3 Bad Guitar Care Habits
Here are three common bad maintenance habits that guitarists should work to avoid.
1. Playing the guitar while wearing a button-down shirt. I’ve damaged several guitars this way; it’s something that you don’t really think about while you’re playing, you do your usual fingerboard acrobatics, have a good time, and when you go to put your guitar away, you discover that the buttons of your shirt have been rubbing against the guitar and making large marks in the finish. It’s costly if you’ve got a very expensive guitar, and just plain annoying and disheartening no matter what kind of axe you’ve got. Avoid any problems by reminding yourself to remove button down shirts (hopefully, you’re wearing and undershirt!) before playing. Belts can also damage your guitar.
2. Letting dust build up. Dust can bind together with sweat, skin flakes, and other nasty things to make a terrible substance that can damage your guitar’s finish and wood. Regularly clean the guitar using guitar polish and fingerboard polish, and don’t leave the guitar in an area where dust is known to build up if you can at all avoid it. A little bit of preventative maintenance could save you a hefty repair bill.
3. Leaving the guitar in its case. If you need to store your guitar for a long period of time, you should keep it out in the middle of a well-circulated room, not in its case. While in its case, the guitar will soak up humidity, and if you live in a relatively humid climate or if your guitar is stored in humid months, you should not risk humidity damage to your guitar, which can cause the action to change, the finish to take damage, and more. This especially applies to bands that play out a lot; as tempting as it may be, you should never leave your guitar in your car or van overnight. Take an extra 20 minutes and move everything back into your house when you get back from the gig.
Do you know of any other bad guitar care habits that could potentially damage a guitar? Post in our comments section below.
