Guitar tech 101: Taking the pickguard off a strat-like guitar without trashing the strings

Dave Merrill

Dave Merrill

Axe-Master
Is that possible?
How?

Possible complication:
Guitar is actually a Vigier Expert with locking tuners, which I've never had before. Not sure if that makes this easier or harder.
 
Just detune the strings and pull them off the tuners.... the pickguard is connected to the pickups, pots, etc... You cant work on those with the strings on it
 
Most techs can remove the strings from tuners and reattach them without making a major difference in the sound of the strings, but there’ll be some effect. I accept the fact that they will be affected when I’m doing my own work, and almost always wait until I am ready to replace the strings and do both jobs at the same time.

I have loosened them enough to slide the pick guard off, but it’s not my favorite thing to do because of the sharp pointy things that live underneath it, which can make a mess of the guitar’s finish.

My other concern, whether they are regular tuners or locking, is will the string be kinked or nicked during the process. If so, or I can’t get the strings back on in their original positions, then they’re more likely to break, usually at the worst moment. If I have any doubt about being able to get them back on safely I’ll just replace the set. A string breaking mid song is going to piss me off a lot more than having to buy another pack.
 
Locking tuners don’t give you much slack to work with. If it’s a trem guitar you can block the trem or pull your springs. That might be enough. I’ve squeezed the pick guards out before. It’s a cringy thing to do. Strings catching on pole pieces, the switch and the knobs, and trying to not drag your pickups across the paint.
 
I used to take as much slack out of the strings as possible and slide the pickguard out but got tired of the hassle. Now, I keep a few sets of cheap strings around for any experimentation. I leave plenty of extra length at the tuners so the strings can be removed and restrung without burning through new sets during the process. Once things are dialed in and finished, a fresh set of the good stuff goes back on.
 
If it has locking tuners it is very easy to remove and re-attach the strings.
To remove.
Detune.
Loosen the locking tuners and remove strings.

To install.
Push string through tuner. You may need to hold the end with a pair of needle-nose pliers. I use my side cutters to hold the string and pull tight.
Tighten the locking tuner.
Tune.
 
Musikron said:
Capo at first fret to keep the tuners from coming unwound, detune the guitar pulling the slack from behind the capo, then just remove the bridge.
I've been doing this for 25 years and rarely have to replace a string after that procedure.
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That works great with tremolo equipped guitars, I use this trick often, but not with string-through hardtails.
 
Musikron said:
Capo at first fret to keep the tuners from coming unwound, detune the guitar pulling the slack from behind the capo, then just remove the bridge.
I've been doing this for 25 years and rarely have to replace a string after that procedure.
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This is a hard-tail, which may be why I don't get what you're saying.

With a capo at the first fret, how would I detune the guitar? By loosening the capo enough to pull a bunch of slack through it?
 
Dave Merrill said:
This is a hard-tail, which may be why I don't get what you're saying.

With a capo at the first fret, how would I detune the guitar? By loosening the capo enough to pull a bunch of slack through it?
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He’s talking about a trem bridge with the 2 point mount. Easy to take off. With hard tail and lockers you’ll need to remove the strings.

I looked at the Vigier’s. That’s a weird way of doing the string tree thing. Looks like the ball ends of strings.
 
skolacki said:
He’s talking about a trem bridge with the 2 point mount. Easy to take off. With hard tail and lockers you’ll need to remove the strings.

I looked at the Vigier’s. That’s a weird way of doing the string tree thing. Looks like the ball ends of strings.
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Yes odd string trees. Not sure if they're actually reborn ball ends or just made to look like them.

Seems like they work well, but it seems somewhat like a gimmick to me, a way to "advanced" and unique.
 
Detune the strings so they are as loose as they can get without popping out, block the trem so it loosens the strings further, and stick a long plastic pill bottle under the strings at around the 19th fret or so. Should be possible to wiggle the thing out if you are careful....
 
Dave Merrill said:
Yes odd string trees. Not sure if they're actually reborn ball ends or just made to look like them.

Seems like they work well, but it seems somewhat like a gimmick to me, a way to "advanced" and unique.
Click to expand...

Maybe the reason is the balls can move a bit in the string axis. So no worries about binding on the tree? Does seem gimmicky but maybe it’s a good thing.
 
skolacki said:
Maybe the reason is the balls can move a bit in the string axis. So no worries about binding on the tree? Does seem gimmicky but maybe it’s a good thing.
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Kinda like the theory behind the "wobbly" Jazzmaster bridge - less issues with sticking instead of sliding back to original position if the whole bridge wobbles on points....
 
skolacki said:
Maybe the reason is the balls can move a bit in the string axis. So no worries about binding on the tree? Does seem gimmicky but maybe it’s a good thing.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I didn't mean to be so dismissive.

Like a lot of things on these guitars, there are some good reasons to do it the way they did. Probably not earth shatteringly amazing, but good.

Really, this guitar just works, no bs, no flakiness, no workarounds, just a well designed, well built, high quality instrument.
 
Being a cheapskate I often keep the same strings after resetups. On my strat with locking tuners I tune down and release the strings from the tuners. After setup, getting the strings back in can be a bit tricky with locking tuners given not much slack available - shimming the trem forward a bit while putting the strings back in the tuners provides enough slack.
 
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