I have never understood why many strat players choose to play without a backplate. Does it somehow improve the guitar's resonance or do people just leave it off due to the burden of removing it every time you change strings?

I usually leave them off just for the convenience of easier string changes and easier tremolo adjustments.

Plus, once in a while, I tweak the springs or trem block while I play (cheap guitar tricks).

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Your backplate does not have either six holes or one big hole for string changes? Mine does. But if it didn't, I'd leave it off for sure.

I used to leave mine off for scraping the springs affects ala EVH. Have you ever noticed how much he does this? It is often, too, and just for a quick second. He does it quite a bit.

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Laughing out loud with fear and hope, I have a desperate plan ...

+1 Tweek Geek

I don't know .. I usually keep mine on .... i don't like the screw holes naked...

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

..... OF THE BACKPLATE THAT IS

I keep it off for emergency string changes during gigs. I'd rather not have to run around five minutes before a show looking for a screwdriver to remove the backplate with.

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That was good one though. Made me

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

My Fender has it on. My ESP has it off. I make more adjustments to the ESP's tremelo than I do my Fender.

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

Hello MetallicaRHCP,

2 of my 4 stratocasters have the
plate removed as I change string
gages and mfgrs ocassionaly and
can adjust claw tension easily.

Tone differance?
Maybe Eric Johnson can say.

Cheers.

I keep it off on my strats mainly because of quick string changes and spring adjustment and also because I Eric Johnson says strats sound better with the backplate off lol

Well, I also leave it without the plate because I just think it's useless and a pain in the butt when changing strings.

Let those springs breath.... haha

I have a big long hole rectangular whole where the strings feed into mine. But back a long time ago I had a different Fender that I would have to take the back plate off to change strings and it was a pain in the butt.

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

It's mostly a cosmetic thing... they can't really sell the thing 1000$ with the tremolo mecanism naked, but I think most people end up taking it off when changing the strings and leaving it on the table cause they lost 2 screws anyway