keeping your guitars in pristine condition all the time?

[broj15]

I baby my guitars to a certain extent in my own neurotic way. For some reason I'm hella paranoid about temperature and moisture affecting the neck so I always do my best to make sure whatever environment they're in isn't to harsh/as climate controlled as reasonably possible. Apart from that I just make sure my hands aren't visibly dirty or gross feeling before I play for the sake of my strings & fretboard. That being said, I haven't spent more than $500 on a guitar or purchased a brand new guitar in probably 7 or 8 years, but if I did I'd probably be a bit more careful than I am now.

 

[NeglectedField]

None of my guitars are expensive enough to require being super-careful. I will just make sure that I:

- Don't handle them with dirty hands
- Don't act too clumsy but don't get upset if they get dinged *unless* I've just bought a nice new one and I'm not sure if I'll like it enough not to want to resell it
- Give them a full clean every couple of re-stringings or so e.g. scraping the fretboard gunk off, polishing the metal bits, oiling the fretboard, spray/wipe off any dust
- Get them serviced by a professional every few years if I can afford it

If I do buy myself any pricey guitars (they won't be much past the £1k mark), the above would apply I wouldn't keep them on my multi-stand in case they bash with other guitars and will return them to their case after use.

 

[goobaba]

Typically, I will clean my guitars every string change, nothing in between.

They all have some wear and tear it is fine. If I had a $4k PRS I would baby it but only so the resale value would stay high, but I don't personally care.

I love grabbing a guitar and being able to play it for a few minutes, set it on the couch, pick it back up and drive to my friends house with it in the back seat, play with it in a smoky practice space, spill beer on it etc. I have two acoustics and they're both "broken" to some degree but they still play.

 

[Xk6m6m5X]

Im like this with my les paul, just because it was a beautiful finish and my dad bought it for me so its more sentimental value than anything, and with a few of my uncles guitars i inherited

 

[Ordacleaphobia]

Depends on the guitar.
If it's a guitar I don't really feel attached to, yes- but only kind of. Enough to avoid anything that could diminish resale value.
If it's a guitar I DO feel attached to, it'll fall onto one of two categories:
>A guitar that I care about, but know that I'll sell eventually I will take the utmost caution with handling. Because this one is probably valuable.
>A guitar that I care about, but never intend to sell will get used and abused I really do not care. I mean I won't just fling it around or leave it on the floor or anything, but the dip in attentiveness is definitely noticeable.

 

[FILTHnFEAR]

I don't go out of my way being careless with my instruments, and I want to keep them in as nice of shape as I can but I don't obsess over it either.

If I had some of the guitars folks around here have like a $3k Mayones or something I would be more careful with it. And probably a lot more hesitant to bring it to a drinking, jam session at a friends than I am my 1527 but I'd still know that eventually it's gonna take some hits. It's an instrument, a tool, not a museum piece.

 

[IbanezDaemon]

I try and take care of some of the big hitters...just try not to hit the headstock of something. I rarely clean or polish them. Believe it or not most of the dings on my guitars happen when taking out or putting back into hard cases...lol!

 

[Rich5150]

I don't beat my guitars but dings and dents happen, If you want it to stay pristine keep it in the case and don't play it. Things happen and while it sucks when it does its not the end of the world.

 

[Dawn of the Shred]

I like to take extreme care of my gear. Whether they are expensive or cheap.

 

[thedonal]

Most of my guitars are dinged in one way or another (got a strat with lots of body issues- cracks and so on and my RG550 has had two headstock repairs) and my flat is a dust factory/small so it'd be a constant job to keep them clean and safe unless they all sat in their cases all the time and where's the fun in that?!

So I just try and clean them every time they're restrung and a bit more often for the regular players (RG1527 and SE Cu24).

The only guitars that are about pristine condition in my collection are my PRS SE and my Sire fretless. The PRS seems to be really solidly built and finished (given that it's in my hands!) and the Sire is very new...

 

[Chris Bowsman]

Just got a near mint Schecter C-1 Platinum in a trade. It made it 5 minutes in my house before getting a ding.

The first really nice guitar I had was an 87 Charvel Model 6. Guitar and tweed case were pristine. Every time I was playing it, I’d freak out and put it away if the kids came into the room. Sold it a few months later and relaxed considerably.

 

[Amenthea]

I do baby some of mine, but it's too protect them from my house more than anything. We currently have a bit of a damp problem and most of my best instruments are also stored in that room, so there is a dehumidifier in there and all of them are in cases. The damp really gets to the metal parts and it's proper annoying.

I have a Hamer California that I got 2nd hand over 10 years ago which is the nicest guitar I've ever played, but it looks terrible. It has scratches and marks absolutely everywhere and even the control pots have marks on them, but I simply don't have to worry about it like I do with my PRS (which gets cleaned more thoroughly than some of the others after every use).

If it's already in great condition I try to keep it that way, but it's not the end of the world if it gets marked.

 

[MASS DEFECT]

I do session work live. So, I don't really have a choice. Most of the time, you have to bring your best sounding guitar and they will get dinged, scratched, dropped. It's just the way it is.

The only guitar I will baby if it is a really rare collector's item. But I don't buy those, anyway.

 

[777timesgod]

I use Q-tips, soaked in string-lube, to get to the hard spots on my guitars. It works great but now I hear that Q-tips are to be banned from production due to their impact on the environment. I will have to figure a new way to clean my bridges.

 

[thedonal]

I use Q-tips, soaked in string-lube, to get to the hard spots on my guitars. It works great but now I hear that Q-tips are to be banned from production due to their impact on the environment. I will have to figure a new way to clean my bridges.

I think the main issue here is the plastic stems- there are already many companies making cotton buds with wooden stems instead, so supply will be there still. They're too handy to ban completely!

 

[777timesgod]

I think the main issue here is the plastic stems- there are already many companies making cotton buds with wooden stems instead, so supply will be there still. They're too handy to ban completely!

Yes, I agree, who wants ear wax anyway.
I use toothpicks (not used ones of course - yuck) with small cotton buds soaked as well. You should be careful not to get it stuck in small spaces though.

 

[TheWarAgainstTime]

I take good care of my instruments, but I don't obsess over keeping them mint so much as just maintaining them and keeping them playing well.

I don't gig anymore, so about the worst that happens is I'll bump a headstock on my rack case or drop a tiny drop of solder near the control cavity when I'm doing a pickup swap even when I was gigging, I didn't go nuts on stage like Dillinger Escape Plan or toss guitar cases from across the parking lot into the trailer. My stage presence was pretty "mild" and we had to fit all of our gear perfectly into the trailer like Tetris

I don't really see a point in owning a guitar you're too scared to play or mark up in any slight way. They aren't meant to be wall art

 

[Seabeast2000]

I don't really see a point in owning a guitar you're too scared to play or mark up in any slight way. They aren't meant to be wall art

In first world problems, guitar owns you!

 

[BenjaminW]

At least one of all my guitars have some kind of dent, scratch, or ding in them. The worst offender is probably my Yamaha FG700S that I've had since I started playing, which has the original strings that haven't been changed.

 

[c7spheres]

I use 4 cotton fiber cloths, 1 for the strings, 1 for the body/bridge, 1 for the neck, and 1 for my hands. I treat all my stuff like new and try to keep it that way, and accept that no matter how hard I try it still get scratched and dinged.
Like taking off your guitar and the head stock going into a ceiling fan, or accidentally using the wrong cloth on the body and the metal particles from the strings scratching the hell outta your black gloss rg7620 body, or adjusting bridge height screw and the bolt collar snaps and digs a freakin hole in the side and chips the body off, or dropping a screw driver on it and it dings it. I have a fit and kick myself in the ass every single time, but I accept it. I'm just glad I do my own work, because if I didn't I'd be in prison right now for assault and battery if it wasn't me that did it.
After I calm down I always check to see how much character it added and if it looks cool or not though