Topic: Multiple Guitar Care, but no time.

[Burke]

I know alot of you guys are guitar guys as well as bike guys. We like to keep all of our items tip-top and give them the best care possible.
I am the worst !
I have not had time to get out on my "bad motor scooter and ride" nor had time to care for my guitars or play them for that matter.
Sure my boss sent me to Vegas for a few days, but that was much needed time spent with my lovely wife, now back to reality!

The bikes will get cleaned and driven this weekend (weather pending, it's MI so it's most likely going to suck!)
I do have humidifers in their cases, and check them about once a week, if i'm lucky.
What do you guy's do that have mutiple geetars and not a chance to get to em'?
(I always dream that I forget the most important one, and it gets ruined!)

[Retro Rocket]

When you say that you have "humidifiers", do you mean silica bags to absorb moisture?
I just leave most of my guitars in their cases, i have some 30+ year old guitars and they are still in great condition for their age and i just clean them now and again with Lemon oil on the necks and some Mr Sheen {furniture polish} on the bodies.....

Mick

[Burke]

I have a "oasis" guitar humidifier in every case. In the summer here in MI it's not an issue, but in the winter it gets dry. I have them in a room in my basement and in the summer it is fairly humid,  here is another issue, I also have a series of amps down there, and it is damp during the summer. so I have dehumdifier going to keep them in shape.
I wish I could separate them, but I don't have the space at this time.
I am working both sides if the fence.
Anyone have a this issue, or am I over sensitive?

[scottly]

Loosen the strings! I damaged a very nice Alvarez 12 string because I put it, tuned, back into the case, in 90 degree, dry heat, and left it there over the cold dry winter. The next spring, the body had a crack in it and the bridge was pulled up. I got the bridge glued back down, and I only use 6 strings on it now. Still has a decent tone, but not as good as before....

[Retro Rocket]

Loosen the strings! I damaged a very nice Alvarez 12 string because I put it, tuned, back into the case, in 90 degree, dry heat, and left it there over the cold dry winter. The next spring, the body had a crack in it and the bridge was pulled up. I got the bridge glued back down, and I only use 6 strings on it now. Still has a decent tone, but not as good as before....

Hi Scottly, thats good advice for acoustic guitars but electrics are set up for the string tension and should have the strings on,  and at tension to keep the neck straight, i only loosen strings on electrics when i am shipping them.

Mick

[scottly]

Mick, what I suspect happened was when the strings cooled, they shrank and got tighter, much the same way telephone and power lines sag more when hot. I do leave a bit of tension, but I back the keys off a turn or two. Once burned, twice shy!
Scott

[Jinxracing]

It's not really a maintenance tip, but if your acoustic guitar has been sitting around for awhile without being played, it can "tighten up" (so I've been told). If I haven't touched mine for awhile I'll lean it up against a loud stereo speaker for a couple of hours to loosen it up. It always seems to sound better afterwards. It could be all in my head, but I figure every little bit helps.

[dave500]

hey my wife wants to get a cheap used acoustic to learn on and tinker with,i played guitars in primary school and thats about it,forgotten it all,but i still have my air guitar,so should she always slacken then retune hers or just leave it,she hasnt got one yet i suggested getting a cheap cheap used one first in case she loses interest,shes not real patient with hobbies.

[Retro Rocket]

Mick, what I suspect happened was when the strings cooled, they shrank and got tighter, much the same way telephone and power lines sag more when hot. I do leave a bit of tension, but I back the keys off a turn or two. Once burned, twice shy!
Scott

The neck joints on the acoustics is not as stable as an electric either Scottly, and also on an electric the rest of the body is solid so it resists the bending forces better and also the electric has a "truss rod" which maintains pressure on the neck, most acoustics don't but even if they did it wouldn't help the neck stability because of the thin timber in the body.....Lifting bridges are quite common on older and cheap acoustics.
I don't think many people realise that there is a couple of hundreds of pounds of string tension on a guitar, it can do a lot of damage over time.....Especially on acoustics...

Mick

[azuredesign]

I like the stereo speaker idea for acoustic instruments. Sounds good even if it only helps in one's own mind.
I have a lot of guitars and amps around. I try to keep humidity in the range of 50% +/- 10%, it's dry here in Boston in the winter as well, and muggy during the summers. I think perhaps the best thing to do is to check/play them every whenevertheheckyoucan. I keep everything I can at concert pitch(a=440) and see if there has been a change in the playing action. It's good to be able to adjust truss rod tension to compensate for humidity changes as needed and as well to be able to shim/adjust bridges in winter. I'm pretty sure there are great youtube guides for truss rod adjustment etc if you want a refresher course.

[Jinxracing]

A long time ago I heard that Paul Simon tunes his guitars half a step flat to take strain off the neck. I tried it with my guitars for a couple of years and just capoed them at the first fret. It did change the sound...I thought my electric guitars sounded better, but my acoustics sounded worse. They sure were easier to play though, and it was nice to know that they weren't trying quite as hard to bend themselves in half.

[tramp]

mine are hanging up on a hook
play them all the time
just oil them and go
my ovation is 35yrs old and still plays nice