Guitar Health Monthly Maintenance

Have you ever wondered what is the best way to store your guitar? How often you should change your strings? We offer re-string and tune-up services that include some of these best care practices for your instrument.

1. Change your strings every month- When played on a daily basis, Guitar strings start to lose their tone and become dead. With exposure to air and the oils in our finger tips, strings start to patina over time, making it very hard to play and glide your fingers across the frets. By changing the strings often, you also help keep your guitars hardware in tip top shape, i.e: tuners, bridge & frets.

new-guitar-strings
New Guitar Strings

dead-guitar-strings

Dead Guitar Strings

2. One at a time- When you are about to change your strings remember, only change one string at a time. If you have an electric guitar there can be parts of the bridges that will fall completely loose without the strings holding it in place and many other components that can move depending on the guitar, affecting the intonation. There can be up to 200lbs of pull on the average guitar neck when tuned to pitch. If we remove all of the strings from the guitar, that pressure is released and can cause damage to the guitar if not set back up properly by a tech.

3. Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate your fretboard- The wood on your guitar was once a living breathing tree needing hydration to survive. Well that rule of thumb still applies even though that wood was cut and is now on your guitar. Close your eyes and imagine what the dirt in the Mojave Desert looks like. Picture the cracks in the ground. The same thing can happen to your fretboard. If this does happen, the wood begins to separate from the frets (made from nickel) causing the frets to raise up unevenly. It becomes impossible for the guitar to stay in tune. There are several fretboard conditioners on the market and the only other thing you'll need is a micro fiber cloth to rub the conditioner into the fret board and clean off the excess.

4. Clean your strings- It is a good habit to clean your strings after each use. I use a product that I have come to love called Fast Fret which helps coats the strings, which is very helpful. The cleaner comes with a small micro fiber cloth to wipe the strings after playing, and helps wipe off the oils from your fingers, increasing the longevity of your strings and frets.

5. Don't forget about me- Where is the best place to keep your guitar? There are a few options of how to store your guitar. There are several different types of guitar stands and wall hangers to keep your guitar safe. Your guitar case is a vital tool to keep your guitar safe during transport but don't store it away in the closet or under the bed and forget about it. Guitars are meant to be played and believe it or not, playing your guitar on a normal basis is part of keeping your guitar healthy. I keep my guitars out and on wall hangers for easy access to practice and record with. If your guitar is on a stand in the room you mostly reside in, you'll be more inclined to play it.

Hope these tips were helpful. Make an appointment to bring in your instrument today! Please e-mail or call us at (415) 457-7600.

Happy playing!