Guitar care and maintenance is very important if you are to enjoy its services for a long time. Not only will it ensure that you avoid the problems associated with a worn-out guitar that affects the quality of sound produced, it also ensures that your guitar looks as good as when you first bought it.
When it comes to guitar care, there are several things that need attention, and each of them is very important for the overall well-being of your guitar. This is why you should first be well acquainted with the different parts of the guitar and understand how to handle each one of them properly.
The following post highlights the different parts of the guitar and how to ensure that they are in their best condition, as well as other equipment you need to do a good job:
Top 10 Essential Guitar Maintenance Tips
It’s no secret that guitars are fickle instruments, susceptible to the elements and often prone to damage under clumsy or inexperienced hands. What happens when it’s gig time and you realise to your horror that ‘old faithful’ suddenly has the action of a lapsteel or is buzzing from each end of the neck?
We guitarists invest hundreds if not thousands in our gear, and it can be frightening to find out just how many of us wait until something goes wrong to start taking proper care of our instruments. Just as every car needs care and attention to keep the motor running, guitars benefit hugely from a bit of TLC every now and then.
Having a good local tech or luthier is naturally a great solution, but many problems can be solved or prevented entirely without resorting to more costly measures. We’ve gathered together our top tips for 10 different areas of guitar maintenance that every guitarist should know – master them all, and your guitar will thank you with year after year of faithful service. Via Acoustic Magazine
As discussed in the post, you need to be careful about how you store your guitar since even the atmospheric conditions will affect the instrument. Humidity could adversely affect your strings and cause them to rust or spoil. Therefore, making sure that you store your guitar in a place that will insulate it from the harsh elements will do you a lot of good.
To narrow down your guitar care, you need to know how to clean it, whether it is vintage or modern. There are certain tips and tricks that you could apply when giving your guitar the care it deserves. The following post breaks down the process of cleaning the guitar, from removing the strings to giving your vintage guitar the specialized care it requires:
Rag-Time: How to Clean Your Guitar for Better Tone
The best — and least expensive — way to improve your guitar’s appearance, as well as its tone, is to administer a thorough cleaning. But there are a few guidelines that need to be followed when tackling the dirt, grease, perspiration and smoke that may have accumulated on your guitar, either from regular use or neglect; otherwise you risk permanently damaging the quality and resonance of your instrument. Whether it’s an acoustic or an electric that you’re aiming to clean, these tips still apply. If you have a vintage guitar, you’ll need to take special considerations, as explained in a note below. Via Gibson
The post above discusses the entire process of cleaning your guitar, step by step. One thing to note is that the guitar will react to the products you use. The wood will affect the sound produced, so whatever you use to clean should not affect the wood. Whether you use a damp cloth or some polish, ensure it is the right product for your guitar.
The guitar cleaning process is basically one you can learn to do yourself. On the other hand, you can consult the experts should you encounter a problem. A visual guide should give you the extra confidence you need. The following post, which includes a video, will definitely get you going:
How to Clean Your Guitar
Giving your guitar a deep clean is beneficial on many levels. On the surface, it does the obvious by maintaining your instrument, removing damaging oils and residues that can wear it down over time. This will not only cause the guitar to play much better upon cleaning, but it will look as fresh as the day you got it, which does wonders to temporarily satisfy your urge to buy a new guitar. What’s more important, in my opinion, is the respect for the instrument. Your guitar is your baby, and you should treat it with love and care. Here is a list of the products I use in the video:
- Elixir .09 Nanoweb strings
- Axe~Handler
- Dunlop 65 Formula Guitar Polish
- MusicNomad F-One Fretboard Oil
- MusicNomad MicroFiber Polish Cloth
- MusicNomad Suede MicroFiber Cloth Via Music
Featured Image: Image Credit
![3 Surprising Ways to Clean Your Acoustic Guitar [Tips & Tricks]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/H2AAGCkIzt4/0.jpg)
[OC] the fretboard of this 1956 Fender Stratocaster shows an actual distribution of the frequencies used during its… pic.twitter.com/CSCa8XCQgE
— /r/DataIsBeautiful (@DataIsBeautiful) October 21, 2016
3. Jisoo’s guitar casing pic.twitter.com/u0EUgrGht5
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Related Articles:
The 5 Tools You Need to Care for Your Electric Guitar or Bass
As the old saying goes, a craftsman is only as good as his or her tools. That may not be completely true, but there’s certainly some merit to that statement. Keeping your guitar or bass in good condition can be difficult and expensive. However, if you have these five items on hand, you’ll be fully equipped to keep your instrument maintained well enough that it will never need extensive repairs.
1. Allen key
Allen keys are needed to adjust most guitars’ truss rods, and if you have a locking tremolo, it’s essential to have one just to keep your guitar in tune. Truss rods are built into the majority of electric guitars, so you can correct the natural changes that the neck goes through. Via Sonic bids
As the old saying goes, a craftsman is only as good as his or her tools. That may not be completely true, but there’s certainly some merit to that statement. Keeping your guitar or bass in good condition can be difficult and expensive. However, if you have these five items on hand, you’ll be fully equipped to keep your instrument maintained well enough that it will never need extensive repairs.
String And Fretboard Care
We all know the fun part of playing guitar is simply playing it. For many of us, is the proper maintenance is less fun, but is required to keep our instruments in tip-top shape. We’re not saying that there aren’t plenty of tech nerds in the herd, but many of us could stand to implement some best practices when it comes to our instruments. Today, we’re taking a look at your fretboard and your strings—there are a few easy strategies you can implement that will keep your instrument playing great and reduce overall wear and tear. Via Pro Guitar Shop
We all know the fun part of playing guitar is simply playing it. For many of us, is the proper maintenance is less fun, but is required to keep our instruments in tip-top shape. We’re not saying that there aren’t plenty of tech nerds in the herd, but many of us could stand to implement some best practices when it comes to our instruments. Today, we’re taking a look at your fretboard and your strings—there are a few easy strategies you can implement that will keep your instrument playing great and reduce overall wear and tear.
8 Guitar Care and Maintenance Tips
Caring for your guitar is key to its longevity in both appearance and sound. Although guitars seem fairly low maintenance, every guitar player should practice guitar maintenance in order to keep their instrument in its the best possible shape.
So whether you’ve just bought a brand new guitar or would like to start taking better care of your existing one, here are 8 guitar care tips for keeping your guitar healthy. Via Musician Tuts
Caring for your guitar is key to its longevity in both appearance and sound. Although guitars seem fairly low maintenance, every guitar player should practice guitar maintenance in order to keep their instrument in its the best possible shape.
