there is always truss rod tension... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoeFatFish Posted March 15, 2010 Author Members Share Posted March 15, 2010 Makes perfect sense. Again, thank you for putting my mind at ease and helping me understand. Much appreciated. The truss rod and strings are opposing forces to each other... The strings want to pull an upbow, while the truss rod wants to pull a backbow.. As long as there is equal force, the neck will stay pretty much where it is... So, whether you are playing the guitar, it is sitting on a stand, or it is in the case, it is still good to always have string tension, since there is always truss rod tension... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members paulskirocks Posted March 15, 2010 Members Share Posted March 15, 2010 This is my first guitar. After I graduated High School I went away for college, finished and started working, yada yada yada, I started playing again a few years ago but had bought a Fender US std strat. I dug up my 1st guitar from my parents house. It had been in my old closet since 1988 with no strings but no lossening of the truss rod. It was fine, I took to get set up and tech told me the neck and fret board was in perfect condition. So again, just wondering. Sounds like the truss rod was not too tight, so no problem... Also, some necks, such as my Warmoth on my tele, are made with a teeny bit of upbow with no strings and no truss rod tension... On my 30 year old Washburn, however, the truss rod has remained loose for the last 25 years because the neck is perfectly straight with or without strings... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Special J Posted March 15, 2010 Members Share Posted March 15, 2010 Congrats on the baby! My first is now 9 months and my playing schedule is still not back to normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members smorgdonkey Posted March 15, 2010 Members Share Posted March 15, 2010 If any of your guitars are acoustic then detune those. That string tension can pull that bridge up and make ugly stuff happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoeFatFish Posted March 15, 2010 Author Members Share Posted March 15, 2010 Congrats to you too! It took a bit more than 1 year after the twins were born for me to get to playing on a norm. schedule, but they are twins and both the wife and I had to hold a kid. Once they started walking and taking long naps I was able to play more. I think one should be a bit easier and I hope I can play again in a couple of monthes, or I will go crazy. The twins love when I play and they have their own "acoustic" guitars they love messing with. Congrats on the baby! My first is now 9 months and my playing schedule is still not back to normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Orange Jackson Posted March 15, 2010 Members Share Posted March 15, 2010 For sure leave it in tune. In tune = the neck is in balance.Out of tune means that the truss rod is going to be pulling the neck into a position that it is not use to. Over a longer period of time the wood will remember this position and you will have a tough time getting it back to normal when you pull it out of the case. You could even find it twisted God forbid. The catch is that the relief needs to be set right before you put it away too.If the relief is set right, and you leave the strings in tune, you will find it pretty much the same way you left it when you pull it back out. Congrats on the Babies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members joseflovesyou Posted March 15, 2010 Members Share Posted March 15, 2010 No. Why would you, when you are regularly using the guitar, it's always to tension, right? Frequently played guitars spend 20+ years at tension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guitarczar Posted March 31, 2016 Members Share Posted March 31, 2016 Do not loosen your strings for shipping or storage, unless your guitar has no adjustable truss rod (Steinberger composite neck, Modulus graphite, pre 1982 Martins, many high end nylon strings). The reason is, when you loosen the strings, the truss rod pulls the neck back into a bend. It is the balance of the string pull and truss rid tension that hold the neck straight. Remove either of the 2 tensions and the neck gets pulled into a bow. That being said, any guitar in storage should be kept at the right temp and humidity, and should be looked at a few times a year to watch for any developing problems Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted March 31, 2016 Moderators Share Posted March 31, 2016 WAIT! Your truss rod is applying tension to offset the string tension... If you store a guitar with no string tension, be sure to loosen the truss rod... Otherwise, the truss rod can warp the neck to a backbow over time... That can be a real problem if you don't have a two-way truss rod...IMO it's better to leave it tuned to standard. Not only in opinion, but engineering wise it is good practice to keep anything that experiences tension, under constant tension, and under the tension that it operates at.After all, you don't lower your tyre pressures if you aren't driving your car, or take the springs off your shocks when your not driving.Neck's need stability more than anything, and stability is achieved by having them in the condition that they operate in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thatsbunk Posted March 31, 2016 Members Share Posted March 31, 2016 op's kids are now 9 & 6. Hopefully he's taken the guitar out of storage by now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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