Make an old guitar playable again
According to the Association of German Music Schools, the guitar ranks second on the popularity scale of musical instruments. Only the piano can beat the good old guitar. Rightly so. A guitar is in my opinion the most versatile instrument ever. With relatively little effort, everyone can learn a handful of chords that can accompany countless songs. And unlike the piano, a guitar is easy to carry. Who has ever heard a pianist around the campfire? The gregarious aspect of a guitar turns any party, barbeque or campfire into an unforgettable experience. Reason enough, therefore, to bring the forgotten guitar out of the store or out of the cellar to freshen up old knowledge or acquire new ones. My experience has taught me: In almost every German household exists such a hidden sweetheart. Maybe it will also be stored with the parents or the children, who wanted to learn the guitar UNBEDING. Back then, before they got their first smartphone.
Being in the corner for a long time does not really matter to a guitar technically. Nevertheless, one should subject a long unplayed instrument to a thorough inspection and possibly some minor maintenance to obtain a well-playable instrument. The necessary work is easy for the layman to carry out. However, if the guitar has cracks or other serious damage, a specialist has to work. This raises the question of proportionality: The cost of a repair the luthier can quickly exceed the cost of a 200-euro guitar. The following maintenance tips therefore refer to? Unkempt? and not on broken guitars. All information applies to the most common type of guitar, the so-called? Classical guitar? or? concert guitar? with nylon strings. Here you can see the photo of such a guitar with the most important names:
by Martin Möller (Own Work) [CC BY-SA 2.0 de], via Wikimedia Commons
inventory
Examine the guitar thoroughly for any cracks that occur predominantly in the body. Scratches and paint damage affect the quality of the instrument only visually, comparable to an appendix scar. No cracks? Super. Then, once a trial, turn on one of the vortex of mechanics. Are they stiff, squeaking or not turning at all? If so, more on that later. Look at the fretboard. Are all frets still in place? Hopefully yes, otherwise you need the expert. Whether all the strings are still available is unimportant, because: A new set of strings you have to spend your guitar in any case. Hold the guitar in front of your face and look over the neck of the guitar like a gun barrel. The neck should be straight with a minimum of curvature in the millimeter range inside.
If the guitar does not show any serious damage during this first check, you should prepare the right equipment for the resuscitation. You need:
- A set of nylon strings (do not take the cheapest, I recommend strings from D? Addario, Augustine or Savarez for eight to ten euros)
- Sewing machine oil (for the mechanics)
- Fine steel wool of the thickness 0000 (only if the neck and frets are heavily soiled)
- furniture polish
- Mild household cleaner or detergent
- A soft cloth
- An old toothbrush
First you remove the old strings. It is essential to first loosen all strings by turning the vertebrae. In no case cut through the strings that are still taut, there is a risk of injury. As can be seen in the photo above, the guitar consists of three essential components: head, neck and body. We start with the care program on the head.
head
With the toothbrush you clean the gears and the worm threads of the individual tuning pegs. Then add a drop of oil to each mechanic and rotate the vertebrae until they can be moved without much effort. Then you clean the wood of the head with a slightly damp cloth and mild household detergent (detergent) and rub it dry. Finally, you treat the wooden surface with furniture polish.
neck
The glued fingerboard with the metal frets is usually made of hardwood. If you have heavy soiling and corroded frets, you can safely work with fine steel wool. Very carefully with little pressure, clean the frets and the wood of the gaps. Then, or just slightly soiled, wipe the fingerboard and neck back moist. After drying, you work the fingerboard with a soft cloth and furniture polish. If you want to treat the guitar to something special, get Lemon-Oil (from Dunlop, retailers or amazon) and use it instead of the furniture polish.
corpus
The entire body can be safely wiped off thoroughly with a damp cloth and a mild detergent. Pay particular attention to the corners and edges around the bridge and the neck. Again, furniture polish is again the method of choice for the finish.It is much cheaper than special guitar care products from specialist retailers and fulfills its purpose just as well.
Raise strings
After your sweetheart shines in new splendor, comes the layman difficult procedure of string winding. You know someone who plays guitar? Wonderful. Ask him for help and watch his fingers as he pulls up the strings. Or you can watch a video tutorial on the subject. An exemplary video can be found here: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwEWgDGWTCw
And now: have fun practicing and playing music.
