How to Care for and Maintain Your Guitar

By Anja Wade, Guitar Instructor and Performer

Ideally, the guitar should receive a general tune up at least twice a year. Just like we may need to sharpen hockey skates occasionally, or clean dance shoes, we need to take care of our guitars!

There are two basic levels to maintenance as I see it. The first basic level is changing the strings on the guitar. Over time, strings lose their fresh tone and playability because of things like moisture/sweat/exposure to air. They start to feel almost rusty to the touch and less pliable. In the beginning, I recommend taking your guitar to a shop to get the strings changed. Learning to change your own strings is its own skill, and we will get there. For now, please leave it up to the professionals! More about this a little later.

Now, the next level of care is a full tune up or service of your instrument. What's involved in a tune up, you ask? Good question!

A general tune up involves examination of factors like the height of the strings off the fretboard, the straightness of the neck, replacement of old strings if needed, etc. It's kind of like an oil change for the guitar. A professional will inspect your guitar and make any adjustments as needed. It can be good to get this done seasonally - once in cold weather and once in warm weather.  

Lots of guitar shops and music stores offer guitar tune ups. I personally frequent and recommend Empire Music in Mt. Lebanon, simply because I have been going there for awhile and find the service to be consistently good. This is not to say that other shops in other areas of town aren't just as good or reliable - I simply can't speak to other stores from personal experience. It's always worth it to explore your options, but you do want to go to a reputable shop or luthier (guitar craftsman) who will do a great job. It is best to set aside several days for a full tune-up to be performed. In the best case scenario, the technicians at Empire can get the guitar back to you in a day or so. Sometimes, however, it may take several days. It all depends on how busy your technician is, how much work needs to be done on the instrument, and when you drop the instrument off. You may even want to call ahead and ask.

Parents, you are no doubt wondering how much this all costs! At Empire, I believe a full set-up is $40 plus the cost of new strings. Strings typically run from about $5-$10 total for a pack of six strings. So it's about a $50 investment. Now, a simple string change without a tune up is $12 I believe, plus the cost of new strings. 

Lastly, let's talk strings! Strings are sold in packs by gauge (thickness). It is best to bring your guitar with you to the shop to ask what strings are right for your guitar. Typically, acoustics use heavier strings, usually an 11 or 12 gauge set. Classical acoustic guitars, or kid-sized guitars that are modeled after classical ones (Hohner brand, for instance) typically use nylon strings. Nylon strings are not the same as those that you would use for a non-classical instrument. Electrics use lighter strings (at least in the early years!), usually a 9 or 10 gauge set. For acoustics I like Martin strings and for electrics I like Ernie Ball or D'Addario. Now, the guys at Empire or your trusted technician may recommend something other than these brands, which is okay with me. They'd need to see your guitar in person or ask you about the make/model to make the best choice. 

Please note that if you have purchased a brand new guitar in the past few (maybe 1-4) months, you most likely

do not need to worry about a string change or maintenance quite yet.

Whew. Let me know what you think or if you have questions or concerns! Also, please let me know if you have any concerns about financing or how to get the best "bang for your buck." Please know that none of these services are mandatory in any way, but they do help to improve the quality of making music with the guitar. I am happy to advise.  :)