Maintain Your Instrument

thehipcola · Post by **thehipcola** » Sun Apr 03, 2005 5:37 pm

So I've just purchased my first new guitar in 16 years. Epiphone Dot. I love it....man oh man...it's SWEET.

Ok...gush over. My question is this- What do people do to maintain their instruments?

Specifically, I used to use this stuff called Fast Fret, by GHS... it 'cleaned' my strings and slicked 'em up so I could play super fast, minimal string noise. Is this a bad thing? Does it kill my neck? What do you think?

I've never cared before now, but since I just dropped a few bucks on this baby, I kind of want to not screw it up with some shitty lubricant/cleaner that'll hurt it.

Also, anyone know of any good reference material for setting up one's guitar? I mean in terms of intonation etc... I'd like to not pay someone to do all this, as I'm sure I can do it. But I'd rather learn from referred sources as opposed to Bob's Guitar Setup webpage, know what I mean?

Thanks!

ken · Post by **ken** » Sun Apr 03, 2005 11:05 pm

The best way to take care of your guitar is to keep it in conditions similar to your body. Don't leave it in the cold or heat. Keep it in the case when you aren't using it. Those kinds of things. I've got a friend with a vintage Telecaster that likes to use scrubbing bubbles on his neck to clean his strings, so I'm sure your product is fine. I think it is very worthwhile to find a guitar tech that you trust. Let them set up your guitar. You probably won't do it all that often, if ever again, so it is worth it to do it right the first time.

Ken

thehipcola · Post by **thehipcola** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 8:49 am

Thanks Ken!

joshw · Post by **joshw** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 8:58 am

I don't know jack about maintaining an electric, but as for the strings, try Elixirs. They last longer, and the string coating kills the noise that you mention and speeds up playing without having to spray goop on them. Wipe your strings after every use to get the finger oils off. And since the unwound strings tend to crust up a lot quicker than the lower strings, use a fine-ish grain sandpaper on them to buy yourself a little of extra time until the wound strings lose their tone. I'm sure there's a better way, but I've been doing it for ages and it works well.

thehipcola · Post by **thehipcola** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 10:07 am

Thanks Josh, I wasn't aware the Elixir made strings for electric too. I'll definitely try those.

Sober · Post by **Sober** » Fri Apr 08, 2005 10:26 pm

Fast fret is fine, and it won't damage the neck at all.

Lemon oil is great for rosewood fingerboards, which your dot has. Don't put that stuff on maple, though.

Rosewood is a very oily wood, and if it dries out, the tiny cracks where the oil used to be will be replaced by water, which will expand and contract greatly with temperature changes. In extreme cases, this can cause cracking and splitting in the fingerboard. On acoustics, it's even more important to keep a rosewood bridge oiled, as it doesn't get oiled by the sweat from your fingers like the neck does.

Basically, you should get a little bottle of that lemon oil polish stuff and spray it on every time you change your strings. This will keep the board looking, feeling, and smelling good. It'll increase the life of the guitar by decades, too.

Also, the dot is nice. I was going to get one until I got my Sheraton.

Oh, and the elixir electrics aren't really worth it in my opinion. The coating actually weakens the tone a little bit, and they're only marginally easier on your fingers. Plus they don't make them in 11's

Caravan Ray · Post by **Caravan Ray** » Sat Apr 09, 2005 12:33 am

ken wrote:The best way to take care of your guitar is to keep it in conditions similar to your body.

Yep, generous and regular application of beer and chicken vindaloo keep both me and my Martin DCX1E in tip-top shape.

Sober · Post by **Sober** » Sun Apr 10, 2005 6:56 pm

Oh, and fast fret is great stuff. I spray it on every acoustic we open at my work. People will buy more guitars if they're easier to play. And no, it won't hurt your guitar.

toddlans · Post by **toddlans** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 12:50 am

The Sober Irishman wrote:Oh, and fast fret is great stuff. I spray it on every acoustic we open at my work. People will buy more guitars if they're easier to play. And no, it won't hurt your guitar.

so fast fret comes in a spray now? I used to use it a really long time ago and it came in a metal tube with a wooden thing inside that had a big felt type tip that you'd run over your strings length-wise with. it was good stuff, but i just quit buying it because it seemed like it was becoming an unnesessary expense for how often i changed my strings anyway. it is good stuff though.

toddlans · Post by **toddlans** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 1:24 am

Oh, and the elixir electrics aren't really worth it in my opinion. The coating actually weakens the tone a little bit, and they're only marginally easier on your fingers. Plus they don't make them in 11's

right on, they don't sound good to me at all (though the difference isn't all that much). and I have to have 11's and sometimes even thicker. I used to not mind them on acoustic and they seemed to last a little longer, but i really don't like them anymore either. plus they were a bit pricier than other sets i like more anyway. i usually use thomastik-infeld for my heavier sets, and d'addrio for my 11's, the jazz-rocks, which are dirt cheap, and john pearse .012(lights) for general playing on my one acoustic, and .013(mediums) for recording.

thehipcola · Post by **thehipcola** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 5:48 am

i didn't know it came in a spray either....thought it was a rub-on kind of thing. Thanks for the tips everyone! I'll be picking up some of that Lemon seed oil for sure, and I'm glad to know that Fast Fret won't damage my guitar.

Cheers!