-
Keep your instrument in its case when you
are not playing it. This
ensures protection from heat, humidity and bumps.
-
Never leave your instrument in an
unlatched case. It may fall out when you or someone else picks it up.
-
Do
not play your guitar at temperature
or humidity extremes. Caroling
in winter in cold low humidity or playing at picnics in hot high humidity
often have heart breaking results. Do not leave your guitar in a hot or
cold car, even if it is in its case. These extremes will
cause damage such as cracked wood or finish checks (cracking) and are not
warranted by manufacturers.
-
Use a reputable polish to clean your
instrument from time to time. Do
not use wax. When it is clean
the finish of your guitar is shinier than wax.
Avoid cleaners and polishes that incorporate silicone compounds.
They will damage the finish. Keep
the polish off your fingerboard and bridge. Those parts are not finished.
A light coat of lemon oil applied with a cotton cloth will enhance
the beauty of the fingerboard and bridge.
Do not put lemon oil on finished surfaces.
-
Use a soft cotton cloth to wipe down the
strings and body after you play. This
will increase the life of your strings and keep your finish clean.
-
Belt buckles and blue-jean rivets will
scratch the back of your instrument.
-
Modifications such as adding pick-ups
should only be done by reputable guitar shops.
Do not attempt them yourself, as you may void your warranty.
-
Never let your instrument get wet.
-
Before
changing strings look inside guitar to find the recommended string gauge. Do not use
a heavier gauge than is recommended. Lighter-than-recommended string
gauges will not likely hurt the instrument but they may affect the
playability and tone. Specialty
strings sometimes put excessive tension on your instrument. These strings
may void your warranty.
-
Change strings often. A cheap guitar with
new strings will often sound
better than an excellent guitar with old strings.
-
Never tune strings above standard pitch.
-
It’s not
necessary to lower the
pitch of strings when storing
your guitar for a short time. You might consider lowering the pitch a step
or two if you are storing it through a season change.
-
Use care when removing the guitar from
its case. Case latches and
flanges can damage the finish.
-
A quality guitar is, in some ways, like
fine furniture. There’s the
form vs. the function. The beauty and the usability. Wood and glue. Fine
lines and finish work. Furniture is occasionally under stress when the
drawers are full, but it’s heavy thick wood that usually just sits.
Conversely, some of the guitar's body parts are less than 1/10"
thick, supported by thin braces about the size of kite sticks. The strings
put it under constant stress that is equivalent to the weight of a man
standing on it. They are carried around sometimes daily from one
environment to another. They
deserve our respect. They
work hard. Treat’em like an old friend!
