My Squier Strat has two String Retainers, like a 70s Strat. And my question is why? Every other Strat only needs one. What would happen if I took the one holding the D and G strings off?

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OK, I get it, thanks.

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String trees help maintain the strings pressure on the nut. Staggerd tuners do the same thing so you only need one tree.

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String Trees are used to keep the string in the nut slot because the angle of the head isn't enough to keep some of the strings in the nut without them.

The first thing I did when I got my CS '66 strat home was unhook the strings from the tree (even though it's an excitingly accurate rendition of a '66 string tree) so they just run straight through from the nut to the tuner. It's been a while since I've had an instrument which uses string trees, but I remember my guitar teacher from 20 years ago mentioning this. If the string runs in as straight a line as possible (i.e., it doesn't "break" at too much of an angle above the nut) you get fewer tuning issues. My B and E strings were going out just from bending, and it was because they were getting caught up in that tree. I was getting worried that I was going to have to set the whole guitar up again. Soon as I freed them up, though, they've not given me a problem.

Give it a try -- it won't cost you anything, and you can always go back to the trees. Don't ever remove them (it'll devalue your guitar, though that's probably only really an issue if you've got a vintage piece where any little bit of hardware would be hundreds of dollars to replace), just run the strings over the top of them.

Hmm, I may try it next time I change the strings. I'm not really having any tuning issues with it right now though. And it's a Squier, so it's not like it's going to be worth $25k in forty years. I experiment allot with modifications and stuff like that on my Squiers.

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