Comments on: Why You Don’t Need to Worry About Removing All Your Guitar’s Strings at Once https://acousticguitar.com/why-you-dont-need-to-worry-about-removing-all-your-guitars-strings-at-once/ lessons, music to play, and how-tos for all guitarists Fri, 12 Sep 2025 14:17:39 +0000 hourly 1 By: Bill Dobbs https://acousticguitar.com/why-you-dont-need-to-worry-about-removing-all-your-guitars-strings-at-once/#comment-4707 Fri, 12 Sep 2025 14:17:39 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=148206#comment-4707 I build guitars with Red Cedar tops, often thought to be weaker than Spruce. With that in mind, I have never encountered any issues with removing strings en masse in any of the instruments I have designed and built. I’d say that if removing strings at once is a problem then the guitar is built way too lightly or is off-balanced. Secondly, truss rods are made to be adjusted, so if you need to reduce relief, adjust. However, respect the condition of the rod. If it has been adjusted more than a few times it may be at the end of its limit, or the threads may be corroded or ‘frozen’ so go easy. If the latter is the case it may be best to loosen the rod at first to free up the threads, then tighten. One-eighth or one-sixteenth turns at first. It has been recommended to never reduce relief under full string tension, so loosen strings first.

]]> By: Oscar https://acousticguitar.com/why-you-dont-need-to-worry-about-removing-all-your-guitars-strings-at-once/#comment-4680 Thu, 28 Aug 2025 22:45:41 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=148206#comment-4680 on some guitars and bases the bridge is not attachef to the body, its only held in place by string tension

remove all the strings and it falls off, then you have to redo the intoneation

also if you take all the strings off a new player might tighten the new strings an octave high, bteaking them or damaging the instrument. When you replace them 1 by 1 its easy to tune it to the adjacent string.

some of these golden rules exist for good reason

]]> By: George Monaco https://acousticguitar.com/why-you-dont-need-to-worry-about-removing-all-your-guitars-strings-at-once/#comment-4677 Wed, 27 Aug 2025 23:49:23 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=148206#comment-4677 Guitars are not like classical stringed instruments. Removing all the strings at once will not affect the top, truss rod or the bridge. Guitars have enough bracing for stability to prevent their top from collapsing.

Violins, violas, cellos and upright bases can’t have all the strings removed at the same time. The reason is that there is a sound post inside the body that needs string tension to stay in place to support the top and not collapse. If the sound post collapses then to top of the instrument will collapse and can cause cracking and serious problems. And there is an order in which to remove each string starting from the G string or bass side and ending with the higher string which is the E or treble side. And the E is last because that is the side where the sound post rests, below the E or the treble side.

]]> By: Malcolm https://acousticguitar.com/why-you-dont-need-to-worry-about-removing-all-your-guitars-strings-at-once/#comment-4676 Wed, 27 Aug 2025 17:47:29 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=148206#comment-4676 What about Dobro’s with a single cone?

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