How to care for your guitar

By jack shurmer

Tuning your guitar You should tune your guitar every time you pick it up . The easy way to do this is buy a guitar tuner like the one in the picture. You can also use other methods like pitch pipes. When tuning your guitar be careful not to snap your strings (which can hurt). You can tune it by turning the machine heads at the top of the guitar situated here.Keeping your eye on the guitar tuner you should tune each string (from left to right) e,a,d,g,b,e. Don’t overtune the strings as they can snap.

A tuner

Storage There are three main ways to

store your guitar: bags , stands and cases. Bags are the cheapest way to store your guitar but not as effective as a case or stand as its more for transport and not protection. Stands are more show pieces to show of your guitar but stops it from falling over. Hard cases are the best for protection but can be expensive.

Changing strings Once your strings have given up by

either snapping or just feel worn out, it’s time to change them. To start off you have to take the old ones off one at a time. Insert the new strings in through here……………………..

When they poke out of the other side, gently pull them through and guide them up to the tuning pegs. Put the end of the string through the hole in the tuning peg and gently wind the string on. Make sure theyre secure and sitting in the groove on the nut. Tune the string using a guitar tuner. Using pliers, cut the ends off the strings that are left hanging out of the tuning pegs. This makes your guitar look neat.

Cleaning your guitar Cleaning your guitar can not only

make it look great more but makes it sound great too. To start off you may want to take off the strings so you can get to the fret board to give it a good clean. You should use products made for guitar cleaning rather than household cleaners as they could damage your guitar. After you have cleaned the frets you should clean the body of your guitar making sure you get it as clean as possible. Take care cleaning around the pick-ups to avoid damaging them. When you are cleaning your guitar, check for any loose or missing screws and check that your tuning pegs are all secure and not loose.

Repair for your guitar

If the electrics in your guitar don’t seem to work (no sound), make sure that it is not an amp problem first. If you are sure there’s a problem with your guitars electrics, its much better to take it along to your local guitar repairer. It is not a good idea to play with the internal electrics unless you know what your doing – this could be dangerous! A local repairer can also do other things like adjusting the truss rod and making sure the action is ok. It’s a good idea to take your guitar to a professional for them to look at once a year.