Essential Maintenance Tips for Your Guitar

You just got a new baby? Congrats! I remember leaving the plastic on my pick guard at least 2 months before peeling it off, wanting to keep it all shiny and new. The good ol' days... While that may be a bit much, maintaining your guitar is essential to ensure it plays well and lasts a long time.

Just like finding the right string gauge, understanding how to care for your guitar can seem overwhelming at first. But don't worry, I've got you covered! This article will walk you through the key maintenance tips every guitarist should know.

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Regular Cleaning is Crucial

Dirt, dust, grub, and oils from your fingers can build up on your guitar, affecting its sound and playability. A simple routine can keep your guitar looking and sounding its best.

Body and Neck

‍Use a soft, dry cloth to wipe down the body and the back of the neck after each use. For a deeper clean, lightly dampen the cloth with water or a guitar cleaner specifically designed for your guitar's finish. That's likely all you need. You can use a microfiber cloth to avoid micro scratches.‍

Fretboard

‍The fretboard requires special attention, especially if it's made of rosewood or ebony. These woods are naturally porous and can dry out over time. Use a cleaner and conditioner that's formulated for fretboards to clean and hydrate the wood. For my rosewood boards, I oil them every 6 months or so using Lemon Oil. It costs hardly anything and lasts ages.

Strings

After a heavy session, I wipe my strings down with a clean cloth. In honesty, it's usually the backside of the cloth I use for the whole guitar. No need to overcomplicate things :). When I just put on a fresh set of strings, I use Fast Fret to keep them in a good state for a bit longer. This stick also lasts a while and I've found it helps to keep the strings in better shape when they're new.

Nothing compares to a set of fresh sounding and feeling strings, does it?

Speaking of strings...

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String Changes

Changing strings is not just about maintaining a crisp tone, it's also an opportunity to inspect your guitar for wear and tear. Especiall the fretboard. And it's a good way to clean out any dust that builds up underneath the saddles and bridge. Inspect the frets for wear and check the bridge and headstock for any damage while you're at it.

How often should you do this? Well that depends on how often you play, the type of strings you use, and personal preference. A good rule of thumb is to change them every 3 months if you play a quite often, if you don't you can push this a bit longer.

If you shred for hours daily, you best get them delivered bi-weekly.

In honesty, you'll likely feel this yourself. I usually have one or two sets spare lying around. Nice 'n' Easy for when you crave the feeling and sound of new strings.

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Humidity Control

Wood expands and contracts with changes in humidity, which can affect your guitar's sound, playability, and structural integrity.

Ideal Conditions: Keep your guitar in a room with a relative humidity of around 45-55%. But you probably don't live in a laboratory, right? Just make sure to not put them in a moldy basement or next to a single-pane window.

On the other side of the spectrum, don't put them next to a heater or stove, obviously. Again, don't overthink this. I know it's your pride and joy, but unless it's a million-dollar Martin, you shouldn't stress it too much.

Best put them in a case for that extra protection.

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Truss Rod Adjustments

The truss rod is that metal rod that runs along the inside of the neck. It's crucial for maintaining the correct curvature of the neck.

When you notice bussing strings or if the action (distance between the strings and fretboard) is too high or low, you can use this to adjust it. In most cases, the access is in the headstock. You might need to remove a wooden or plastic cover.

If your neck bows upward, turn the adjuster screw clockwise. If it's too flat or it bows backward, de-tension the truss rod by turning counterclockwise.

This is a tad scary, because it's hard to spot the differences and if you overdo it, you might break it. If you don't feel comfortable, watch a few YouTube videos or reach out to a friend to help you out.

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Worn Frets

We touched on frets before, they'll ware out after a (long) while.  Look for signs of indentations or flat spots on the frets where the strings make contact.

If they're really shot to hell, you need a re-fret. That's a big job that I wouldn't do myself. But maybe you're more of a handy (wo)man than I am, or perhaps you just are more confident in your skills :)

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In short, make sure to keep your guitar clean, use some conditioners every once in a while, and put it back in a safe, warm spot. If you do that, and don't drop it, it'll last a lifetime and then some. Get a microfiber cloth or an old cotton rag, some water, and a towel to put your guitar on when cleaning. That's likely all you'll ever really need.

Happy picking!