The vernal emergence out of winter offers an important opportunity to give your acoustic guitars some needed care and feeding. Air temperature and humidity are changing, and hopefully you’ll soon be off on some adventures, maybe jamming on a friend’s back porch, playing beside a campfire, or gigging a few shows. Even if you live in a more temperate climate and winter isn’t as hard on your cherished instruments as it is in some places, a change of seasons marks a great time to catch up on some basic instrument care and get your guitar back in tip-top shape.
Here’s a simple list of suggestions from our head repair guru, Evan Manthei, to make your guitar sparkle:
Clean and hydrate your fingerboard
Your guitar’s fingerboard gets a lot of wear, so give it some special attention every now and then. Optimally, you should wipe your guitar down after each time you play. But, we don’t live in an optimal world, and you’re probably not doing that. It’s time for a deeper clean.
Manthei says, “For spring cleaning, you can rub the fingerboard lightly with 0000 steel wool. Be sure to wipe away any leftover steel wool fragments. We recommend applying specially formulated fingerboard conditioner at least every few months. Use Q-tips for those hard to reach areas. Finally, wipe the fingerboard clean and be sure to remove off any oil that may have gotten onto the finished body or neck.”
Clean your guitar’s finish
Sweat and dust work to corrode your instrument’s finish, so an occasional wipe with some specialized cleaner can go a long way in keeping your guitar looking great. Manthei says, “Breedlove gloss finishes are very hard and durable. Regularly using some basic cleaner and a polishing cloth to clean your instrument will ensure that it maintains its beautiful look. Sometimes, however, you may need to apply a special polish to restore your gloss finish.”
Owners of Breedloves with a satin finish can skip the polish and just give it an attentive wipe with a clean cloth. Manthei says, “Breedlove satin finishes are easy to take care of. Simply wipe the finish with a soft polishing cloth after playing to keep it looking clean.”
If your satin finish is extra dirty and a dry cloth doesn’t do the trick, it’s important to avoid products containing polish or wax on satin or matte finishes because those products may buff the finish into an imperfect glossy sheen. Manthei says, “You can use a guitar cleaner. Guitar cleaners are made to remove oils and residues; polishes are made to buff and create shine.” We recommend using the D’Addario comprehensive guitar care kit. It’s got everything you need.
Change your strings
“Finally, it’s not a bad time to change those strings if needed,” says Manthei. A fresh set of strings goes a long way to reinvigorate the sound of your instrument. It’ll be easier to clean your fingerboard if you remove the strings, so why not use this as an opportunity to put on a new set? If you’re feeling a little extra adventurous, you might even want to try a new brand or style of string.
If you haven’t experimented with the current string offerings in a while, this is a great time to see what’s on the market. Have you been using a set of phosphor bronze strings? Maybe 80/20 bronze strings would open up some new tones, or vice versa. See what’s out there!
And keep thinking about humidification!
Ambient humidity (the percentage of water in the air) greatly influences your acoustic guitar. Before transforming into an instrument, your guitar was a tree. Its main purpose was to soak up moisture, nutrients, and sunlight and it was very, very good at soaking. Therefore, the humidity in your home will greatly influence your instrument.
If you keep your guitar sitting out or hanging on a wall, it’s important to maintain an ideal range of humidity in the room where your guitar is kept — whether that means using a room humidifier or dehumidifier — and monitoring it with a hygrometer.
If you keep your guitar in a case, a two-way humidifier such as those offered from Boveda takes all the work out of maintaining ideal conditions. Boveda’s patented two-way humidity control adds or removes moisture as conditions require in order to maintain the ideal humidity level in your instrument case. Because Boveda requires zero maintenance, your instrument will always be protected. You can snag the Boveda packs here.
Once you’ve given your guitar a round of spring guitar care, you should be all set for the upcoming season. Get out and have fun, and bring your Breedlove along for the ride.
