The Complete Guide to Guitar Maintenance

Maintaining the quality of your guitar is crucial if you want to enjoy the maximum potential that your guitar can offer. If you choose to not look after your guitar then, unfortunately, it will eventually break, the quality of the sound will not be great and problems will arise one after the other.  Luckily, the maintenance of your guitar is not a difficult task to do so you can get started on it now!

Cleaning the body of the guitar

Every guitar deserves a thorough clean, it will not only look better but will also feel and play better. The areas impacted the most on guitars are the fretboard, strings and the bridge. We recommend you keeping a clean dry cloth with you at all times to give your guitar a good wipe down after you have played. But for a more thorough clean,  the best time to do so is when you are changing the strings, as this gives you full access to the bridge and fretboard.

Microfiber cloths are the perfect solution for cleaning up any dirt or grime as they will not damage any of the guitars finish, you can use polishes or cleansers on your guitar too, but you must ensure that you check the product is designed specifically for dark, natural wood fingerboards and does not include silicone in its list of ingredients. Using a polish will give your guitar a shine and will make it look almost brand new.

Cleaning and Restringing

Knowing how to restring a guitar should be something all guitarists know how to do, however many can get it wrong and this can result in many issues when playing as strings can snap and poor intonation and tuning stability can also be an issue. If you are still struggling with restringing your guitar then pop into one of our stores and a member of our staff will help you by showing you how it’s done! This way you can save the trip and do it yourself.  There are methods for each type of guitar, and knowing how to restring them can benefit you for the future.

Cleaning your strings is pretty straightforward, using the microfiber cloth that you used on the body of your guitar, add rubbing alcohol and clean away! It really is as simple as that, however, if your strings are corroded you should really think about changing them to new ones as you can lose tonal qualities when they are ready to be changed.We have a range of strings available here at Rimmers, you must ensure you are buying the correct strings for the type of guitar you have.

Neck Alignment

The neck alignment is a pretty common issue that happens on Strats, Ibanez and pretty much any guitar that has a bolt-on neck. This is very simple to assess, begin by fretting the low E string at the first fret with one hand, and the twelfth fret with the other. Using a capo to free up one hand (or both, if you have two) is a good idea, otherwise, you might have to ask someone else to help you out a bit. Once you’ve got both areas of the string fretted, take out a ruler and measure the gap between the bottom of the string and the top of the seventh fret. If your neck relief is fine but you’re still having problems with the string height, then you should consider making adjustments to the nut or saddle.

If you are still unsure, visit one of our stores and our staff will be happy to help you!

Humidity

Wood, which most guitars are made of reacts to humidity and excess moisture can cause the wood to swell which will result in sharp fret ends and low buzzing action. Excess moisture causes the wood to swell, which can result in joins separating at various points of the guitar. Dryness, on the other hand, is potentially much more serious. When wood suffers from a severe lack of moisture it shrinks, which can result in cracks in the guitar’s top or a warped neck. To avoid any humidity problems you need to create a stable environment for your guitar. Ideally, you want a relative humidity of 45-55%. You should really try and control the humidity as once negative effects occur, you simply can not reverse them.

Storing Your Guitar

When you are not playing your guitar, the best solution is to store it, not only will this help to manage humidity but it will also provide a safer environment. Although your guitar might look great sitting on a stand, it only takes one disaster to ruin it all. Using a hard case will ensure long-term protection and can protect the guitar from any physical damage.

So they are just some essential steps to follow to ensure you are maintaining your guitar to a high quality, it is absolutely necessary to ensure you are protecting your instrument as you want the best results possible from it. If you require any additional help with your guitar, our friendly helpful staff across all of our stores will be happy to help you with the maintenance of your guitar! We have products in stock that you will need to ensure you are getting the best outcome from the maintenance you carry out.