4 Tips For Maximizing the Lifespan of Your Acoustic Guitar

4 Tips For Maximizing the Lifespan of Your Acoustic Guitar Suzy S. Whether your acoustic guitar is brand new or gently used, you can do a few simple things to keep it in great condition! Follow these tips from guitar teacher Samuel B. to get the most out of your acoustic guitar Lets face it. Acoustic guitars can be an outright nuisance to keep in shape. Theyre delicate, sensitive to both humidity and temperature patterns, and often have weak central support. While the desire to keep yours both easily accessible and on display in a stand or on a rack is more than understandable, doing so increases its vulnerability. A few simple storage and maintenance provisions will prolong its shelf life and reduce (if not altogether eliminate) the need for repairs. 1. Keep it in the case when youre not playing. Although I recommend a hard shell case, any padded one will do just fine. The trick here is to keep your instrument out of the open air while youre not playing it. An unpadded soft shell case will not be much help here. Find a trustworthy robust alternative to protect your instrument. 2. Be sure your strings are the proper gauge. Installing over-sized strings is a very easy way of creating otherwise avoidable bends in the neck. My experience has been that most acoustic guitars (at the least the ones Ive played â€" Takamines and Martins) are light gauge friendly. Some of the more robust models (such as Guilds for example) rely on a heavier gauge of guitar string for optimal sound. Its best to find out as much information as possible about a models gauge compatibility before purchasing it. If you have questions about the right gauge of string for your guitar, talk to your guitar teacher or chat with an expert at a local guitar shop. 3. Keep the truss rod tight. The truss rod is the thin metal shaft aligned with (and within) the neck adjustable with an allen wrench. “Lefty loosey, righty tighty” is the relevant mnemonic device. Although Ive heard opinions on both sides of the fence here with regard to whether it should be regularly tightened or regularly loosened, Ive had the best results by checking it for tightness (for resistance to a clockwise turn in other words) in the middle of every string change. If youre not sure your truss rod is at the right level of resistance, you can always have it looked at by a professional. 4. Change strings as infrequently as possible. This may come as a surprise, but a college bandmate brought this to my attention at one point. While its true that professional musicians change strings after every performance, an instrument being used in a mostly non-performance capacity does not need this level of maintenance. As a matter of fact, changing strings too often is actually not good for an instrument that isnt receiving regular full-length concert treatment. Nightly string changes are perfectly appropriate for instruments like Willie Nelsons “Trigger”, Bruce Springsteens “Excalibur”, and Neil Youngs “Old Black.” After all, these three are regular conduits of colossal energy and need to be equipped with the appropriate elements to support it. However, an instrument being used for lessons, wood-shedding, or songwriting does not need this attention and actually benefits structurally from having the same set of strings retained for as long as possible. Samuel B. teaches beginner  guitar lessons in Austin, TX. He teaches lessons face-to-face without sheet music, which is his adaptation of Japanese instruction (involving a call-and-response method).  Learn more about Samuel here! Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher Photo by Brett Jordan