Basic Care For Your Guitar

The guitar is extremely vulnerable. If you love it, it is imperative that you handle it with respect and care. Factors that adversely affect the condition of your guitar include:

• The way your guitar is stored
• The way you handle your guitar
• Humidity & Temperature

Each factor is discussed as follows.

The way your guitar is stored

Treat your guitar as it if has a fragile label.

Gig bags & Guitar Cases

Oftentimes during your first guitar purchase, you tend to use the gig bag supplied with the guitar. For the casual beginner, this is usually enough. Always keep your instrument in the bag when not in use.

But at times I found myself wringing myself worried for two reasons:

1. When it is raining outdoors, a gig bag is not going to protect your guitar from water and moisture.
2. If you are taking public transport, chances are people will find ways to knock/touch/hold/kick your guitar.

In such cases, if you are worried you should get a hard case. The investment (protection) is worth it. Isn’t the ability to move your instrument around one of the reasons you decided to play guitar? It wouldn’t help if while transporting it from place to place, you introduce stress to your guitar.

Environment

The guitar is often prone to accidents. Leaving it upright in a crowded area almost guarantees an grand orchestral fall (that’s what it sounds like when it drops). Always keep it in a safe place, away from harsh environment, temperature and humidity changes.

The way you handle your guitar

The ritual of taking care of your guitar is a spiritual event. It serves as a reminder of the fragility of your guitar. It also teaches you to respect and care for the instrument that you decided to master.

Incorporating some basic maintenance into your playing routines will prolong the guitar’s lifespan significantly.

1. Buy a guitar polish for cleaning your guitar. It is inevitable that a little smudge or sweat stains your guitar sometimes. Wipe your guitar down after each play, and periodically apply the polish to maintain the shine.
2. Always keep the guitar in tune. Changing the tension of the strings puts different stresses on the neck. It’s also easier for you the next time you play!
3. Playing near hard surfaces is an invitation for dents to permanently emboss themselves into your guitar. Stay away from hard edges and play in a spacious environment. You will not regret it!

For more information, visit wikibooks Guitar.

Humidity & Temperature

The difference in humidity levels combined together with changes in temperature can prove the guitar’s demise in a short span of time.

Humidity is the amount of moisture in the air, while temperature is the degree of hotness or coldness of the air. How will this affect us in the tropical climate? There are times where we endure rain and cold weather for days and there are times where it is sweltering hot. And it is these changes in humidity and temperature that really affect our guitar.

The wood of our guitar is a material highly affected by humidity. When moisture enters the guitar, it swells. Alternatively, when the environment is too dry, cracks might form as the wood shrinks. Similarly, the wood can shrink or expand the wood according to temperature as well.

A shot of my warped wood tabletop. Of course the warping will not be as dramatic on your guitar, but this is to give you a general idea.

For more indepth information about humidity, you can read up on this article by Sean Hancock.

Solutions

1. It is thus highly recommended that you always keep your guitar in a padded/hard case when you are not playing it, to protect it from the elements.
2. Use a humidifier. BGW Guitars supplies an entirely affordable humidifier for just $18 and it can last years. Visit their website for more information.

Take good care of your guitar, and it will take good care of your sound quality & your wallet.