Musicians Inc.

[Raindog]

I usually restring one or two at a time, based on a fear of losing tension on the neck, but I reckon its actually nothing to worry about. If I was gonna clean the fretboard I would just take them all off.

If you do need to set it up again don't pay any attention to anything I say though. Last time I tried to set my Les Paul up I started off with the 1st string choking a little bit on a couple of the highest frets, and ended up with too much relief on the neck, the intonation messed up, the bridge at a totally wrong height, and 3 times more choking going on. Its currently being setup by someone who knows what they are doing

Seconded. I'm going to have a stab at installing my new pickups on my bass with the fallback of taking it to the shop if it all goes wrong.

I did once take all my strings off the bass when restringing as I unbolted the neck by accident (honestly, I didn't have a clue what I was doing) with the strings on and had to do a full setup. Lucky to get away with that, but once you attempt a setup you learn a fair bit about your instrument and can set it up how you like it.

 

[Old Blue 2]

Need to restring my acoustic. Its also well grubby, got some microfiber clothes, polish, fretboard oil, strings.

Never done more than one or two strings before. I've read conflicting advice, some say take 'em all off, clean it, restring you'll be fine. Others are saying one string at a time or you'll lose the tension and likely need to setup again (and I wouldn't know where to start and probably balls it up).

Any thoughts? @Groucho , @JordanianEmbassy , @TrixyStevens @Old Blue 2 , @Shibbywiggles

You can take them all off without any problem.

Only use lint-free cloths on guitars. Taylor Guitars recommend turtle wax as the best polish for their guitars. I use Zymöl polish.

Fretboard oil should be used sparingly - do not soak the fretboard as that could result in the softening of the fingerboard wood and the frets popping out. Only oil the fretboard every 6 months or so.

Before re-stringing have a look at the slots in the nut. Dirt accumulates there. If there is dirt there, clean it out with a sharp point (the tip of a Stanley knife is ideal). Reason for doing this is that if too much dirt gathers in the nut slots, it can cause the string(s) to 'bind' in the slot. Also check the slots in the bridge.

Naptha is recommended for getting dirt off the guitar prior to applying polish. It is harmless to the woods of the guitar.

When you re-string, make sure there is no slack at the string post. Take a look at this as an excellent guide to locking your string against itself:
https://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/locking-guitar-strings-on-non-locking-tuners.4838/

Tune to pitch, and then stretch all of the strings. Re-tune and stretch all over again. Keep doing this until all of the strings are fully stretched and do not drop pitch when stretched. This is key to the guitar staying in tune. BUT, bear in mind that a guitar is something that is prone to temperature/atmospheric changes. You take it from a warm environment into a cold environment and you will normally find it will be slightly out of tune. Another thing to bear in mind is that the guitar is a 'tempered' instrument. Even with correct intonation, you will never achieve perfect 100% tuning. WHat I do for gigs is tune my 3rd and 6th strings down a few cents. This gives a slightly 'chimey' effect when playing chords in the root position (rather like a 12-string sound) but once you start moving up the neck the tuning will sound just fine. This .pdf explains everything superbly: http://www.luth.org/web_extras/ds_45.pdf

Hope all of the above helps.

 

[ste d' indica]

You can take them all off without any problem.

Only use lint-free cloths on guitars. Taylor Guitars recommend turtle wax as the best polish for their guitars. I use Zymöl polish.

Fretboard oil should be used sparingly - do not soak the fretboard as that could result in the softening of the fingerboard wood and the frets popping out. Only oil the fretboard every 6 months or so.

Before re-stringing have a look at the slots in the nut. Dirt accumulates there. If there is dirt there, clean it out with a sharp point (the tip of a Stanley knife is ideal). Reason for doing this is that if too much dirt gathers in the nut slots, it can cause the string(s) to 'bind' in the slot. Also check the slots in the bridge.

Naptha is recommended for getting dirt off the guitar prior to applying polish. It is harmless to the woods of the guitar.

When you re-string, make sure there is no slack at the string post. Take a look at this as an excellent guide to locking your string against itself:
https://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/locking-guitar-strings-on-non-locking-tuners.4838/

Tune to pitch, and then stretch all of the strings. Re-tune and stretch all over again. Keep doing this until all of the strings are fully stretched and do not drop pitch when stretched. This is key to the guitar staying in tune. BUT, bear in mind that a guitar is something that is prone to temperature/atmospheric changes. You take it from a warm environment into a cold environment and you will normally find it will be slightly out of tune. Another thing to bear in mind is that the guitar is a 'tempered' instrument. Even with correct intonation, you will never achieve perfect 100% tuning. WHat I do for gigs is tune my 3rd and 6th strings down a few cents. This gives a slightly 'chimey' effect when playing chords in the root position (rather like a 12-string sound) but once you start moving up the neck the tuning will sound just fine. This .pdf explains everything superbly: http://www.luth.org/web_extras/ds_45.pdf

Hope all of the above helps.

That's massively helpful, thanks mate. I'll have a good read of that pdf before I start.

 

[Groucho]

Need to restring my acoustic. Its also well grubby, got some microfiber clothes, polish, fretboard oil, strings.

Never done more than one or two strings before. I've read conflicting advice, some say take 'em all off, clean it, restring you'll be fine. Others are saying one string at a time or you'll lose the tension and likely need to setup again (and I wouldn't know where to start and probably balls it up).

Any thoughts? @Groucho , @JordanianEmbassy , @TrixyStevens @Old Blue 2 , @Shibbywiggles

All in one go mate. Just make sure you stretch the stings properly once finished.

I’m told lemon oil is good for fretboards.

 

[TrixyStevens]

Need to restring my acoustic. Its also well grubby, got some microfiber clothes, polish, fretboard oil, strings.

Never done more than one or two strings before. I've read conflicting advice, some say take 'em all off, clean it, restring you'll be fine. Others are saying one string at a time or you'll lose the tension and likely need to setup again (and I wouldn't know where to start and probably balls it up).

Any thoughts? @Groucho , @JordanianEmbassy , @TrixyStevens @Old Blue 2 , @Shibbywiggles

Hello Ste, is it an acoustic?
I never change my strings one at a time, I would change them all at once depending on how long they’ve been on or how many gigs I’ve done.
With the acoustic I change the strings after two gigs, as my pick motion is very strong and they tend to snap on me! Very expensive process, I use Elixir Nanowebs which cost €20 a set! On the lookout for alternatives but can’t find any with a better sound.

With the electrics I find I would change the strings on the Les Paul a lot more than the Stratocaster. I find that the maple fretboard on the strat doesn’t get as dirty as the rosewood on the LP..

From my experience of playing about 12 years, I haven’t experienced any problems with string tension or neck warp from changing the strings all at once, though maybe some of the others that have more knowledge than me would tell you different.
Hope that helps mate and happy playing!!

 

[ste d' indica]

All in one go mate. Just make sure you stretch the stings properly once finished.

I’m told lemon oil is good for fretboards.

Smashin'. Thanks Big G, yeah I've got some Jim Dunlop oil and a nice little project for the weekend.

 

[This is my name]

Alright lads. Don’t suppose anyone can give us abit of advice about good, reasonably priced semi acoustic guitar amps? Had mine ages and I’ve never even used one like

 

[ste d' indica]

Hello Ste, is it an acoustic?
I never change my strings one at a time, I would change them all at once depending on how long they’ve been on or how many gigs I’ve done.
With the acoustic I change the strings after two gigs, as my pick motion is very strong and they tend to snap on me! Very expensive process, I use Elixir Nanowebs which cost €20 a set! On the lookout for alternatives but can’t find any with a better sound.

With the electrics I find I would change the strings on the Les Paul a lot more than the Stratocaster. I find that the maple fretboard on the strat doesn’t get as dirty as the rosewood on the LP..

From my experience of playing about 12 years, I haven’t experienced any problems with string tension or neck warp from changing the strings all at once, though maybe some of the others that have more knowledge than me would tell you different.
Hope that helps mate and happy playing!!

Yeah, it's a steel strung Tanglewood electro. Cheers mate, I'm gonna forge ahead with a strip down, clean and then a full set of D'Addorio's. Picking it up after playing my new LP for the last few weeks made me realise I'd been neglecting it.

 

[Groucho]

Alright lads. Don’t suppose anyone can give us abit of advice about good, reasonably priced semi acoustic guitar amps? Had mine ages and I’ve never even used one like

If it’s a semi as in ES335 I’d just use a normal amp rather than an acoustic amp.

 

[gianthogweed]

Couple of old parlour guitars.. i have some other vintage stuff in cases i'm not a collector i do play occasionally

 

[Raindog]

Got stuck into my Squier VM PJ last night after everyone in bed. First time, complicated by not having touched a soldering iron since CDT at school 25 years ago...




Swapped out pickups for Seymour Duncan Quarter-Pounders and put on a new set of D'Addario Pro-Steels. Finished at 1:30 am so could only test it through headphones. It works! Out for a proper blast later.

 

[summerisle]

 

[maccavennie]

lol