How to care for a guitar and how to store the instrument at home?
The form of a guitar is often compared with bendsfemale body. Indeed, it is a beautiful musical instrument from which the master can extract stunning sounds. But also care of the guitar should be as careful as the attitude to the beloved woman. The main secrets will be discussed later in the article.
How to care for a guitar and what details to pay special attention to?
The guitar consists of several composite elements, and each of them in its own way "suffers" during use:
- Strings. Of course, it's easiest to replace them with new ones after the N-th time of the game, but this is not necessary.
- Gryphon and ladder paddles. The musician's hands inevitably sweat during the game, which means that sweat and sebum will contaminate these elements. Hence - and a bad sound (sweat gradually corrodes the paddles, a process similar to corrosion occurs), and the unaesthetic appearance of the instrument (the wood of the fretboard will darken, it will look oily).
- Other metal guitar elements. Here the problem is the same as with the ladder paddles, the destructive influence of sweat falling on the metal.
- Tool body. In the process of use on the body, cracks, chips, varnish may fade, and become stained. This is often the result of improper storage. The guitar should be watched with extreme attention, if you want the instrument to serve you faithfully for a long time.
Now that we've found out what problems can affect any particular guitar elements, let's move directly to the subtleties of caring for your pet.
Care in detail
How to care for the guitar in the part of cleaning the strings? To avoid the formation of deposits consisting of dust, sweat and small particles of the skin of your hands, use a dry clean cotton cloth after each play session, for example, an ordinary handkerchief.
Next - ladle paddles. To polish them to shine is very convenient with the help of steel wool.
How to store a guitar so that its neck is always inperfect condition? Regularly clean it from sweat and sebum. Important: the neck is cleaned only with strings removed, for example, when you decide to change them. By the way, good strings, like full guitar kits, can be bought in an online store at . There you can also consult about the peculiarities of the care of the instrument.
So, the varnished vultures are cleaned with specialmeans for varnish surfaces. But for the care of non-lacquered use lemon or weapon oil. Just distribute a few drops of the product over the bar and rub the surface with a soft cotton cloth.
The metal elements of the guitar are cleaned with ordinary engine oil. A soft toothbrush will help to reach the grooves. Make sure that the oil does not fall on the wooden tool housing!
Finally, let's talk about caring for the guitar body. If it is varnished, then first wipe it with a cloth soaked in a mild detergent solution. When the body dries, treat it with polish. It will help smooth out small cracks and scratches on the varnish, make the surface shiny. Rub the polish in a circular motion with the same cotton cloth.
If the body is not lacquered, then dry cleaning and treatment with special oils and waxes is used.
How correctly to store a guitar?
The guitar is mostly made of wood, and it is very sensitive to changes in humidity and air temperature. Hence - and the requirements for storage tools. So, how to store the guitar at home?
- Requirements for temperature - plus 10-25 ° C, to humidity - 50-60%. If you exceed these figures, the lacquer layer may begin to soften, the wood may swell and crumble.
- Keep the guitar away from windows and heating devices (at least 1.5 meters).
- The instrument must not be exposed to direct sunlight.
- The fact that a soft case will protect the guitar when it hits or falls is a misconception. Much better with this will cope with a hard case.
- Do not think that by closing the guitar in a sealeda case (a box, a bag, etc.), you will save it from dust and other aggressive factors of the environment. It can literally suffocate, so that the cover must be ajar - for proper air circulation.
- Do not forget to loosen the strings if you leave the guitar for long storage (more than 1 month).
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