Archive for the ‘Maintenance’ Category
Tuesday, July 29th, 2008
As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, there is nothing like putting on a new set of strings to really make your guitar sing. However, unless you have a roady, you don’t really want to spend the time to do this on a daily basis. Accordingly, do the next best thing: clean ‘em.
A Brooklyn-based company called ToneGear has recently released a product called “The String Cleaner,” which makes it a lot easier to clean your strings. The product has a portion that slides between the fingerboard and strings to enable a thorough cleaning from the top and bottom of the strings. Bottom line: your strings sound better and you get to re-string less. The product one a “Best in Show” award during NAMM ‘08 in Nashville and will be distributed by D’Addario to music stores everywhere.
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Tags: guitar, guitar string cleaning, guitar strings, Strings
Posted in Accessories, Maintenance | 2 Comments »
Friday, July 25th, 2008
A while back Dave and I were visiting Schoenberg Guitars in Tiburon, California checking out the great selection and we received a little trick of the trade that we’ll share with you.
One potential problem with a satin finish is that over time the oils and sweat in your fretting hand gradually build up on the neck of your guitar, creating a thin coat on your neck that isn’t always ideal for playing.
“Ought 4 steel wool” was the advice Eric gave and it worked like charm. I own a Martin Custom D Classic Mahogany with a satin finish that I tried it on and was able to rub off a lot of oil from the neck, giving it a very smooth, easy to play neck.
You can buy #0000 Steel Wool at Amazon or any local hardware store. Just take your time and do a little rubbing and then wipe clean. You may have to spend some time rubbing to perfection, but it definitely improved the feel of the neck.
Tags: guitar cleaning tips, steel wool
Posted in Maintenance | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 16th, 2008
Recently, our friend Sumir from Ramo Games was here at Fretbase. Of course, he was required to bring his guitar. After Brian and I played it a little, we complimented him on how good it sounded. “Thanks,” he said. “I just restrung it. It makes a huge difference.” For once, Sumir was right.
When you play your guitar, grease from your fingers and dust get into the windings of the strings and, over time, the strings sound less bright. Since this happens gradually, you don’t realize how much brilliance your strings have lost until you restring. At a minimum, you should restring every 2-3 months. Serious guitar players recommend restringing no more than once every six weeks. Professional guitarists will often restring before each performance. New strings dramatically improve the quality of sound you can get from your guitar. It only takes about ten minutes and all you need is a good wire cutter and a new set of strings.
So why not now? Here’s how…
Photo Credit: Rick Harris under a Creative Commons License
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Tags: D'Addario, D'Addario guitar strings, guitar, guitar strings, restring guitar, restringing
Posted in Maintenance | 2 Comments »
