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Bongo 2026 Collection

any precautions for the neck when taking all strings off for replacement,cleaning?

PaoloGilberto

PaoloGilberto

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Jul 16, 2009
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484
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Romania ...that's a country ...in Europe :))
I usually change strings one by one, or block the tremolo and leave the E (low and high) strings on and clean the fretboard etc.
I was thinking to lube the tremolo also, check the knife edges and for that I will need to remove all strings.
I am thinking after detuning all strings it will need some relief from the truss rod before removing them all, since the string pressure is gone for let's say 30 min

anything else !? I am missing something? :D
thanks
 
No issues taking off all of the strings. I personally wouldn't adjust the truss rod, that's not a long time with the strings off.
 
No need to do anything to the truss rod. Take the strings off, everything will be fine. (If you need to make a small truss rod adjustment, so be it, but I rarely have to.)

People will tell you that taking all te strings off is bad for the neck, but this is a flawed myth. The flawed idea starts like this - the truss rod protects the neck from string tension, so removing the strings will expose the neck to an equally undesirable force from the truss rod without the strings to counter it.

But the fault here is an assumption that the neck has little inherent strength or resilience of its own. The truss rod is not doing all the work against string tension, the neck is actually doing most of it itself. Guitar necks can comfortably handle far more force than even heavy strings can apply without harm and quickly return to their initial shape. The truss rod is NOT in fact applying an equal force to the neck that the strings are. It's applying a smaller fraction. There is no risk to the neck at all with no strings on.

In fact, videos by Music Man, Taylor, and Martin regarding string changes and neck care remove all the strings. The Martin technician even states explicitly that there is no risk to a guitar neck by taking all the strings off.
 
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I would say - don't worry about it. The neck can take that sort of "trauma" every now and then. In the end it probably won't require any adjustments to the truss rod (and if it does, it will be minimal).

I clean the fretboard and lube tremolo contacts every 2nd-3rd string change, and I've done this for years on many guitars. No problem whatsoever.
 
Ive noticed my trem bar wasn't swinging as freely as i like and was making a little noise so i used a little vasoline right around where you screw the trem bar on and its fine. But i was asking what other parts of the trem need oil ( knife edges?) any where there is movement?
 
thank you all for the replies :)
so no truss rod adjustment as a must to ...
so the steps would be:

1. remove the back plate and block the tremolo.
2. detune all strings gradually
3. remove all strings
4. remove the back springs
5. lube edge knives, lube the tremolo posts(studs), clean/moisture the fretboard (I use fret doctor for rosewood)
6. put all back to place

now since the JP6 I have has piezo, I will not be able to completely pull off the whole bridge since there is a wire coming out from the tremolo block as I remember
but that would not be a problem , I still can lube those parts
for nut , studs lube I use guitar grease from stewmac - huge improvement in tunning stability
 
With regards lube - a thin oil such as wd 40 should be applied to the fulcrum points of the trem. I prefer to spray a little into the plastic cap and then apply using a blade or pin. This stops unwanted over spray. Other sources of lube are lip chapstick that should be applied in small amounts to the nut slots.

The arm swing is dependant on the allen screw adjustment.

All the adice above I consider to be on the money.

Nothing like applying some tlc to your guitar and for me is quite therapeutic.

Just as an aside and I'll state it here, one further piece of advice is to ensure that electrical contacts in the jack socket are clean. I invested in a jack plug that is impregnated with a very very mild abrasive. There is also capacityto spray switch cleaner down the plug to get it to the contacts. I do try to avoid switch cleaner as some cheaper stuff causes an element of stickiness. The plug wasn't cheap but has maintained all my gear very well.
 
Eric O'Reilly said:
What do you use for lube 3 in 1 oil? And which contact points? Just so I know to do so myself.
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A small amount of Vaseline or any kind of light mechanical oil to the pivot posts and knife edges. Rub some mechanical pencil lead in the nut slots while you're at it.
 
Just get the strings on really fast and get it tuned so you can play it again!
 
I always take all the strings off at the same time as it gives me the opportunity to clean the fretboard. Never had a problem. And I use nut sauce on the nut and saddles because a sticky string is a real downer.
 
I do two at a time with or without a tremolo !! Just got in the habit of doing it also I clean the fingerboard while my old strings are on. No big deal when your taking the old strings off anyways!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
job done with the sterling JP 100 D - took the tremolo out , lubed it, moisturized the fretboard with fret doctor , all was smooth, no adjustments to truss rod etc
I will post pics on my NGD JP100D thread for details

in a few weeks I will do the same with Luke and JP6 , but there I will have to be more careful cause as far as I've seen you can't take the bridge out because of that wiring from piezo I think

thanks guys once again for advice :)
 
beej said:
No issues taking off all of the strings. I personally wouldn't adjust the truss rod, that's not a long time with the strings off.
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The OP made my eyes bulge out due to my possible ignorance. Your post tucked them back in. mucho gratzi.
 
They are correct in that you may need to readjust the neck or what not and that is the reason for their recommendation. The majority of amateur guitarists would be uncomfortable or unskilled with truss rod or intonation adjustments and that can be avoided by going one string at a time. But there is no suggestion that there is any risk to your guitar by doing so, which is what many people say. That is where my comments are coming from - you cannot damage your guitar in any way by taking all the strings off.

And as I also said, I can't even remember when I last had to make any make re-adjustment to the setup after taking all the strings off, on any guitar. Just last week I took the strings off my Silhouete Special, took the neck off the guitar, cleaned it, sanded it, oiled and waxed it, conditioned the fingerboard, and polished the frets. I bolted it back on strung it up and the setup was exactly as it was before I started. No problems at all, no truss rod, action, or intonation adjustment to be done.
 
DrKev said:
And as I also said, I can't even remember when I last had to make any make re-adjustment to the setup after taking all the strings off, on any guitar. Just last week I took the strings off my Silhouete Special, took the neck off the guitar, cleaned it, sanded it, oiled and waxed it, conditioned the fingerboard, and polished the frets. I bolted it back on strung it up and the setup was exactly as it was before I started. No problems at all, no truss rod, action, or intonation adjustment to be done.
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Thats pretty awesome!
 
@DrKev understood, thanks.
Just removed all strings on my MM (no neck-removal nor sanding) and cleaned the neck extensively before putting strings back on, and all is good. Intonation, action, vibrato etc. same as before. Strings were off for about 30 minutes.
 
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