Caring for your guitar is key to its longevity in both appearance and sound. Though guitars are fairly low maintenance, every guitar player should practice maintain their guitar in order to keep it in the best condition

Follow the below easy steps to keep your guitars in great condition

CHANGING THE STRINGS

It’s obvious, changing the strings on your guitar will keep it sounding crisp and full. Strings lose their sound quality over time and the more you play your guitar, the faster the quality will deteriorate.

Now, of course the frequency of which you change your strings will vary depending on much you play. Assuming you play an hour a day, you’ll probably want to change your strings once every 45 Days.

CLEAN THE FRETBOARD WHEN CHANGING STRINGS

Oils, dust, and dirt build up on any guitar over time. That’s why it’s a good idea to clean your fretboard every time you change the strings. To do this, start by removing all of the strings and scraping the fretboard gently with a credit card.

Remove the dirt and grime that comes loose and go over the fretboard again with a soft bristle toothbrush. After that, wipe down the fretboard with a soft cloth to remove any additional dirt.

If your guitar has a rosewood neck you can then use a bit of lemon oil and wipe the neck down again. Alternatively, for guitars with maple necks you can wipe down the fretboard with either Dunlop 65 guitar polish or some lighter fluid.

WIPE DOWN YOUR FRETBOARD AFTER EVERY USE

Wiping down your fretboard after each time you play will help reduce the build up of those unwanted elements, making the cleaning of your fretboard less of a hassle.

To do this, simply take a piece of paper towel, fold it in half lengthwise and wrap it under and over your strings as shown in the above image. Apply downward pressure and glide the paper towel a couple of times along the strings from the bridge to the nut of the guitar.

DON’T LEAVE YOUR INSTRUMENTS IN EXCESSIVELY HOT OR COLD ENVIRONMENTS

Varying temperatures can expand and contract the wood of your guitar resulting in unpleasant outcomes. Overexposure to sunlight can also cause the finish on your guitar to fade, making it look less cosmetically appealing. Additionally, a dip in temperature can cause adverse effects to the alignment of your guitar neck, therefore sometimes requiring you to tinker with the truss rod to correct alignment. That’s why it’s important to try your best to keep your guitar somewhere with a stable room temperature.

CLEAN AND POLISH YOUR GUITAR

In order to keep your guitar looking in pristine condition, it’s important to regularly use a cleaning solution and polisher that will make your guitar shine and enhance the look of the wood. A good rule of thumb is to clean and polish your guitar on a bi-weekly basis. This will also help increase its resale value in the event you want to sell it down the road. The Dunlop 654 guitar polish is a great product to use for polishing your guitar’s body.

BE CAREFUL NOT TO SCRATCH OR DAMAGE YOUR GUITAR

When playing your guitar be aware of what you’re wearing so that you don’t accidentally scratch or damage your guitar. Belts, rings, zipper jackets, necklaces are all examples of things that should be taken off before picking up a guitar. You might not even notice it but when you’re playing your favourite song and these hard surfaces rub together you could end up with some nasty scratches on your brand new Guitar!