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Care and Maintenance of Guitars
It's not surprising that
proper care of your guitar will give you a more consistent
quality sound and a much longer guitar life. If you
are serious about playing guitar you will want to get
some accessories that are essential for the care of
the guitar. A guitar player is only as good as the sound
and the quality of the guitar he is playing.
The first item would be a hard shell
case for transporting the guitar to and from the different
locations that you will be playing the guitar. Many
people use what they call soft or cloth "gig bag"
which zip up and protect the exterior surface of the
guitar. A major problem with this type of case is that
the tuning nuts on the end of the neck of the guitar
get out of tune almost every time you transport it as
there is nothing to protect them from being bumped which
causes them to turn and get out of tune. Also, if there
is any kind of impact while loading and unloading the
guitar, this could cause cracks or actual punctures
in the body of the guitar. A hard shell case prevents
these things from happening as there is space between
the neck and body of the guitar and the actual case.
The case is designed to take impact while holding the
guitar securely on the inside protecting the actual
body and neck of the guitar and keeping it in tune.
It is a bit more of an investment than a gig bag but
in the long run it will help to make your guitar last
much longer.
Another item that should be considered
for care of the guitar is a guitar stand. You need this
to put the guitar on while you are not playing it. Many
people lean the guitar against a wall or couch or some
other stationary object when they are not playing it.
There are a couple of reasons why this is not a good
practice. The first would be that if you do not lean
the guitar in the correct manner you can very easily
warp the neck of the guitar which makes it much more
difficult to play. Warping of the neck increases the
distance between the strings and the neck which causes
you to have to apply more force on the strings while
playing. This can make for some very sore and blistered
fingers! Also, leaving the guitar laying around makes
it much more available for accidents to happen. Having
a stand keeps the guitar in the same location when you
are done with it and also supports the neck close to
the body of the guitar which totally prevents warping
of the neck - a small investment solving some big problems.
The last item that should be considered
is an actual tuning device for the guitar. You will
find that the longer you play the guitar the better
you will become at tuning it by just using your ear.
But for starting out, you will want to use something
that gives you the exact sound and gives the guitar
an accurate tune up. There are many devices that you
can get that are very easy to use which will give you
the exact tuning you need. When your guitar is not tuned
correctly this can be very embarrassing - especially
if you are singing along with the guitar!
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