Proactive Guitar Care will Protect your Investment
The important thing is to remember that a guitar isn’t a pack of gum where if its gets old you just throw it out and pull out a new one.
Guitars like everything else need to be taken care of. This article will discuss several key steps to take in preserving the sound, beauty, and overall life of your guitar. It is important to understand that these instruments are fragile.
We will list some “do’s” and “don’t” for how to take care of your guitar.
Do’s
- Be aware of how you handle it and how you store it. Excess dryness will cause the wood to crack and excessive humidity will cause the guitar to warp. You may need to buy a hand-held guitar humidifier if you live in an arid place. These humidifiers are cheap and can save your guitar.
- The best thing you can do to protect your investment is to have a guitar case, preferably a hard shell case. There are a large variety of guitar cases, but keep in mind that the important thing is whether or not it’s thick enough to protect your guitar in case it falls or gets stepped on.
- If you are not planning on playing your guitar for a while, be sure to loosen the strings so the tension will not affect the neck of the guitar.
- The strings are sensitive to the oil that comes off of your fingers and so it’s a good idea to wipe down the strings with a cloth after you have finished playing the guitar.
- The wood on your guitar is important to keep in prime condition in order to maintain good sound quality. Guitar polishes and wood oils should be applied regularly and abundantly.
Don’ts
- If small children or pets are around, be careful not to leave your guitar out. You might even want to get a lock for your guitar.
- Don’t wipe your guitar down with water. It will take away the oils on your guitar and dry it out.
- Don’t loan out your guitar unless you are sure you can really trust the person. At any rate, if you have someone who wants to try out your guitar, go over some basic ways of how to hold it and how to be careful with it.
- Don’t leave your guitar in the sun. The heat and exposure will ruin the guitar.
- Don’t put on lotion before playing the guitar. The oil in lotion will affect the sound in your strings.
- Don’t ever stop playing the guitar just because you get frustrated. You can do it!