do you take ALL the strings off before you put the new ones on?

I've seen conflicting views on this. There are a couple places that are adamant that you will damage your guitar if you take them all off and insist you replace them one at a time. Most guides, however, just tell you to take all the strings off in the first step.

I take all the strings off at the same time. I have been doing it that way for 12 years and I have not damaged a single guitar by doing so.

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2005 Fender American Stratocaster W/Seymour Duncan Hot Rails in bridge and Seymour Duncan SSL-5 in neck.
1995 Fender American Standard Stratocaster
Line 6 Spider II 150 watt head W/Ampeg 4x12 Cab
Laney Pro-Linebacker PL65R

With most strat bridges, its fine to take them all off, as the floating bridge on a strat will contact the body and keep it from messing anything with the springs up. If you have a floyd, one string at a time though, as it relies on the string tension to keep it in synk. There is a tool you can buy for floyd guitars that will allow you to take them all off, as it holds the bridge in place

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Guitars:
1. mid 70's Ventura MIJ Gibson l6-s clone (Pre-lawsuit) in Black with Rosewood FB and EMG 81 BR/ 85 Neck
2. ESP KH2 Neck Thru
3. 2008 Am Std Strat in 3 tone sunburst

When just changing strings one at a time. I don't like to relieve the tension on the neck and then put it right back on like that.

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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

Why?

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Guitars:
1. mid 70's Ventura MIJ Gibson l6-s clone (Pre-lawsuit) in Black with Rosewood FB and EMG 81 BR/ 85 Neck
2. ESP KH2 Neck Thru
3. 2008 Am Std Strat in 3 tone sunburst

I have been taking them all off from the day I learned to restring a guitar and never had one problem, besides when I change strings I like to clean the neck and give the whole guitar a good cleaning.

i take them all of and clean my guitar. you damage nothing if you do that.

cheers

I take all my strings off at the same time. I give my guitars a thorough cleaning while I'm at it.

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The time has gone, the song is over, thought I'd something more to say.

When I am working on a guitar I will remove them all but when just changing strings I have always done it that way. 35 year habbit I guess but when a neck is strung and settle in I don't like to release then retension it over the few minutes it takes to string it. When you change climates people let there guitars acclamate because of temp change and humidity well that change you allow to happen to the neck by releasing all tension then putting back on is more unsettling to the neck then any climate change.

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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

I'm pretty sure it's safe to simply remove all the strings at once.

However it's obviously peace of mind if you'd like to change them once at a time.

I proclaim hooey. I have never seen a neck commit suicide from taking the strings off all at once. Oh, and I've been doing it that way for 35 years too, in case that means something. If you take all the strings off to perform maintenance on the guitar, but do not when just changing strings (nothing at all with that part mind you), how do you know the neck won't immediately backbow and snap in half when you are performing maintenance, but will if you take them all off just to routinely change the strings? This is exactly the kind of shennanignans that promote the buildup of finger cheeze between bouts of actual maintenance!

I don't aways pull them off when even working on a guitar I will loosen them and pull the screws and pop the hatch. In fact in the last month I have done that a few times when changing pots and such on some customer guitars. Quick easy way to check electrics with the old strings before you do the final setup and button it down. Winder zip. Then the next day I always tell them or the shop is to tell them check and retune if needed because the neck may settle in. 35 years does mean something when much of that time you are doing it to make some money at it. You can string a guitar in ten minutes either way.

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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

I usually change one at a time when I'm just changing strings. Not because I'm afraid the neck will explode or anything, but because I've found, over the course of time, that many necks will "relax" when all the strings are removed. It takes some seemingly arbitrary amount of time for string and truss rod tension to "sync" again. In the mean time an instrument can be harder to keep in tune, might experience some/more fret buzz if you like your action on the deck, etc.

And thats what I mean as the neck settles in jeff24k all necks do it.

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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