Feeling less tense

[groovin]

For all of you who own a plethora of gits I was wondering if you are in the habit of oosening of the strings before putting baby to bed. I know I just have enough hands and arms to play all mine at once so I do this with mine. Not only does it stop any neck bow but the strings sound fresher longer.

[Kuz]

Nope, all mine are strung to tune and ready to come out swinging!!!

[tulk1]

Are you talking about everytime you're done playing or practicing? Would seem counter productive to me. Everytime you loosen and then retighten the strings you stress it's tensile strength and ability to hold a tuning. If you were shipping or putting it into long term storage, well maybe then. But not as an everyday practice.

[pcovers]

40 years of playing and never thought of loosening strings after playing. I think the constant tension and release, over and over, would have a greater deleterious effect on the integrity of the strings and guitar than leaving it at normal tension.

[Thundersteel]

How can loosening the strings stop neck bow? The truss rod and strings equalize each other, so I think loosening the strings would increase the chances of back bow, not decrease it!

 

I always keep all my axes in tune.

[barrymclark]

How can loosening the strings stop neck bow? The truss rod and strings equalize each other, so I think loosening the strings would increase the chances of back bow, not decrease it!

 

I always keep all my axes in tune.

Agreed.

 

Never experienced an issue leaving a guitar in tune.

[FredZepp]

How can loosening the strings stop neck bow? The truss rod and strings equalize each other, so I think loosening the strings would increase the chances of back bow, not decrease it!

 

I always keep all my axes in tune.

40 years of playing and never thought of loosening strings after playing. I think the constant tension and release, over and over, would have a greater deleterious effect on the integrity of the strings and guitar than leaving it at normal tension.

Are you talking about everytime you're done playing or practicing? Would seem counter productive to me. Everytime you loosen and then retighten the strings you stress it's tensile strength and ability to hold a tuning. If you were shipping or putting it into long term storage, well maybe then. But not as an everyday practice.

Nope, all mine are strung to tune and ready to come out swinging!!!

 

+1 to all..

The truss rod tension is a balancing act, to make it constantly variable seems counter productive. The guitar would constantly be adjusting to a new tension.

[chico]

shipping would be the only time I would loosen strings

[GuitArtMan]

I would never think top loosen the strings except maybe for shipping or long term storage. +100 to what everyone else has said.

[cod65]

+1000

 

shipping only

[Doug]

I wouldn't know I never put mine down

[eljay]

I wouldn't know I never put mine down

 

yowza!

[Patrick]

40 years of playing and never thought of loosening strings after playing. I think the constant tension and release, over and over, would have a greater deleterious effect on the integrity of the strings and guitar than leaving it at normal tension.

 

deleterious??? Now, there's a Bill O'Reilly word for sure.

[ronalr]

For all of you who own a plethora of gits I was wondering if you are in the habit of oosening of the strings before putting baby to bed. I know I just have enough hands and arms to play all mine at once so I do this with mine. Not only does it stop any neck bow but the strings sound fresher longer.

 

 

I am no expert but I have heard just the opposite ..that leaving it in tune keeps the neck from bowing....I had a 1964 SG...that I kept in it's case without loosening the strings from 1991 (when I stopped playing professionally) .... till 2003 ..... ( I did not pick up a guitar at all during those years) ...and it was still somewhat in tune and in perfect condition......I had that guitar since 1968 and toured with it extensively....ended up selling in 06 to help pay for my daughters wedding....... now I play everyday....appearing nightly live in my basement

[Guest mgoetting]

I don't know if it does more or less harm to detune and retune, but it does suck up your time.

 

No, I won't be detuning.

 

If you are worrying about it, then detune and retune. I personally don't "fret" about it.

[smurph1]

deleterious??? Now, there's a Bill O'Reilly word for sure.

Who's Bill O'Reilly?

[Guest mgoetting]

Who's Bill O'Reilly?

 

 

That's for a different forum.

[groovin]

Thanks for all the comments folks. Seems to be general agreement that slackening is not a good thing. I can see your point about maintaining a balanced tension between the strings and the truss rod. I have a 40yr old Martin that does not have an adjustable truss rod (it has a a fixed ebony stabilising rod instead) that has had more than one neck reset because of neck bend over time. This seems to benefit from detuning when it is in storage, the next relaxes back to its original shape. This is what gave me the idea to do this with the 575 as well.

[Kuz]

Thanks for all the comments folks. Seems to be general agreement that slackening is not a good thing. I can see your point about maintaining a balanced tension between the strings and the truss rod. I have a 40yr old Martin that does not have an adjustable truss rod (it has a a fixed ebony stabilising rod instead) that has had more than one neck reset because of neck bend over time. This seems to benefit from detuning when it is in storage, the next relaxes back to its original shape. This is what gave me the idea to do this with the 575 as well.

 

From what I understand about Neck resets and Acoustics is that this is do to the movement of the spruce top (the "hump or bump" at the bridge) not that the neck is bowing or moving.

[mark555]

Of the four guitars I own (alas only one heritage), all of them are kept in tune in their cases, never any problem. I would always loosen the strings if I was shopping a guitar elsewhere.

 

By the way, nice to have you here, we all look forward to your posts. Have you posted the obligatory picture of your Heritage yet? It's a right of passage here, almost obligatory, just so we can all say nice things about it.