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Old 04-14-2017, 10:34 AM
matt_h matt_h is offline
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Default Removing strings during repairs

Hi everyone,

I picked up an old cheap acoustic to restore as a project/learning experience. The headstock has a crack in it, and there are some other problems that it needs to be unstrung to fix.

Can I leave the guitar unstrung for weeks in my shop as is, or do I need to loosen the tension in the truss rod so that there are no forces on the neck when it's unstrung for an extended period?
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Old 04-14-2017, 10:51 AM
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rogthefrog rogthefrog is offline
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It won't hurt to loosen it, especially since you'll likely have to do a setup once the repairs are complete, and that often involves dialing in neck relief via truss rod tweaks.

I'm not convinced it would hurt not to loosen the truss rod if it's only going to be a few days or weeks, but I haven't tried that.
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Old 04-14-2017, 10:51 AM
Earl49 Earl49 is offline
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The purpose of the truss rod is to offset the string tension and flatten the neck. So with no string tension, no truss rod counter-tension is needed. It may - or may not - need to be loosened.

If I notice significant back-bow w/o strings, I back off the truss rod for guitars that will have "long term" storage without strings. Then the neck remains in a neutral condition. Count (and write down) the number of turns that you take off until there is no remaining tension, so you can quickly get back to the same spot later.
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Old 04-14-2017, 10:58 AM
Frank Ford Frank Ford is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by matt_h View Post
Can I leave the guitar unstrung for weeks in my shop as is, or do I need to loosen the tension in the truss rod so that there are no forces on the neck when it's unstrung for an extended period?
No worries - you can leave it unstrung for decades without injury.
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Old 04-14-2017, 12:49 PM
Ned Milburn Ned Milburn is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank Ford View Post
No worries - you can leave it unstrung for decades without injury.
+1. Don't overthink it. The only time I ever move the truss rod with strings off is if I feel it is necessary when doing a fret dressing or fingerboard re-planing.
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Old 04-14-2017, 03:50 PM
matt_h matt_h is offline
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Thanks everyone, appreciate the help!
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repair, restring, truss rod

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