Why Guitar Maintenance Tips are so important
It is true, that wood instruments, such as guitars, tend to sound better with age. It is also true, that with good care and regular preventive maintenance, the life of your wooden instrument will be extended. So, not only will you enjoy your instrument to the fullest; but your future generations can also enjoy it.
These simple guitar maintenance tips will help you keep your instrument sounding, looking, and performing well for a longer time.
How To Keep Your Guitar Clean
We’ve all been there before. Checking out pictures taken from the crowd the night before at the concert and there you are rocking hard with your guitar and wham! It hits you right in the face, your guitar looks horrendous with all the smudges and fingerprints and lackluster shine. You simply forgot to clean it before hitting the stage. Here’s what you should do to avoid that situation again. I truly hope these quick guitar maintenance tips help you as much as they have helped me.
After Every Time You Play
Step 1. Make sure to wipe down the strings with a lint-free cloth after you’re done playing. Wiping down all the sweat and skin material off the strings; will help keep your strings sounding clear longer than otherwise.
Step 2. Turn the guitar over and wipe down the back of the guitar body with a lint-free cloth.
Step 3. If your guitar has horns, then at this time stand up the guitar and wipe them down too.
Step 4. Flip the guitar over to the front and wipe out any fingerprint on the guitar body. Make sure to thoroughly wipe the front bottom of the guitar where your arm normally rests. There is plenty of skin oil and sweat that needs to be removed before storing your precious instrument.
Once A Month
Step 1. Check the strings for discolorations. If you notice any, it will be wise to replace them with a fresh set. Dull strings not only impact the overall sound of the guitar but also play a role in the overall aesthetics of the instrument.
If you happen to notice corrosion or excessive grime on your strings, then it is clearly time to replace them. Frayed strings are also an indicator of string replacements.
Every Other Month
Step 1. Take time to protect the paint job of your instrument. Skin oils are very acidic and if you leave your guitar body unclean or un-wax for a long period of time, you will see the deteriorating effects on the finish of your guitar.
Properly Storing Your Guitar
This goes beyond saying how important this is one of the Guitar Maintenance Tips in this Blog.
It makes little sense to spend $800 or more for a Guitar and skimp on the storage. Learn the ins and outs of properly purchasing a good quality bag for your instrument. My preferred storage for guitars is a good quality hard case. Especially if I know I will store the guitar for more than week or so. The level of protection and humidity control a good quality hard case is tough to beat. Notice that I say tough to beat and not impossible to beat. Reason is because we now have also some very good guitar gig bags also that render similar protection to that of hard shell cases.
I highly recommend the Gig Bags by Mono Creators. I personally use the M80 Vertigo
The Effects Of Humidity On Your Guitar
Out of all the Guitar Maintenance Tips I can share with you in this Blog, I can say that paying attention to the humidity is perhaps the most misunderstood of all.
Keep Your Guitar In Tune
Guitar Tuning is so important that we should spend some time discussing it today. You can have awesome skills and technique, but if your instrument is out of tune you’ll scare away even your most loyal fans. We will discuss at least three methods you can use to tune your guitar. We’ve created an entire Blog Post on this topic. Click here to read more about Guitar Tuning. I also have a short YouTube video on Guitar Tuning that you can watch by clicking here if you prefer to watch videos instead of reading blogs.
