# Guitar/Guitar Maintenance and Storage

Properly maintaining a valuable guitar keeps it valuable. Guitars can
take a lot of abuse, especially if you play live shows and tour, and
even if it pretty much \"sounds the same,\" lack of maintenance may
suddenly render the instrument unplayable. You don\'t need to carefully
examine a guitar every day, but occasional check ups keep it
good-sounding and ready to play.

# Storage

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 (18-24 °C). 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
parts. For guitars made out of solid wood, it is advised to use a
humidifier to prevent cracks and damage from weather change.

On the other hand, guitars made out of multi-layered(plywood) wood,
typically in budget guitars, can withstand relatively more humidity and
temperature changes. Keeping the guitar in a case away from direct
sunlight can help with increasing the life of the guitar.

## Storing Environment

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

Avoid large or rapid changes in humidity. Like your body, the guitar
gets used to the climate it is in, and suddenly changing it causes
stress. Humidity is the most dangerous thing that attacks an 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 or rapid temperature changes,
however, can cause serious damage, especially when combined with extreme
humidity. Changes in temperature also affect strings, especially nylon
strings. A significant change in temperature typically detunes the
strings. Other areas to watch for temperature related damage are any
glued joins, like where the neck meets the body, or the fretboard
attaches 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 overnight 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 can change the
color of the instrument.

Keeping your instrument strung and in tune is another good way to make
sure that you don\'t harm your instrument. Strings put tension on the
neck. Excessive tension may make the neck bow if the guitar isn\'t kept
in tune.

## Methods of Storage

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

These are most often seen on the walls of guitar stores that must
display dozens of instruments in a small amount of wall space. These are
good, because they keep the guitar out of the way but openly displayed.
These are just a U-shaped piece of metal, covered in rubber or soft
plastic.

The piece screws 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 poses no risk to the
neck or headstock. When you select a spot to hang a guitar, avoid
outside walls. These are subject to more temperature change, which can
risk damage to the instrument.

### Guitar Stands

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.

### Cases

!A Les Paul style guitar in a hard
case{width="150"}

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 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 under standard
conditions.

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.

### Cabinets

Storing a guitar in a glass-front cabinet shows it off, and can help
keep it at the proper humidity while being quickly accessible. The cost
and required floor space may not be practical for most guitarists. One
alternative is Musik Tent™, an Instrument Humidor that is portable and
lightweight that uniformly humidifies, stores and displays guitars in
wet and dry environments.

# Maintenance

## Body

The body often takes the most abuse, simply because it is the biggest
target. To help keep a fine instrument in good condition, wipe it down
with a soft cloth after playing. Don\'t use water-based 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. Murphy\'s
Oil Soap can be used to clean the whole guitar. Wipe the strings with a
clean cloth. Some guitarists advocate wiping the strings with warm
water, but be sure to protect the fingerboard from moisture. Consider
wiping your guitar strings off every time you play. Oils and dirt left
on your strings make them asymmetrical---as opposed to evenly
cylindrical vibrating bodies. They may even wear out a bit faster. A
soft, natural fiber or \"microfiber\" cloth works the best and is safest
for the finish. Clean the frets as you do the rest of the guitar. If
necessary, carefully use 0.001 steel wool to get grime off the
fingerboard next to the frets. You can also gently go over the frets to
take off any minor nicks.

If you have a stained or lacquered body, you can treat it with a little
bit of furniture polish. However, if you have a guitar with an untreated
body, be extremely careful with polish. For these types, it is 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

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.

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

A set of strings wear down slowly, if you maintain them properly. Since
regular playing does some 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, they may 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. Pharmacies sell boxes of individually wrapped
alcohol-saturated pads. These are excellent for occasionally
deep-cleaning strings, but protect the fingerboard.

If you clean your strings infrequently, 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. As always, protect the fingerboard from moisture.
When finished, wipe the strings with a dry cloth.

## Tuning Mechanisms

Tuning mechanisms are usually chromed, gold-plated, anodized, or
burnished steel. Since steel rusts, especially when it contacts sweat,
these pieces should be cleaned periodically. Properly oiled mechanisms
work smoothly and help keep the strings in tune.

To prevent rust, clean and oil parts regularly. You can use commercial
machine oils from any hardware store, but baby oil or petroleum jelly
works too. Too little lubricant is better than too much---adding more is
easier than removing excess. 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 this may break plastic tuner buttons or may
strip the screw thread and require repair or replacement.

