Is It Ok To Remove All Strings From Guitar? Believe it or not, this dilemma is one of the most controversial issues in all of the guitar industry. Everyone takes one side or the other hand and they believe quite passionately about whatever side that is. However, there’s a chance that removing all the strings from certain guitars, depending on how their bridge is set up can make the restringing more difficult. Here are some pointers to consider when removing all strings from your guitar.
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Composition Of The Guitar
A lot of people think it might cause issues with the neck to bow backward but in reality, the guitar’s neck is made to be sturdier. Not only is wood is tougher than what other people think, but the entire neck of the guitar is also supported by a steel truss that helps to reinforce and ensure that it’s not going to break easily for that matter.
Maintenance Of The Guitar
One of the concerns about taking it all out means you’re going to have to do an entirely new setup for your guitar. A lot of experts and even luthiers mentioned that tweaks that you’re going to have to make after taking all the strings off your guitar will be minimal. No machinery and manpower needed and you just need to familiarize yourself with how the guitar works as a whole.
For instance, if you are traveling or on the road for some gigs and live performances, most experts advised taking the tension off the strings, this doesn’t cause any issues with the guitar and in fact, generally safer to do so.
A Few Exceptions
There are few exceptions to consider when taking all of the strings at once, it is when you’re dealing with floating tremolos, this is commonly found in a Jackson JS32 or an Ibanez RG Series RG470MB. These guitars have tremolos that are generally kept up in position by the tension of the strings. When you remove them all at once, you’re going to have it falling into the body of the guitar and it will be a bit harder to restring that’s why a lot of people that like those systems prefer to just go one at a time to keep the tension intact.
Another exception is when you’re dealing with a guitar who has a bridge but is not attached to the guitar itself, a lot of archtop guitars and mandolins are designed this way. The struggle with this particular guitar type is you have to worry about the position of the bridge while changing the strings one at a time.
Conclusion
Overall, it doesn’t pose a threat, it’s more of an inconvenience to all players novice or a professional. A lot of people will tell you that it’s going to ruin your guitar and playability if you remove them all at once, but that isn’t true. With proper guidance, you don’t have to worry about the repercussions, you just have to enjoy and keep exploring the wonders of guitars.
