String Change Question

[Trill]

I was changing my strings the other day and a friend of mine told me I change them wrong. Here is what I do.... I take all of my strings off and clean my fretboard and then put new strings on. My friend said that I shouln't take all of the strings off becuase it is not good to release that tension off of the neck like that. What is corrcect? Will it hurt to do it the way I do or should I listen to my friend?

Thanks all,

Trill

[Pekker_Head]

If you leave me off to long it can cause the truss rod to adjust, but if only off for like 10 or 20 minutes it shouldn't hurt much.

[Bounty]

Its much better to change one at a time. Its all about the tremendus stress on the neck due to string tension. Truss rod adjustments aren't something the average player can do at home.

[Chet Ubetcha]

Either way is fine, actually. As said, don't leave the strings off for too long and you'll be fine. Unless you have just moved the instrument from one extreme temperature to another, then it won't have that great of an effect on it. I change the strings on my Gibsons one at a time because of the non-locking bridge and tailpieces. On the string-thru's and guitars with TonePro bridge/tailpieces I take them all off at the same time.

Truss rod adjustment actually isn't that hard, it's just that most people don't know how to do it or are afraid to. In either case there's no shame in taking it to a pro. If you tackle it yourself, just go slow. Small adjustments at a time, and be patient. Necks can take sometimes several hours to even overnight to adjust themselves.