So I'm changing the strings on 1 of my guitars at 4am (as you do) one by one in the normal order E,E,A,B,D,G so that it's not going from full tension to no tension (removing all strings in one go)

All was going well until I get to the penultimate string, D. As I loosened this sring the guitar was making all sorts of noises, hard to describe really a slightly prolonged cracking maybe, just a sort of click that it shouldn't be making. Anyway I replaced the string and tuned it up, it continued to make these noises, not constantly just every so often as I turned the tuning pegs.

Anyway, around then I noticed that the plastic surround of the bridge pickup is cracked from the top down towards the body but the crack doesn't run completely through, and this plastic piece is bowed outwards away from the body. Both things i suspect are related and my first thought was to do with the pressure on the body from the string tension (although isn't it the neck that this affects usually) and maybe the body was buckling, however then i'd expect the body to be cracked where the plastic pickup surround bows but it's not. I've attached a picture below.



It's not overly clear but you can see where the plastic is bowing away from the body and the crack in the surround can be seen better in the reflection on the guitar rather than looking at it direct.

I should add that although it's in that position it's not being held there with great tension, I can push down on the plastic against the body but it returns to the bowed position- i thought the pic might mislead there as it could look like it's rigidly being held there.

I guess what I'm wanting to know is if anyone has experienced this, or knows what the cause is?

Thanks

Edited by BMAC86 (16/06/10 03:56 AM)