Take care of your axe
Introduction
Alrighty, we had some thread about gear (amps etc.) at the iBreatheMusic - forums, and someone suggested an article about maintaining and taking care of guitar gear. Before I jump right in, I would like to point out something:
This is a "Working manīs approach" to that topic. I am neither a luthier nor a real amp-tech. I did learn a lot about setting up / maintaing guitars throughout the years, and I think I could share my experiences with you. Itīs just a "real life approach". There sure are a bunch of websites and books by luthiers about taking care of guitars, and you should check some of those too. But this one is a "players-approach" to the topic.
Regarding the electronics (amps etc.) I am not gonna talk about extreme modifications, formulas, resistors and stuff like that. Instead, I am gonna tell you about a few things to keep in mind about your amps and effects etc. I hope that you will find this interesting, since it is a "cut to the chase"-type thing.
In some ways, this is a new version of my "Professional Guitarist" column... the first article I wrote for Guitar4u (it will be available soon at iBreatheMusic). In that column, I gave away some advice regarding guitar-setup and all that. So, here I go again, this time a bit more into the detail. I do hope that this proves to be interesting for you, and maybe you will find some information you did not know about yet. Letīs jump right in...
The Ritual
Yes, the ritual. People who know call it that. Itīs a procedure I have. Every once in a while, about every other month, or every three months, I take some time, like an afternoon, and I go through the "guitar-cleaning-and-setting-up-procedure".
Let me tell you one thing about myself first:
I am not extremely picky about cleaning my guitars and all that. I am not cleaning the neck and strings every time before I go on stage or anything. But I do think that it will help the guitar to last longer if you do certain things to clean it and set it up.
A lot of players have a "It has to look dirty, itīs rock nīroll"-attitude. They actually like it better if the guitar looks played. Well, itīs a matter of opinion. I donīt really mind some dings in the finish, or scratches... but I do make sure that the electronics and mechanical parts (like the vibrato) are clean and are working. I also believe that it is a good idea to make sure that the guitar lasts as long as possible. So, thatīs why I am doing "the ritual".
This, as I said, is being done every other or every third month. I do change the strings a lot, and usually, I just change them and wipe the fretboard and thatīs it. But every once in a while I am doing a complete setup. It goes like this:
I check the intonation of the guitar. Some luthiers recommend to do this before putting on new strings, thatīs why I am doing that first. The intonation of a guitar tends to get lost after a while, yo itīs a good idea to check it every once in a while. I do it like this:
-I tune the guitar up to concert pitch.
-I check the tuning of the low E-String by hitting the natural harmonic at the 12th fret. If it is in tune (I am checking all that with a tuner, by the way), I compare that harmonic with the actual note at the 12th fret (the fretted note, that is). The pitches of those should be the same. If it is not, if the fretted note is too high or too low, you have to adjust the length of the string. You do that by adjusting the saddle (the piece of metal that the string lays on at the bridge). If the pitch of the note at the 12th fret is flat, you gotta shorten the length of the string a bit by moving the saddle towards the headstock. If the note is sharp, you have to increase the length of the string by moving the saddle the other way. Here are three pictures of the most common bridges / tailpieces.
Here is a shot of a vintage-style trem (in this case, it works the same way as the Wilkinson-bridge).
Each string rests on a saddle that is tightened to the rest of the bridge with screws. You can move those saddles by turning the screws. That way, you can adjust the length of the string / intonation. Move the saddle until the note at the 12th fret is exactly at the right pitch (same pitch as the natural harmonic).
Pic. No2, a Floyd Rose-licensed bridge, in this case a LoPro-version:
This is harder to adjust because you have to detune the string. You can move the saddle by loosening the black screws I indicated on this picture. After you loosened them, you can move the saddle forth and back. As I said, you have to detune the string, otherwise it will pull the saddle towards the headstock once you loosen the screw. This is a pretty finicky work and takes a while. (No surprise here, since changing a string is a bit more complicated on a FR-style bridge, too).
Finally, here is a short of a tune-o-matic bridge. This works pretty much the same way as it does with the vintage-style trem.
OK, thatīs the way to adjust the intonation.
When you are comparing the harmonic and the fretted note, hold the guitar the way you always play it. Otherwise you might fret the note differently, which will mess up the results. Donīt lay the guitar flat on a table or on the ground, because the fretted note will have a different pitch than usual. To be even more exact and set up the intonation more correctly, you can also put a capodaster at the first fret. That way, you of course have to compare the harmonic and the fretted note at the 13th fret.
If it is not possible to get the intonation just right for all the strings it might either be that the slots at the nut (where the strings run through) are not cut deep enough (which should be done by a luthier), or it is possible that the pickups are too close to the strings. If they are, they are pulling the string a bit and thereby are manipulating the pitch / intonation of the string. So the best way is to lower the pickups when adjusting intonation
Cleaning and putting on strings
OK, the next step is to take off the old strings. The first thing I am doing is: I tighten the screws that are connecting the neck to the body. They tend to loosen themselves occasionally, so you should check them every once in a while.
Also, I check the tuners. They often loosen up (that means, their connection to the headstock loosens up), which leads to tuning problems. So I check whether they are still tightened and donīt move.
OK, now I get to the cleaning process...
First I take a soft painters brush and wipe the bridge / vibrato system to clean it up and get rid of the dust and dirt there. If I wanna be extremely picky, I take an old toothbrush and clean the area around the frets. A lot of dirt gathers there, between the fretboard and the frets, so I clean that up with the toothbrush.
Next I take some limeoil, apply it to a piece of cloth and use that to clean the wood between the fretwires. The oil does not only clean the wood and makes it look better, it also adds moisture. That way, you prevent the wood from becoming to dry... if it does get too dry, it might crack, which is not a good thing.
Then I apply some fretboard conditioner (there are several companies who offer that kinda stuff). The conditioner adds some kind of longtime-protection. I wipe away all the left-over oil and conditioner and then use a dry cloth to clean the body and the headstock. Then I put on new strings.
Now, there are some things to pay attention to when putting on new strings. If you do, you might notice that the strings stay in tune better. Donīt wind the end of the string around the tuning post too often. Itīs enough to do so two or three times, maybe even only once. Once youīre done, pull the string to pull out the slack. When tuning up, keep pulling the string to make sure the string gets stretched and all the slack at the bridge and headstock is pulled out. Donīt pull too hard though, cuz it is possible to overstretch a string! When the strings are tuned to the right pitch, pull them again and check whether they are still in tune. If they are not, repeat pulling and retuning until they stay in tune. Finally, play some bends all over the fretboard on all strings and check the tuning again. If you do have a Floyd Rose-style system, close the locking-nut, use the bar and recheck the tuning.
If you do all that when stringing the guitar, the guitar will stay in tune way better.
Electronics
If you notice a cracking pot or switch, you might use "contact spray" to fix it. Spray some spray into the switch or pot and turn the knob / use the switch a few times to make sure the spray gets evenly spread. Please remember that contact spray is just a temporary way to fix cracking electronics. You will eventually have to replace the part. But contact spray might help you to get through a gig without that disturbing noise.
Taking care of the guitar
I definitely recommend a real good guitar case. Those are expensive, but itīs worth the money since it will protect your guitar the best way. There are some good gigbags which offer some protection, but: If someone else handles your guitar, and that person doesnīt know much about guitars, he will see the gigbag and think "Hey, the guitarīs in a gigbag, so itīs protected". That person will be less careful than he / she would be if your guitar was not in a case at all. That means, a guitar without a gigbag will surely be handled more carefully than it would be in a gigbag.
A case also offers good protection against temperature changes. Please remember that it is not a very low or high temperature that will damage your guitar. It is the speed at which the temperature changes! That means, if itīs very cold outside and youīre driving your guitar around in the trunk of the car, it wonīt hurt the guitar too much... unless you take it and immediately carry it into a warm room. Itīs better to let the guitar "acclimatise", leave it in the case first, maybe in the basement where itīs usually not that hot. Let the guitar adjust to that temperature, and wait before you take it into a room warmed by a furnace / radiator.
The same is true for amps, especially tube amps. At the end of a show, when the tubes are still hot from working for hours, you should not immediately take the amp from the warm room outide into the cold. Turn the amp off and let it sit for a while so that the tubes can cool off. If you do carry the amp with the hot tubes into the cold, the tubes might crack.
Back to the guitar:
I really recommend to get a good guitar stand. Donīt lean the guitar against things where they might fall. If the stand has rubber protectors and your guitar has a nitro-finish, cover the protectors with some cloth, otherwise the chemicals in the rubber will stain and damage the finish.
You might see by now that I am leaving out certain things... I didnīt get into things like adjusting the string-height and things like that. I wanted to focus on the important, everyday-situations a player deals with. Things like changing pickups and adjusting the string-action can be done by yourself, but it would take several articles to go into details on those topics. There also is a lot of good literature about that.
Misc. facts and advice
OK, here are some other random tips to bear in mind about guitars, amps and effects:
-Keep your cell phones away from your multi effect units and units like sequencers and samplers. The field generated by those phones may damage the memory or memory units (floppy disks) of those. I am not kidding. I once went to play a show and realized that several tracks on my sequencer had been erased.
My cell phone was too close to the floppy disc. Same happened a while later with the sampler... we had a sequence running and all of a sudden there was this terrible noise coming through the PA, and the sequence stopped... the field of the cell phone had damaged the memory.
-Get good cables. I know those are sometimes expensive, but I do think it is ridiculous to invest a bunch of money into guitars, amps and effects and connect all those with cheap cables which break as soon as you step onto them. And itīs not only the lack of durability... a lot of cables make a sound difference, too... I noticed an increase of trebles when using my Monster Rock cable, while my Cordial cable added a rather warm, mid-heavy sound.
-It often is best to get a guitar that is all perfect... the look, the feel, the pickups and all that. But often, it is also ok to get a guitar that plays and feels good and sounds good on top of that, and then replace certain things. When I started out, I couldn'r really afford a good guitar, so I got myself the best guitar I could afford with the bit of money I had, then I replaced certain components to make the guitar even better... Even a cheap or mid-prized guitar might sound better once you put in good pickups. It stays in tune better with locking tuners. Of course it would be best to buy a guitar that is perfect all the way right from the start, but often it might be very expensive to get one of those, or hard to find one that has exactly what you imagine... so itīs ok to get one that feels and sounds good as a starting point, and then build upon that... make modifications until the guitar is just right for you !
-When you play a studio- or livejob, make sure you have all kinds of spare parts and tools with you. I know that that is expensive sometimes, but it will give you a good feeling and will help you to concentrate on whatīs important (the music) when you know that the guitar is set up good and that you have the spare parts and all kinds of stuff to deal with problems.
I am talking about spare-cables (one for each one you are using, so you donīt have to solder backstage, but can just replace the broken cable), enough batteries for your effects and all the other things that require batteries, spare power-cables, a lot of spare strings, enough picks, the usual tools (allen wrenches, screwdrivers, pliers, tape etc.), maybe phone numbers of a tech you can contact in case of emergency, manuals... That might seem like a lot of money and effort to get all that together, but itīs worth the effort. When I am playing out (in the studio or live) I usually donīt have to worry about things like that and therefore can concentrate on my playing all the way.
And itīs ridiculous to interrupt a show for minutes because you aint got a spare cable and have to solder your only one.
-Another thing about cables... if you do have a lot of stompboxes, get good patch cables... a lot of pedals will change the sound of your setup and add noise. If you do have cheap, low-quality patch-cables, that effect will get even worse. And those patch cables have to be durable because they might break once you step onto them.
-If you do have a rack, make yourself (or get them done) custom-length cables. I measured all the lengths I needed to wire my rack, then I got myself a few feet of cable and a bunch of Neutrik-plugs and then soldered those cables... they are exactly at the right length. It looks ridiculous and takes away sound quality when you cross a 6 inch distance in the back of your rack with a three foot cable.
-If you do have a big setup with many 19"- or pedal-effects, and something goes wrong on stage, like you all of a sudden have got no sound anymore, unplug everything and plug the guitar straight into the amp. Donīt waste time by going through your whole huge setup to look for a mistake... itīs a nuisance for the audience to wait, and most likely you will be too nervous to find the problem anyway. So plug straight into the amp and play through the rest of the show that way... it might sound different than before but will get you through the show.
-If your 19"-effect allows you to do so, make a "MIDI-dump" in between. That is, transfer the presets to a disk or somewhere else so you can store them safely. If there is a problem regarding memory loss, you can restore the presets by sending them back to the effect by way of MIDI. If you canīt do that, write down the settings of your presets so you can reprogram them once something goes wrong. I do have a folder with all my presets written down. One day, I switched on my Eventide harmonizer and noticed that three of my most important presets were gone. I had no time to bring it to customer support since I had to play a show an hour later. So I reprogrammed the presets (based on the data I had written down in that folder) and stored them twice so I could use the other saved preset once the first one gets lost like the ones that already were lost.
-About your tuner: When you tune, donīt put it onto your amp or close to other power supply units... the magnetic field of power units might alter the way the tuner works and therefore it doesnīt work correctly anymore.
Alrighty, thereīs a lot more stuff to talk about, but Iīll stop here... I gave away a lot of information that I consider important already, and maybe all those things will help you already. I might continue another day with another article and talk about things like putting in new pickups, soldering, adjusting string action etc.
But for now...
Farewell and keep on picking !