Care for the Acoustic Guitar

By far, the most important thing you can do to protect your

acoustic guitar is to control the humidity of its environment. Ask

any guitar repair person. They are the ones who see, time and time

again, the damage done to guitars and other fretted instruments by

humidity levels which are too low.

Most acoustic guitars are the happiest in a relative humidity (RH)

above 40%. In fact, most acoustic guitars are built in a relative

humidity range of 45%-50%. The greatest danger to your guitar

occurs during the fall, winter and early spring. In cold

temperatures you need to heat your home; and when you heat your

home, the air in your home becomes drier. It can often drop to less

than half of the RH of the factory in which your guitar was built!

When the RH of your (and your guitar's) home descends to lower than

35%, all kinds of terrible things can happen. Cracks can occur in

the top, the bridge can lift from the top and the neck angle can

change. The warranties of most guitar manufacturers will exclude

guitars that have been stored in an inappropriate humidity. The

necessary repairs can be quite pricey.

The good news in all of this is that the solution is quite simple.

Store you guitar in a hardshell case and keep and maintain an

in-case humidifier. There are a number of different brands and

types of humidifiers on the market, in prices ranging from about

$12-$20. Check with your music dealer for the best one for you.

Don't forget to check and add water as often as necessary. If you

really want to keep on top of things, purchase a hygrometer (a

humidity meter). These can cost anywhere from $50 to $150, but an

economy model will be accurate enough.

Another important factor in caring for your instrument is, don't

use strings that are too heavy (thick). Most manufactures suggest

that you use light gauge strings, not mediums. Some players balk at

this, but the fact is, volume and tone are often more a matter of

playing technique than of string gauge. If you have a vintage

guitar, you might want to consider extra-lights. Another route you

can go (which I do with most of my vintage instruments), is to use

"silk and steel" strings. I think these are just wonderful, for a

number of reasons: but one is, they put much less stress on your

guitar. Read my article, "Acoustic Guitar Strings--The Merits of

Silk & Steel" at:

http://ezinearticles.com/?id=518535

One other important caution regarding the care of your guitar: If

you use a capo, do not leave the capo on the instrument when you're

not playing it. The capo, when clamped on the neck, holds the

strings down on the fretboard and creates extra tension on the neck

and the top of the guitar. All acoustic guitars are destined, at

some point in time, to have problems due to the tension of the

strings. Why hasten the process by leaving a capo clamped on your

guitar?

Taking these steps to care for your acoustic guitar may seem a bit

burdensome, at first. But if you start applying these principles

now, your guitar will give you many years of playing pleasure.

Copyright © 2007 Lee Griffith. All rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Lee Griffith is an avid acoustic guitar player and a vintage instrument enthusiast. He invites you to receive a FREE REPORT on a revolutionary acoustic guitar lesson kit, along with his weekly newsletter via email. just click on http://optin.flatpickpost.com

Check out Lee's blog, "The Flatpick Post" at http://flatpickpost.com

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