Roadie Boot Camp for your gear!
When you are a musician or musical hobbyist or collector you always have to deal with caring for your gear. What you sometimes need is Roadie Boot Camp or Guitar Tech 101! Some things that always come up and need to be dealt with are:
Guitar strings: Always play your instrument with clean hands and wipe the strings with a soft cloth before you put it away. Use coated strings (see previous tip about Elixir Strings).
Storing your guitar: A lot of people like to keep instruments on a stand or a wall hanger for easy access. While this is great for easy access and not much of a problem with solid body electrics, for hollow body guitars especially acoustics in the dry heat of indoor New England, it is much better to keep the guitar in it’s case with a proper humidifier in the winter time. If an instrument is stored for any longer length of time the strings should be loosened to reduce strain on the neck. This applies to travel as well. Loose strings will minimize damage to the instrument if it’s mishandled by the airlines.
Cables:
Wrapping cables properly will extend their life 200%. Always loop cables into one hand with a slight twisting motion to counteract the tendency of the cable to twist. Make sure each loop lays flat against the next, make the loops about 8” in diameter and secure with a tie or Velcro strap.
Input jack and control pots on electric guitars:
The jack where you plug in your cable on a guitar has a nut that keeps it secure. This nut “always” comes loose from repeated use, plugging and unplugging. Keep an eye on it and keep it tightened with a small adjustable wrench or socket wrench. If it gets real loose it will put stress on the wires soldered to the jack and eventually they will break. If it’s really loose you sometimes need to remove the plate it is attached to so you can hold the jack while you tighten the nut otherwise the whole assembly will twist and break the connections. The same thing happens with the control pots. Through use they get loose. Pull the plastic dial off of the post and you will see a similar nut that keeps the assembly firmly in place. Tighten it in the same way as the input jack. It is harder to get at the assembly to hold it if it is really loose so be careful.
Fingerboard:
A couple of times a year it is a good idea to remove all the strings and clean the fingerboard. I use 0000 steel wool to clean the fingerboard and frets. Start from side to side between and over the frets and finish along the length of the neck with the grain. Make sure you are using 0000 steel wool anything more coarse will scratch too much and damage the fingerboard. Finish the process by applying a small amount of lemon oil with a paper towel and rubbing it in. This protects the wood and keeps it from drying out too much. Do not use this process for lacquered maple fingerboards only rosewood or ebony.
Finish:
As a general rule a soft cloth can be used to clean the finish on a regular basis. Once in a while a small amount of furniture polish or a product like Dr. Duck’s Ax Wax can be used. Put the polish on the cloth and rub it in. Don’t use too much. If the guitar ends up greasy and showing finger marks you used too much polish.
Amps:
If you run your amp a lot don’t leave it on for extended periods without using the “standby” mode when you are not playing. I have been guilty of this and nearly burned out the circuit board and chassis of my Fender Deluxe. This is not much of issue with solid state amps only with tube amps, there’s a lot of heat that builds up in those suckers. My amp tech says it is also a good idea not to leave a cable plugged in and dangling when the amp is not in use. When you pick it up to plug in, static electricity can cause damage to the input circuitry on the amp!
So, take care of your gear and it will give you years of musical pleasure and be a little easier on your pocketbook………see you next time…………PH
