Alright I am getting my first acoustic in a few weeks. Its fairly expensive ($650 USD) so I want to care for it proporley. What should I know?

Do you keep it in a hard shell case at all times when not playing?

Whats is all this about humidity? What is the ideal humidity and how do I keep it there?

Basically I want to know everything I should do to keep this guitar looking and playing like it is brand new.

Thanks...

It's a good idea to keep them in a hardshell case, it's the most ideal way to keep your guitar safe. But it's not going to kill it if you leave it on a guitar stand a good chunk of the time, you just have to be wary of someone bumping into it or something like that.

The humidity factor can be a fairl important one. Too high or too low of a humidity level could severly mess with the wood of the guitar if you leave it in that condition for a long time. You can buy a humidifier for an entire room at Lowes or somewhere like that. But if its just one guitar, and you don't want to fork out alot of money for a big you, there are some websites that sell humidifiers that rest inside the case with the guitar.

Overall, if you care for them like you would an electric guitar, with just a few added things, the guitar should be more than fine. Guitars are delicate, yes, but not as much as everyone thinks.

What guitar are you getting, if you don't mind me asking??

P.S.
There is a certain humidity percentage out there, I think its somewhere around 50%, but don't quote me on that. Ninjato or dadfad would probably know, though.

Here's a link to the Martin guitar company's info.

I use this as a bible for guitar storage.

http://www.acousticfingerstyle.com/CareAndFeeding.htm

It's okay to leave it out for fairly extended periods (if there are no extremely adverse conditions where it's being kept. Dry forced-air winter heat can be a little rough if you don't have a home or room humidifier) Put it in your case after playing it each time for a few days (with an in-case humidifier) and that's usually enough. A cheap alternative to a store-bought in-case humidifier is to take a plastic container (like say a plastic snuff-container) and cut a piece of sponge to fit inside. Punch a bunch of holes in the top, and keep the sponge moist and in your case. Cheaper (and tackier!) still, a damp wash-cloth kept loosely inside a plastic baggie in the case. An under-humidified guitar can have the wood of neck slightly shrink (the frets will then feel slightly too long on the sides) and eventually even lead to cracks in the wood if not corrected. Usually putting the guitar back in the case for awhile (or in a place with more humidity) will correct it with no problems.


Too damp of conditions can cause problems too, but just generally that the guitar will sound "dead" until it dries out a bit. Very temporary. However, extreme humidity especially when coupled with heat can cause major issues too. (A year or two ago I left a vintage Gibson J-45 sitting in its stand inside my motel-room in West Virginia. The room was airconditioned. The weather there had been extremely (and I mean EXTREMELY) hot and humid (high nineties in both temp and humidity). I actually left it out on a stand in my air-conditioned room specifically so it could "dry out" a bit, as using it in all that humidity had caused it to sound a little dead. Anyway, when I left in the morning to do a guitar-workshop, I took another guitar (I'd brought six or seven), the maid came in to do my room and turned off the AC when she left. When I got back that evening the room was sweltering, and from the heat and humidity my guitar's glue had started to "creep" and the neck had started to bow upward at the joint, which caused the top and purfling to separate from the sides near the top as well as loosening a couple of internal top-braces. Major repair work (neck removal, top and purfling repair and re-glue and re-clamp, braces re-glue, neck re-set and re-glue, etc, etc) that I'm just now getting around to completing. (I was really pissed-off about it but I didn't want to b!tch and get the maid in trouble. She didn't know, and she was probably just doing what she'd been told to do when she found a room empty with the AC on. So I just mentioned to her the next day not to turn it off any more because my guitars couldn't take the heat.)

Anyway, generally speaking your guitar can stand a few days out of its case unless there are extreme conditions. I keep a number of guitars hanging on my walls for extended periods of time (but I do have a home humidifier). Reasonable care is all it takes. You should have no problems.



(And now I just clicked and read Jim's link above. That's a "keeper.")

Thanks guys1

I am getting a Epiphone Masterbuilt DR-500R. Its a dreadnaught with solid rosewood back and sides with a solid sikita spruce top. Its soposed to be a relic of the old Gibsons. And only for $600 USD!

I have heard good things about Epiphone's Masterbuilt series from several people. Far superior to the "regular" Epiphones with quality approaching and often as good as Gibson's. I've only played one, a... AJ-50 maybe? (the one that looks like a Gibson Sunburst J-45 anyway) and it felt and sounded close to a new Gibson J-45. (I didn't have a new Gibson there to compare it to.) The person who owned it said the set-up wasn't great when he got it new but he had no problem setting it up perfectly with a minor truss-rod adjustment. The only problem I had with it compared to a Gibson J-45 (not really a "problem," just my personal preference) was that it had a 25 1/2" scale (instead of my preferred 24 3/4" scale length). Anyway, the Masterbuilts are supposed to have a lot more care taken in their construction, all solid woods, etc. Sounds like you'll be getting a pretty nice instrument at a good price. Congratulations.

You played the Sunburst AJ-500M.

Its a advanced jumbo with mahogany back and sides. I am going for a rosewood dreadnought.

Ya these things stay in stores for 2 days max they sell out so quickly. I have heard nothing but good things about them. They are so popular. They have none in my city and none in Nashville or Illinois.

I am getting mine offline from Musicians Friend.

How much will a nice in case humidifier run me?

Ten or twenty dollars maybe. But using a plastic snuff-container like I mentioned above with a sponge inside really is a good option. I have five or six of them in different guitar cases. (And only two store-bought ones). (A guy at work who uses snuff sometimes gives me containers when I want them (handy for other things too!) Anyway, it's not like a store-bought one is all that expensive anyway though!

Alright, cool thanks.

So whats a snuff container?

Snuff is like tobacco ground up really fine (often flavored with menthol, cherry, etc) where you can take a pinch and put it inside your mouth near your cheek for the flavor (originally people used to actually snort it, like coke or something, but that's rare nowadays.) It's sometimes called "smokeless tobacco." Most often it comes in little round plastic containers nowadays (like Skoal ©, etc.) with a little pop-on top. You can cut a sponge into a little disc the size of the container fitting snuggly inside, poke a zillion (maybe half a zillion!) holes in the top with something like a thin nail, circle-compass or whatever, and then just keep the sponge sort of moist. (Usually every week or two add a little moisture to it).

I have the AJ-500R and I use the Planetwaves Humidipak. It's awesome and easy to use. It'll run you about 20-30 bucks, and I couldn't find it on Musiciansfriend.

I usually keep it in it's case unless I'm playing it a lot for whatever reason.

I probbly buy this at a Guitar Centre actually now as MF is charging mad shipping charges plus duty at the border.

Since you cant legally buy a tin, i'd go with an altoids container. Probably cheaper too lol

And they do sell some kind of crap-candy in the same kind of plastic container as snuff. I've seen it on a store candy-shelf before, like at a 7-11 or something. Plastic might hold up better than metal. (Do Altoids come in plastic?)

Alright thanks.

Turns out a local place is ordering me my guitar and it should be here Monday or Tuesday.

You might be able to get a local shop to throw in a humidifier, or at least drop the price. They gave me 10 bucks off mine, and gave me a spare set of the gel packs.

What are the gel packs for?

Ya these dudes are trying to sell it for $715 Canadain. In the US its going for $600. So with out dollar just as strong as yours if not stronger I am getting ripped off.

So I am paying $630 tops. I am also paying cash so maybe I will a get a few freebies.

The Humidpak uses 3 gel packs to control the humidity of the guitar. Not sure of the exact details or physics of it, but it works!

Notta clue, but when i was little i remember getting 'Bubble Tape' in a plastic thing lol

I use a room humidifier. I went thru one winter using DAMPITS but that got to be a chore.

I got her today.

$850...guitar...hard shell case...humidifier...picks and a speaker cable.

Awesome... How are you liking her so far?

I am loving it. It is the one with gold hardware.

Acoustics are so sick. I love electrics but its so nice being able to play anywhere and not have to plug into 8 million things.

I can post pics if anyone wants.

I'd like to see them, even though I have the same guitar . What finish did you go with?

Satin Gold with gold hardware...

I kinda wish I had gone with that finish, but they were out of it at the shop I bought it from. I went with the reddish sunburst. I'll try to get some pictures up when I get home.

They are great guitars for bluegrass and folk, and actually sound pretty good in Open G with a slide.

I have only tried mine in standard E with classic rock and blusey stuff.

I am curious to see your finish.

That looks real nice. I still have yet to try one of those. Do they make cutaways?...I'm a little against non-cutaways.

Not on the dreadnaught or advanced jumbos they do however on they do have them on the "finger picking" ones.

Fingerpicking ones? There's actually a specific guitar made for fingerpicking ???

Well they don't out right say they are finger picking guitars but in the description of them they say that is what they are best before.

They only have 2 with cutaways and they have small bodies.

That is exactly what I was afraid of. Damn.

Why? Would you actually get one?

yeah...was thinking about it.

Guitars that are a tad wider at the nut and have slightly wider string spacing at the saddle are prefered by some fingerpickers. Just more room for your fingers, especially if you have big hands. As for guitar care, guitars prefer the same conditions we do - a temp. of about 70F/20C ("room temp.") and a relative humidity of about 50 - 60%.

The story of guitar care starts with the storage. Common necessity is the good storage system of the instrument, which will protect the guitar from any kind of physical damage. For this the guitar needs a well fitted guitar case. Keeping it in a case will prevent it from various kinds of damages like scratching, mistreatment, accidental hitting, stepping etc. Other than this, a case will be a good safeguard while traveling with the guitar as it will prevent the instrument from heat and direct sunlight, which basically makes the wood dry, cracked and brittle.

Next with it comes the storing of the guitar. The perfect or the suitable temperature to keep the instrument is the room temperature (i.e. between 55-65 degrees Fahrenheit). This will save it from the effects of the climatic changes. Even using a humidifying system helps keeping the instrument safe.

Switching over to the next procedure of guitar care, it is the cleaning. Definitely it should be cleaned everyday and of course after every use. First of all, a soft cotton cloth should be used for cleaning as well polishing the guitar. Coming to the cleaning of the strings, it is a must to wipe them after each use as it will lengthen the tonal life of the strings.

In case of fingerprints, stains or any other kind of dirt on the body of the guitar, huff some breath on the surface and follow it with wipe. This will remove them. If more powerful cleaning is needed, the cloth can be moistened with little bit of water mixed with mild detergent. There are lots of guitar polishes and cleaners available in the market, which can be used for guitar care.

An old guitar needs much more care than the new one. To remove the stickiness, the solvent of mineral spirit or naphtha can be used with the help of a disposable cloth. To clean the fingerboard especially, lemon oil or any other oily cleaner can be used. But it should be kept in mind that too much of oiling and scrubbing may damage the instrument.

Adding to the guitar care process one of the important things is changing the guitar strings. When the strings start sounding dull, it is time to change. Of course it depends on how often the guitar is played. Generally the time to change the strings is after every 1-3 months.


Guitar Tabs

i'm finding it hard to get lemon oil around here..
what other oil do you guys suggest? and how much should be put on the fretboard? and does the same apply to an electric guitar?
how often?
how about coconut oil? or vaseline (petroleum jelly)

Lemon oil is a good one because it's relatively light and doesn't cause so much build-up, but I'd think any good organic oil (like olive oil, shea butter, coconut oil, or coconut butter which might be lighter than the oil) would be okay if lemon oil is hard to come by as long as it isn't applied too heavily. I'd use it very sparingly and rub a light amount in very well. I don't think I'd use petroleum jelly. (It might be okay, but I myself wouldn't use it.) It would be the same for electric or acoustic fretboards. Some guys use it more often like every string change, but I only use an oil on my fretboard a couple of times a year.

This is what I use.

Specifically made for fretboard (i guess) but it's what's recommeneded by my guitar tech.



http://www.darrenriley.com/shop/cart.php?m...etail&p=189

I wouldn't use snake oil.