***How to Care for your Guitar***

[Kahn]

I posted this in another thread, but I've added a lot to it since then.

Summer
Actually, you shouldn't keep a guitar in it's case during the summertime. In the summer (at least in the states where it gets pretty warm) you should keep your guitar on a stand away from a window. You should, however, case up your axe in the winter. Also, in places like Florida, Georgia, and Oklahoma where it get humid, a humidifier is a waste of time and money. Especially if the guitar is new. Excess moisture causes the top of the guitar to belly, pushing the bridge, and the strings upward. This makes the area between the nut and the saddle concave. But, if your guitar is indoors, you should have no problem. Exposure to bright sunlight for a period of time can also cause the top of your guitar to prematurley yellow. Also, never ever leave your guitar in the trunk of your car if you don't have to. Thats murder on wood. In places where the temp can exceed 150 degrees F (like your trunk) can cause the glue joints to loosen. Spruce tops contain miniscule pockets not visible to the naked eye. When temp is dramatically high, it causes the resins in the wood to attempt to escape from these pockets. This is not hard to repair. A luthier can sand and polish this away. However, proper care of your guitar will prevent this.

Winter
Winter is a real villian to guitars. Guitars are built with the back and top slightly arched. Excessive dryness can cause the wood to become flat or even concave. Finish will also distort, as the finish that fills the pores of the wood will pop up as the wood shrinks around it., causing small lumps to appear. Th only real need for a humidifier is in the winter months in dry states. Where I live, it stays humid all year, but a humidifier for your guitar room is much more effective than a little soundhole one. DO NOT hang your guitar on the wall in the winter, keep it in its case, and allow your guitar to warm up SLOWLY if it is cold.

Shipping
Never ship your guitar only in its case. Go to a music shop and ask for an empty cardboard shipping carton, they have plenty of them. packing should be crumpled newspaper stuffed very loosley around the case. It is dangerous to wedge the case in to tight. You should not take tension off the strings while shipping. Because the peghead with the machine heads are the heaviest part of the guitar, the string tension balances this stress along with the rest of the guitar. Without this tension, one good jar to the guitar (even with the most careful packing) and the guitar might arrive at its destination with the peghead sheared off at the nut! Inspect your guitar carefully while still at the airport, and make sure it has fragile stickers on it. That way if anything is damaged, it will have never left the arrival place and there will be no question as to whether or not it was damaged in the carrier's custody.

Summer Checklist
What to watch for:

-Swelling or distortion of the top
-Glue joints becoming more noticeable
-Finish that appears to be sinking
-High action
-Loss of sound quality

Winter Checklist
What to watch for:

-Sinking of top
-Flattening of back
-Finish roughness
-Protruding frets
-Gaps between wood and inlay
-Buzzing, excessivley low action



If your guitar has any of these symptoms, take it to a luthier immediatley.

[fatjack]

the things you own will end up owning you

[mangold]

Not bad, I'll add a truss rod tutorial if theres any interest

[ForksonKnives]

This is good stuff Kahn.

Not bad, I'll add a truss rod tutorial if theres any interest

Praisedave that would be awesome as well.

I've heard a lot of this stuff I think but its good to have it verified by people who actually know what they're doing.

[guitardmb]

About you not using humidifiers in the summer. The humidifier I have can be used to add moisture or take it away. Its like a sponge, and you put it in there dry for humid weather, and wet for dry weather. So the thing in there about it being useless to use a humidifier in the summer is a little inaccurate.

[Kahn]

About you not using humidifiers in the summer. The humidifier I have can be used to add moisture or take it away. Its like a sponge, and you put it in there dry for humid weather, and wet for dry weather. So the thing in there about it being useless to use a humidifier in the summer is a little inaccurate.

I double checked all this information with a luthier. Taking away moisture from a guitar could shrink the wood and give you wintertime problems in the summer. I suggest giong to home depot and buying a humidimometer (word?). Most households in the summer are at the right humidity for a guitar. I promise, unless you live in the sahara, a humidifier in the summer is pointless, according to 3 different luthiers at least.

[sk8r]

About you not using humidifiers in the summer. The humidifier I have can be used to add moisture or take it away. Its like a sponge, and you put it in there dry for humid weather, and wet for dry weather. So the thing in there about it being useless to use a humidifier in the summer is a little inaccurate.

also known as dehumidification

[hcole]

humidimometer (word?).

hygrometer is the device that measures relative humidity.

[Kahn]

humidimometer (word?).

hygrometer is the device that measures relative humidity.

thank you

[Coldchillin]

It damn well should be "humidimometer". That is fun to say

[Kahn]

top

[c_tietze]

humidimometer (word?).

hygrometer is the device that measures relative humidity.

Which is key to have if you have a really quality/expensive instrument.

[czech]

wrong thread i'm sure,

But I have noticed that my action from the 8th fret on seems to be much higher than when I got my guitar around 9 months ago.

I keep it just on a stand in my room with my windows open approximately 19 hours a day.

A: what can I do to get this fixed? should I wait till I kill my next set of strings (one lasst pack of elixers) and then bring it to a shop?

B: how much do you think it will cost to fix the action?

C: is this caused by leaving it out in the dry san diego climate? should I keep in in my gig bag?

[Reckless]

About you not using humidifiers in the summer. The humidifier I have can be used to add moisture or take it away. Its like a sponge, and you put it in there dry for humid weather, and wet for dry weather. So the thing in there about it being useless to use a humidifier in the summer is a little inaccurate.

I double checked all this information with a luthier. Taking away moisture from a guitar could shrink the wood and give you wintertime problems in the summer. I suggest giong to home depot and buying a humidimometer (word?). Most households in the summer are at the right humidity for a guitar. I promise, unless you live in the sahara, a humidifier in the summer is pointless, according to 3 different luthiers at least.

I was worried about this too. I've had my guitar in Virginia and Dallas (both very humid places) so I never worried about it. I'm in El Paso for the summer, and it's very dry here (desert environment). I was thinking about buying a humidifier for the summer, but I'll trust your word and hold off on the purchase.

[thejoe]

"Without this tension, one good jar to the guitar (even with the most careful packing) and the guitar might arrive at its destination with the peghead sheared off at the nut!"

that sounds extreemly far-fetched