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Permalink Reply by The Phrygian Kid on November 26, 2015 at 8:10pm

Fender heads need a string tree or two for the tuners which are furthest from the nut because Fender necks are made from a flat plank with only some material scooped out from the front for the head. Most other guitar heads don't need em because they angle the head backward from the fingerboard (eg Gibson), or they put slots in the head and install the tuners sidewards (eg most classical guitars), or both (eg national).
So there you go, Fender needed em because of a shortcut he made in the manufacturing process. You can follow suit, or you can have a crack at a scarf join or a slotted head, or you can avoid it by starting with a thicker neck black and wasting more wood like Gibson do.

Summary. String trees serve to increase break angle over the nut when there is not enough there. It should cause no more 'stress' on the strings than adequate angle would, and certainly far less than will be created by actually playing the bastards. Ps. Strings are a consumable, you can't reasonably expect em to last for more than a few months regardless.
Best :)

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Permalink Reply by Antony Moggridge on November 27, 2015 at 7:54am

I generally go for a slight angle. either scarfe joint or just glue an axtra bit of wood on the back where the headstock will be and cut the angle.. You don't need much for 3 Machine heads remember the E and A string on a Strat don't need a string tree. I prefer to use a bar if I do need anything. a bit of brass rod or brass or Aluminium  plate with a couple of screws. does the job equally well.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Fred Johnson on November 28, 2015 at 5:09am

Look no string trees ! Spacer under fingerboard instead

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