How to care for your guitar

You've picked out your favorite guitar from the shop. You've brought it home and given it a name. We all have names for our guitars, right? Now you want to learn how to keep your baby in good condition forever. Think of your guitar like white wine, conditioned properly it'll taste better in 20 years. Follow these tips below and you'll find that the wood aging process will help your guitar sound better than when you purchased it.

Guitar Maintenance 101

The Strings

Taking care of the guitar strings is important. It'll keep your guitar sounding great for months and save you money from purchasing new strings. That being said you should replace your strings before recording music, before live performances (except if you are touring then maybe every few concerts) and anytime when the sound of your guitar seems dull. To maintain your stings be sure to wipe them down with a cloth after playing. This will remove any oil and debris that has gotten onto the string while playing. There are conditioners you can use but they aren't necessary. It's also a good idea to wipe down the back of the neck of the guitar at this time.

The fretboard

Maintaining the fretboard can be tricky but your best plan of attack is to clean it when replacing the strings. For this a thorough scrubbing is needed to get the junk out from the crevasses between the frets and the wood surface. Use a damp cloth for this job but be sure to dry out the wood. For this task I recommend a conditioner. It'll help the wood keep the moisture it needs and can provide an extra layer of protection from dirt and grime.

The body of the guitar

This is the easiest part. A simple wipe down of the surface should do you. Every few months it's also a good idea to use a conditioner here as well.

Hardware

On the electric guitar you'll have more to do here then on the acoustic guitar. This first thing for you to do is to make sure all screws, nuts and bolts are tightened. Careful not to over-tighten as this can damage sensitive parts. Your second task is to polish the metallic parts. A wipe with a damp cloth should be enough but you can get metal polish as well. Be sure to test an area first.

Storage

This last maintenance tip is probably the most important but one that many of beginning music students are unaware of. Storage of a guitar can make or brake it's sound. This is because wood is quite sensitive to changes in weather. These tips work well for anyone but are most important for those who live in Northern climates such as Canada because of the extreme weather changes. Just like white wine in the summer you'll want to keep your guitar in a cool and dry place. Leaving it in the sun is a bad idea. So is leaving it in your car. The winter is almost the opposite. Keep it in a warm place that is shielded from the elements. You also want to keep the humidity at a consistent level. A good option for this is a sound hole humidifier. Well, there you have it guitar maintenance 101.