Acoustic Guitar Maintenance and Tips: Got Any?

Discussion in 'Guitars' started by superliquidsunshine, May 29, 2018.

?

What percentage do you play your acoustic compared to your electric?

  1. 100% I only play acoustic/classical

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  2. 80%

    30.4%
  3. 75%

    8.7%
  4. 50%

    43.5%
  5. 25%

    8.7%
  6. 10%

    8.7%
  7. Never, I just play electric guitars.

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  1. Lazybones

    Lazybones Member

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    StewMac makes a little contraption for filing down the bottom of a saddle evenly so you can get it down around to the action you like
     
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  2. Seedz

    Seedz Rock Star

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    I think the idea is that DD's going to adjust the brass pins to fit the existing pin holes mon ami.
     
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  3. Seedz

    Seedz Rock Star

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    A piece of glass with some wet and dry taped onto the surface and a hand held (square edged) block does the job perfectly.......chances are that the slot won't be 100% square or parallel anyway and it will require "fitting" to suit.
     
  4. DieM

    DieM Rock Star

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    Personally I play my acoustic steel string or classical guitar to hammer out ideas. I only really use my Electric guitars when I'm recording.
     
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  5. Jaymz

    Jaymz Audiosexual

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    I have a few Jigs i made years ago to do all my work on acoustic/electric guitars...ive purchased alot of toys from StewMac and other companies aswell... REMOVING THE NUT>>>Score the the Nut on all side with a scalpel or even a razor blade if you have a steady hand...make sure you tape around it on all sides first with painters tape..specially if the guitar was finished after setting the nut could be finish connecting so it will have to be cut with the scalpel or tool you use. Use something flat very flat that you can lay on the fret board facing the nut and touching the nut flush...Tap it with a hammer lightly could be a few times and it will come loose ;) now remove the glue left in the nut slot with small chisels or a blade but be careful not to remove any wood... i have some nut slotting tools for this but ive done it with just a razor blade ;) to install new nut use Hide Glue or just a small very small drop of super glue...i do this with a syringe so i can have more control over how much glue i use... SADDLE >>> now the saddle should slip out pretty easy with the string off of course but if its tight use some needle pliers and some rubber ends if possible to pull it out>>>tape off around the saddle too first with painters tape so you dong scar the bridge or guitar... Make sure your replacement saddle is same specs as one you take out . Same length,width and how high it is...higher is better cause you can sand the bottom to get the action you need... if you wana make your own saddle thats a fun job too with a bone blank or similar, ive made my own but not because i had to just because i wanted to improve the intonation and shape it myself ;)
     
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  6. I was restringing my jumbo Ibanez, cleaning and linseed oiling the fretboard, tightening up screws, etc, as I had just gone to the music store and bought new strings for a few of my acoustics because things were starting to sound old and stale all around.This blond on blond J-540, has been an underachiever in the company of some shining stars, and what I came to realize is that I was pretty much asleep at the wheel and have been taking granted things as at face value and was willing to accept a false narrative, a storyline that had veered from it's destined path which had set up a reality splintered from it's ideal and shining destiny. You see, the fellow who I had bought it from had parted with the instrument because he had major problems with his hands and could no longer play. When I went to his apartment after seeing the ad on a website devoted to such offerings, was amazed at the condition of the guitar after almost 40 years. Even the machines were in perfect working order. The only wear was a bit of discoloration on the thumb side where the neck meets the fretboard, other than that it was cherry. However, to condense the story, what this whole mishagosh concerns is that because progressively, the fellow who owned the guitar couldn't play so put light strings on in order that he he could play his beloved Ibanez. I did the same because I tnought that he had done so to protect the guitar from damage in it's old age and didn't want to contribute to it's demise. But yesterday I changed the paradigm and put on a 12-56 set of phosphor bronze, loosened up the truss rod to give the slightest bow to the neck, and now this guitar's sound has blossomed. It is no longer tinny. It was loud, it still is but now it has character and depth. I guess the moral of the story is that every guitar has a sweet spot, the correct gauge strings of the right kind and the technically right setup.

    I did a real short recording of myself playing "my new guitar". She sounds great and looks great too, all tiger stripe maple and spruce

    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    https://clyp.it/0wzay2wp
     
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  7. DieM

    DieM Rock Star

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    I mainly use my acoustic and classical guitar to work out song structures. I mainly use my electric guitars to work out Barr Chords and riffs and I use either for recording depending on what is required for a particular track.
    I have been playing since the ripe young age of 15 and now I'm a 50 year old learning midi keyboard! This is a must as it comes in handy to play sampled Kontakt instruments such as orchestral and synth instruments etc.
     
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  8. Rather old for a chimpanzee.
     
  9. DieM

    DieM Rock Star

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    Yeah the supplied photo was took when I was a young and handsome virile chimpanzee and smoked 20 a day! However I have since restricted my diet to fruit and veg and have outlived many of my fellow chimps! :guru:
     
  10. DieM

    DieM Rock Star

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    When you get a new or second hand guitar it is wise to go on to Youtube and get some tips on how to set it up for top playability such as intonation, string height, the best strings to use and keeping the fretboard clean and well oiled etc. A new or second hand guitar can sound totally crap until you make some adjustments. You can even make a cheap guitar sound half decent if you learn how to set it up right!
     
    Last edited: Jun 8, 2018
  11. Seedz

    Seedz Rock Star

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  12. I had just been using it for alternate tuning stuff because it holds any tuning and is spot on intonated in every crazy configuration, but now will use it more and in standard tuning. I'm even tempted to try a set of Martin Retro monel on her next change. About those Retro's, after a bit they become less sticky-sratchy, less noisy. They just don't corrode and should last a really long time. A fellow behind the counter at the music store said that he puts them on his Gibson and that it was the best thing he ever did to that guitar. You just need to get used to the unwound G string. My hog Maybell is a wild-woman now with those on.

    All my best guitfiddles all in a row.

    [​IMG]upload images free
     
  13. Seedz

    Seedz Rock Star

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    One of my son's has that same Martin, its a really nice guitar with bags of character......I think he's in luv with it.

    Records well too.
     
  14. Yes it does. I too am in love with my Maybell.
     
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