Velcro String Retainer
© Frank Ford, 12/7/99; Photos by FF, 12/6/99
For years, I've used a capo to retain the strings when I need to loosen them to work inside or around the guitar:
Then I'd coil them up like this:
This method works fine, but the strings do tend to get a bit tangled as I uncoil them.
Last month, Canadian luthier, Rod Hannah, was visiting the shop, and he gave me this cool tip. Use strips of velcro to retain the strings.
Slip one strip under the strings, and press the mating piece down from the top:
Same thing at the bridge:
It only takes a second.
Then, you can simply hold the strings back like a ribbon, and they stay aligned, so they're easy to reattach at the bridge:
You can fold them and dangle them all around, and they really stay in good shape:
If you use two strips of Velcro, you can slide one of them up near the nut, and take all the strings off the neck, while leaving them attached at the peghead:
Here, you have to be careful, but if you're leveling frets, or cleaning up the fingerboard, you don't have to move the guitar around much, and the strings won't come loose.
Pretty cool, eh?
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