GUITAR LESSONS - NJ and NY
Airmont, Allendale, Fair Lawn,
Franklin Lakes, Glen Rock,
Hawthorne, HoHoKus, Hillburn, Mahwah,
Midland Park, Montebello, Montvale,
New Milford, Oakland, Oradell,
Paramus, Park Ridge, Ramsey,
Ridgewood, River Edge, Saddle River, Suffern,
Tallman, Upper Saddle River,
Waldwick, Washington Township, Westwood,
Woodcliff Lake or Wyckoff
BEGINNER • INTERMEDIATE
ADVANCED • AUDITION PREPARATION
GUITAR MAINTENANCE
Just like an automobile,
your guitar needs regular attention.
Don’t ignore it.
Just because it’s spring or fall in
your part of the world,
doesn’t mean you can stop
being vigilant about the environment
your instrument is in.
Remember,
40% humidity or higher is good.
If the room your guitar lives in
is dryer than that,
you may find your guitar sounding
and playing funny.
Once it’s dehydrated,
it needs to be RE-hydrated.
Unless the dehydration is minimal,
I recommend taking it to a good guitar tech
who can give it the humidity it needs
in a controlled environment.
The beautiful sound of an old,
well-cared for guitar comes from
the amount of vibration the soundboard
(the front surface of your acoustic guitar
that has a sound hole or holes) has had.
Don’t wait for your strings to break,
to change them!
As soon as your strings
are either showing wear
(usually on the D/4th string),
the sound is muddy and flat
(not in pitch but in tonal “color”)
or if your strings are no longer the color
they were when you put them on,
YOU NEED TO CHANGE THEM.
There’s a wide assortment of strings available.
Don't put nylon strings on a guitar
that was sold to you with steel strings on it.
Don't put steel strings on a guitar
that was sold to you with nylon strings on it.
(Assuming you purchased your guitar
from a reputable dealer.)
After checking with the specifications
of your guitar's manufacturer,
experiment with different tension strings
and strings of varying composition.
After you’ve gone to the trouble
of changing your strings,
wipe them down with a cotton cloth
(old Tee or flannel shirts are good for this)
to remove any perspiration or oils
left by your fingers after you have played.
Wipe the tops of the strings
for the length of the fretboard
and then slip your cleaning cloth
under the strings and wipe
the underside from head nut to bridge nut.
If you do,
you’ll get longer life out of every string change.
Don’t leave your guitar in an unheated vehicle
or one with windows closed when the sun is out.
A car heats up quickly!
The object is to allow the guitar
to change temperature as gradually as possible
to limit/eliminate damage from climate change.
Depending on how much you play,
you may need to take your guitar
to a good technician for a “neck job”
every so often.
If you’re playing 6 or 7 hours a day,
you may need to do so
more than once a year.
If you’re playing an hour or 2 a day,
maybe every year or year and a half.
Neck maintenance includes cleaning
and conditioning the fretboard,
neck and leveling and/or replacing frets.
Realize that unless you play every fret
the same number of times,
your frets will not wear evenly….
sort of like pronation that wears the heels
of your shoes unevenly,
if you pronate when you walk or run.
Eventually, uneven frets have to be leveled,
so have a good tech examine the neck
to see if it’s the right time
for your guitar to be rejuvenated.
If your guitar has been subjected to any trauma
(dropping, bumping and
I don't even want to conjecture what else!)
you may feel some splitting or cracking
at the edges where the sound board
or back of the guitar meet the lateral sides.
If the binding is cracked,
it's a good idea to have a good luthier fix it.
If any "seams" where one part of the guitar
meets another, are not perfectly smooth
and show cracking or splitting,
have a luthier check and repair that too.
Maintenance early is always better,
easier and less expensive
than repairs left too long.
Email Me if you'd like to submit
a Question of the Week or
suggest an additional segment topic.
If I use one you submit,
I'll send you an official
Guitar Technique Tutor Podcast pick.
Tell a guitarist friend who might also have questions.
current podcast, show notes and archives
find a good teacher contact me
© 2012 D A Arlaus, all rights reserved
Sunday, January 1, 2012