Neck tension

[meinaminor]

I just bought a Schecter c1 Classic and I went to restring it with heavys today. The nut was too small to fit the Elixirs, so I am missing a string.

Should I be worrying about neck tension with only 5 strings on there or will it be okay til tomorrow?

 

[ez_willis]

I just bought a Schecter c1 Classic and I went to restring it with heavys today. The nut was too small to fit the Elixirs, so I am missing a string.

Should I be worrying about neck tension with only 5 strings on there or will it be okay til tomorrow?

It will be okay until forever.

 

[danny.guitar]

Yea...I don't think one missing string is going to effect anything really...

If you had them all off for a long period of time then maybe that would.

 

[Light]

If you had them all off for a long period of time then maybe that would.

What the hell do I have to do to get people to stop repeating this completely bogus myth?

NO, leaving a guitar without strings will NOT damage a guitar. EVER! The single greatest entropic force on any guitar will usually be the strings. removing them is GOOD for the structural stability of the guitar, end of story. The tension on the truss rod will not damage the neck in any way shape or form.


As for the original question, your guitar will be fine. If you want strings that heavy (I'm assuming .012's or .013's), it is very likely that you will need to get your nut adjusted, but if it is a new guitar it needs a setup anyway, which will included getting the nut adjusted.


For the record, uneven string tension is not what makes necks twist. It is simply a natural effect of stored tension within the wood which is a result of the way the tree grew. That's what you get for making guitars out of a natural material like wood.



Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[danny.guitar]

What the hell do I have to do to get people to stop repeating this completely bogus myth?

Well sorry I don't make guitars for a living.

I remember reading in an article about acoustic guitars that removing all the strings and leaving them off for a long period of time can cause problems in the future.

Hence why I said maybe.

 

[32-20-Blues]

Well sorry I don't make guitars for a living.

I remember reading in an article about acoustic guitars that removing all the strings and leaving them off for a long period of time can cause problems in the future.

Hence why I said maybe.

Something similar happened to a bass I once owned. Don't hit me Light!

 

[muttley600]

Any movement of a guitar neck due to wood tension movement or humidity would happen regardless of whether it had strings on it or not and would still have to be dealt with in the same way. It is the truss rod that helps balance the pull of the strings. Without strings the rod is still in a rigid position and less prone to movememt than the wood it is incased in.The only time you may have problems with an instrument that has not had strings on for a while is with an archtop. There are different reasons for this because the tension in the strings act in a different direction than with a fixed bridge.

 

[ez_willis]

leaving a guitar without strings will NOT damage a guitar. EVER!

What about if I took all the strings of very rapidly in a cold climate, let it sit out for an hour, then dropped an anvil on the neck?

 

[HangDawg]

What about if I took all the strings of very rapidly in a cold climate, let it sit out for an hour, then dropped an anvil on the neck?

Nothing but old wives tales. Now stop with all this nonsense.

 

[Light]

What about if I took all the strings of very rapidly in a cold climate, let it sit out for an hour, then dropped an anvil on the neck?

As opposed to dropping an anvil on the neck with all the strings on the guitar?


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[ez_willis]

As opposed to dropping an anvil on the neck with all the strings on the guitar?


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

No .