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Guitar/Guitar Maintenance and Storage

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The easiest way to keep your thousand dollar guitar worth a thousand dollars is to take proper

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care of it. Guitars take a lot of abuse, especially if you play live shows and tour, and even if it

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pretty much "sounds the same", you may one day discover a serious problem that makes the

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instrument unplayable. You don't need to carefully examine your guitar every day, but occasional

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check ups on the condition of your instrument are never a bad idea.

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Contents [hide]
1 Storage
1.1 Storing Environment
1.2 Methods of Storage
1.2.1 Wall Hooks

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1.2.2 Guitar Stands

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1.2.3 Cases

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2 Maintenance
2.1 Body
2.2 Neck and Fretboard
2.3 Strings
2.4 Tuning Mechanisms

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Storage

[edit]

The easiest way to take care of your guitar is to store it properly. The more expensive the guitar,
the better your storage should be. It is generally accepted that the air humidity should be neither
too high nor too low, thus somewhere in the 45-55% range, and the temperature of the area
should be about 65-75 F. These two factors are the biggest threat to an instrument, because
changes in moisture and temperature can cause permanent warping of the neck and other critical

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parts. For guitars made out of solid wood, it is advised to use a humidifier to prevent cracks and
damage from weather change.

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On the other hand, guitars made out of multi-layered(plywood) wood, typically in budget guitars,

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can withstand relatively more humidity and temperature changes. Keeping the guitar in a case

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away from direct sunlight can help with increasing the life of the guitar.

Storing Environment

[edit]

The surest way to keep your guitar in good shape is to remember this simple rule: Do not expose
the guitar to any climate conditions that you would not want to be exposed to. If you
always keep this in mind, then your instrument will likely last years and years.

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You should avoid large changes in humidity. Like your body, the guitar gets used to the climate it

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is in, and suddenly changing it causes stress. Humidity is the most dangerous thing that attacks an

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instrument, because when wood gets wet, the cell walls become softer and it is more easily bent.
Often, the strings themselves are enough to bend the neck. Also, if the humidity stays way too low,
then the wood will crack and the structure will weaken.
Temperature on its own is less damaging to the guitar. Wood is generally tolerant to changes in
temperature, and for the most part it expands and contracts together. Extreme temperatures,

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however, can cause serious damage, especially when combined with extreme humidity. Changes in
temperature also affects the strings, especially nylon strings, and going into a different
environment will almost always automatically detune the strings. Other areas to watch for
temperature related damage are any glued joins, like where the neck meets the body, or the
fretboard is attached to the neck.
Never expose your instrument to extreme temperatures for a long time. For instance, leaving your
guitar in a car in the summer all day, or leaving it outside for the whole night are sure ways to
completely destroy your instrument. Also keep the guitar out of direct sunlight as much as
possible, because it makes the wood more brittle and it can destroy the color of the instrument.
Keeping your instrument in tune is another good way to make sure that you don't harm your
instrument. Strings put certain amounts of tension on the neck which can cause it to bow if the
guitar isn't kept in tune. It is also a good idea to make sure that you have a full set of strings on the
guitar.

Methods of Storage

[edit]

First, a simple tip: If one is playing the guitar and wishes to put it briefly aside to look for songs or
notes or the like, then the best repository is the couch, the bed, or the floor (with carpet or with the
guitar bag as a cushion). The basic rule reads: What lies down, cannot fall down. A guitar gets
most of its scrapes because one leans it against a wall, or against a table edge, and then it is
knocked over from the slightest contact or draft of air. If one had put it down, this would not have
happened.

Wall Hooks [edit]

These are most often seen on the walls of guitar stores, where there are dozens of instruments to
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be displayed. These are good, because the guitar can be placed in an out of the way spot, like
over a table or in a corner, and also be openly displayed. These are just a U-shaped piece of
metal, covered in some sort of rubber or soft plastic.
The piece is screwed to the wall, and the headstock rests snugly between the two pieces of metal.
In regards to plasterboard walls be sure to drill into the timber studs. The weight of the guitar will
not damage itself, and nothing will break as a direct result of being stored in this way. Considering
the stress put on the instrument by the strings, the additional impact of gravity would be minimal.
When you are selecting a spot to hang your guitar, you should not hang it on an outside wall.
These are subject to more temperature changes, and in the long term can damage the instrument.

Guitar Stands [edit]

For the most part, guitar stands look similar to a wall hook, except instead of all the weight being
on the headstock, most is on the bottom of the body and the neck is mostly supported to keep the
guitar standing straight.
Each type of guitar has a specialized type of stand. For example, an Ovation guitar, which has a
rounded plastic back, requires a differently shaped stand than a Fender Stratocaster or a regular
acoustic guitar. Regardless of what type of stand you get, you should always make sure that it
holds your guitar firmly. Some stands also have a locking device, which adds an extra level of
security.
One problem you might encounter (although it is rare) is that the lacquer used on your guitar has
a reaction with the rubber used to coat the stand. When you buy a new stand, you should examine
the guitar every few days and look for discolorations or weak spots. As is often the case, serious
guitar damage is easiest to stop before it starts.

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Cases [edit]
There are two main kinds of guitar case, gig bags and hard cases.
Gig bags are a favorable kind of keeping, because they give a good
amount of protection, and they are also light to carry. Some often
have backpack style shoulder straps. Gig bags do not protect against
temperature changes very well. Hard cases, in contrast, provide
excellent protection against temperature, humidity and physical
damage. Hard cases are also essential for taking a guitar on an air

A Les Paul style guitar

in a hard case

plane, or for long journeys.

Compared to other methods of storing, cases are by far the most secure, and this is especially
true of hard cases. If the guitar is secured properly in the case (almost) nothing can happen to it.
The biggest (and perhaps only) disadvantage of a case is that you cannot openly display your
instrument the way you can on a wall hook or stand. Price is also a disadvantage, because
although gig bags can be bought relatively cheaply, hard cases are expensive. Still, a cheap bag
for an expensive guitar is a poor investment.
When you buy a case, you absolutely have to make sure that the guitar fits in the case. Gig bags
are a little more forgiving, but you will not get a guitar to fit properly in a hard case that is too small.
When you pick up the case, give it a little bit of a shake, and you should not feel or hear the guitar
moving around very much.

Maintenance
Body

[edit]

[edit]

The body is likely the part of the guitar that takes the most abuse, simply because it is the "biggest
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target". To ensure that your instrument stays in like new condition you should always wipe down
your guitar with a soft cloth after playing. Never use furniture sprays. You can buy specially treated
cloths and sprays for guitars at almost any music store. Dirt, sweat, and often small nicks and
scrapes can just be cleaned up with a cloth, little bit of warm water and Murphy's Oil Soap which
can be used to clean the whole guitar. The strings should be wiped with just some warm water.
Remember you should wipe your guitar strings off every time you play your guitar. The oils and dirt
that get left on your strings make them wear out a bit faster. So if you make it a habit to wipe them
down with each use they'll last you a bit longer. You should use a soft cloth, a micro fiber works the
best. Otherwise you might risk scratching the instrument and making it worse. Cleaning the frets:
you should care for them just as the rest of the guitar. But if necessary use some 0.001 steel wool
to get the grime off next to the frets. You can also gently go over the frets to take off any minor
nicks that might be on them. Remember take care of your investment and it will last you a lifetime.
If you have a stained or lacquered body, you can also give it some shine with a little bit of furniture
polish. However, if you have a guitar with an untreated body, you have to be extremely careful with
polish. For these types, it would be better to find some sort of cleaning oil or wax, since they help
prevent hair-line cracks from developing. After cleaning, the body must be absolutely dry, because
if the wood gets over-moistened, the tone of the guitar will begin to degrade.

Neck and Fretboard

[edit]

The neck is probably the most important part of the guitar, especially if you want to play it for a
long time. Unless the guitar is stored for extended periods of time, the tension of the strings will
always be pulling against the neck and stretching it away from the body. If stored for a long period
of time, strings should be loosened, to reduce the tension on the neck. If the guitar gets moist, this
neck warping happens even faster. Sometimes warping can be fixed by adjusting the truss rod, but
this only prolongs the death of the instrument, and can't really fix the problem.
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You can also oil or wax the fretboard, but you should first determine whether the fretboard is
stained or painted, and use the appropriate protection. Always remember that using too much
cleaner is always worse than using no cleaner at all, and always rub it in slowly.
Another drastic way to repair a warped neck on acoustic guitars is take all the strings off, and
place a small glass of water into the body. Then, keep the body in place and put a small amount of
weight (1 or 2 pounds) on the neck and let it bend back into the proper shape. When it has been
corrected, remove the water, keep the weight on and let the guitar dry. Hopefully the neck will
remain in the correct position, however it will be much more prone to warping from that point on.
Since this procedure is somewhat accident prone, some manufacturers offer special instrument air
moisturizers, which you can put in a case, or on a specific area of the neck. These generally allow
for a higher rate of success.
The fretboard is usually made from untreated wood, and it should be cleaned regularly, before dirt
begins to build up. Usually a good time to do this is when you change your strings, which should be
every month or two. You need to clean the wood between the frets, and the simplest way is using a
clean damp cloth or some very fine steel wool. Use some water with a little bit of detergent to make
cleaning easier. If you use steel wool, you can also clean up the edges of worn frets, which is
important because smooth frets improve the life of your strings. If the frets are really worn down,
they can be replaced, but this is generally not a good project to undertake yourself.
It is very important that the neck is not wet after cleaning, because water damages the structure of
the neck. Your cleaning cloth should be damp, not soaking wet. After cleaning, you can also apply
a coat of furniture polish to seal the wood.

Strings

[edit]

A set of strings wear down slowly, if you maintain them properly. Since regular playing does some
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amount of damage to the strings, it's a good idea to change regularly. Full sets of strings should
be replaced at the same time. If you only replace one string, the others are likely to break soon,
the strings will have different tones, and the opened pack of strings will begin to corrode. When
changing a set of strings, some guitarists recommend replacing them one at a time, rather than
removing all strings at once, to maintain tension on the neck (i.e., remove and replace the first
string, then the second, then the third, etc.).
If you do not clean your strings, then they will quickly become dull, and even begin to rust. Dirty
strings also damage the frets themselves, because the grime and rust makes the strings more
coarse. There are many types of string cleaners, and for the most part, they are intended to be
used after each playing session.
If you clean your strings on an irregular basis, you can just as easily use glass cleaner to release
the sweat from the strings. It's easiest to soak a cloth in window cleaner, and then slip the cloth
behind, and clean the whole length of each string individually. You can tell when a string is cleaned
when you rub the string and the cloth is still clean. Also, you shouldn't let the cleaner remain on
the strings, because residue might damage the string too. When finished, wipe the strings with a
damp cloth.

Tuning Mechanisms

[edit]

The tuning mechanisms are usually chromed, anodized or burnished steel. Since steel rusts,
especially when it makes contact with sweat, these pieces should be cleaned every now and then
to prevent unnecessary wear on your strings. Properly oiled mechanisms work smoothly, and they
also help keep the strings in tune.
To prevent rust, you should clean and oil the parts regularly. You can use commercial machine
oils, available cheap from any hardware store, but baby oil or vaseline does the trick too. It is
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always better to use too little than too much, and you can always add more, but you can't take it
back off. Two drops is often enough. Avoid making contact with the wood parts of the guitar
because the oil could stain or discolor. Electrical components (switches, sockets, potentiometers,
etc.) can also go bad if the oil gets in them.
Many tuning machines have a screw in the knob that controls how easily they turn. The knobs
should be snug, with no free play, but they should not be so tight that they are difficult to turn.
Care should be taken not to over-tighten, as they may strip, requiring repair or replacement. It
should be mentioned that this adjustment affects the operation of the tuner, but not its ability to
hold string tension.
Guitar
Category: Guitar

This page w as last modified on 7 September 2014, at 19:05.

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