When Restringing, Do You Take the String Tree Off?

[jasper383]

I recently bought a Lakland 55-02, and it has the string tree that runs across all five strings to keep the break angle over the nut correct.

I can restring it without taking the tree off, but all that "feeding through" of the strings makes me leery of scratching the bass/twisting a string.

I can take the tree off, string it up, then put it back on, but I worry that after several restrings, the little screws that hold the tree down will chew up the wood and will stop holding.

What do you do?

[Staccato]

It's a two-handed task, feed the strings under the retaining bar. With the bass resting on a large, solid surface, and considering there's only a foot of string to feed, that's the way...

[JTE]

Just restoring it. Be careful, but don't worry. It's a bass, not the only Rodin sculpture in the world...

John

[FunkMetalBass]

Just be careful with it when feeding them through. Stripping the screw holes would be far worse than some tiny, insignificant scratching underneath the string retainer.

[darkstorm]

Id leave it on. I havent had a bass with string tree, all of mine have had rear tilted headstock so that tree isnt needed. But the reason Id leave it on is that I hold the string down near nut anyway to help get nice wraps with snugging each up against the prev wrap. To me the string tree would help with that process. But again I havent had a bass with one and am just thinking in terms of how I string and how tree would kinda help with that anyway.

[ixlramp]

Leave the string tree on when you re-string!

... for the reason you state. Replacing a removed string tree involves pushing down 5 strings under high tension, the screws would soon strip the threads in the wood.

[giacomini]

Definitely agree with everyone else... Don't remove it.

[Greevus]

Scratch everything.