Would you give up 3 minutes of your time to learn how to maintain your guitar and accessories? This article will discuss guitar maintenance comprehensively.

1. The strings:

The learner guitar player should pay special attention to the strings. Properly maintained guitar strings are important, because changing strings during a chord progression is very annoying. If you play guitar frequently, changing strings will become second nature. You should tune the new strings to pitch and let them stretch before re-tuning and playing. You should never cut or trim a string installing and tuning it to pitch.

You will able to prolong the life of the strings after playing by wiping them with a clean soft dry cloth. Steel strings tend to absorb sweat. In time they rust and break. For this very reason you should wash your hands and dry them before you play.

I recommend that when an individual string breaks, you should replace them all. A new string will sound totally unlike the older strings. By replacing the strings often, they will retain their brilliance and intonation. Store your unused strings in a dry place.

2. The neck

The neck is a part that can damage very easily. Never place it upright against a wall. If the guitar falls over you will regret it especially if it’s a Gibson or Fender. Repairing the neck is rather expensive and your guitar will never be the same. Psychologically you’ll always know your guitar was damaged by your own negligence. After playing guitar put it away on a guitar stand. Put the guitar inside it’s bag.

3.The fretboard:

The only thing you need to extend the life of the fretboard is a soft clean dry cloth. You should wipe between the strings and fingerboard thereby effectively reducing the wear on the frets and fretboard. The number one enemy of a guitar is dust particles combined with sweat residue. Make a point of it to clean before and after playing guitar.

4.Accessories:

Look after your foot pedals by storing them away from children. This also applies to your guitar and amplifier. If you play in the garage or basement, you must lock the room after jamming with your fellow musicians. Children are curious by nature and you should not have to suffer damage as a result of this. You don’t want to be angry at your younger brother, sister or your own siblings. The only person to blame will yourself.

You must ensure that you don’t tangle the electrical chords, thereby subjecting them to unnecessary wear and tear. If your guitar amp sounds horrible, call in an experienced technician to replace the tubes.

Apply these tips and you’ll have many joyful years of playing guitar. It is a remarkable instrument that must be respected. The guitar changed our dull lives for the better. To all guitarists past and present, we salute you. You wrote the soundtrack to our lives.

Joe