1. Loose Volume / Tone Knob

When the nut that holds a potentiometer (pot) in place is tight enough to hold it still, turning the knob simply rotates the pot’s shaft, giving you that volume or tone change. Here’s something I’ve heard a number of times: “well, my knob was just loose at first but now my guitar doesn’t even work!” So, what happens when it feels loose? The problem is that when you turn a knob that is not securely fastened to the body, chances are you’re turning the whole pot inside the guitar. Doing this will also rotate all the wires connected to the pot, potentially ripping them off or causing them to short somewhere.
So if you don’t want to rip wires off, (which you shouldn’t), the answer would of course be to tighten the bolt that holds the pot in place. Herein lies the next problem: once the bolt is tight enough to grip the pot (but not quite tight enough to hold it in place), just turning the bolt can also turn the whole potentiometer. The trick is to make sure you hold the pot’s shaft still while turning the bolt. I like to use a flat-head screw-driver in the slot to keep it still while tightening.

2. Loose Output Jack

There’s a couple different ways your output jack can be loose. One: your cable just seems to fall out, and two: the whole jack wiggles around. In the first case, more often than not you can fix this by adjusting the jack’s contact on the inside.
Take the jack assembly off, and plug your cable in. You can see where the cable’s connector makes contact – that long curved metal thingy. This is the piece that holds the cable in, so by removing your cable and gently pushing this piece inward, you should be able to create a better “lock” for your cable.
If your problem is that the whole output jack is loose, you have a similar problem to what I mentioned about the loose volume / tone knobs. You don’t want to just turn the bolt, you need to be able to hold the whole jack still while turning or risk ripping off more wires. The best way to do this would be to take the jack out, and literally hold it with your hand while tightening the bolt.

3. Loose Strap Buttons

It’s not uncommon for a strap button to spin in its place. While this might not seem like a big deal, if you aren’t using strap locks this makes it easier for your strap to slip off. Also, enough movement can gradually wear the hole that the button’s screw is set into, and eventually just not be secure anymore.
Typically, the cause for a loose strap button is that the screw just isn’t biting into enough wood. The simplest solution to this is to, well, add some wood. Toothpicks are great for this – simply remove the strap button, break up a couple toothpicks and put them in the screw-hole. You’ll notice a much more snug fit immediately.

4. Sympathetic Buzzing Sounds

Ahh the dreaded buzz. Most often, an annoying buzz is caused by a poor set-up or messed up frets. Occasionally, a different sort of buzz can appear from an entirely different source. These are tricky to pinpoint, but keeping with the theme of fixing loose components, sometimes you can erase these pesky sounds by tightening everything!
When you pluck a string, more than just that string vibrates. Everything on the guitar vibrates, so if there’s a particular component that’s loose, there’s a chance it will rattle. Confirm that every screw and bolt on the guitar is snug, from the machine heads to the saddles, and you may just save yourself a repair bill just by turning some screws!

5. Grime-encrusted Fretboard

Okay, so here’s the odd one out. No need to tighten anything here! Cleaning your fretboard may seem obvious, but doing it effectively isn’t always carried out. One of the big problems with keeping dirt on your fretboard (among others) is that things can build up underneath your frets, and eventually end up raising them. The last thing you want to do is bring your guitar for a fret level because too much dirt built up underneath the frets.
To really clean out your fretboard, I recommend spraying the board with a few spritzes of a bio-degradable cleaning solution (such as Simple Green), and then scrubbing with a toothbrush. Get in nice and close to the frets with the brush to try and remove any build-up that may already be present. As soon as you’re done scrubbing, wipe off the solution, and apply your lemon oil. You don’t need to do this every time you change strings, it really depends how much you play and.. how dirty your hands are. Which leads me to another point: wash your hands before you play! Your future self (and your guitar) will thank you.

Guitar Care 101 from MyRareGuitars.com

1. Know your Tech / Luthier

Believe it or not, most (or at least a large portion) of the damage and wear done to a guitar occurs on the very bench it is being repaired or set up on. It is extremely important that the person who works on your instrument has a good track record, keeps a clean work-space, and knows what they’re doing. Surface scratches can appear from someone slipping with a screwdriver, leaving string clippings and fret filings behind on the workbench, or by restringing a guitar carelessly. Electronics can be ruined with improper use of a soldering iron, frets can be left in bad condition after a leveling or dressing.. and the list goes on. The list of things that can be done wrong is just as long as the list of things that can be done right.

When you are looking for someone to work on your instrument, pay attention to testimonials from other clients. Then you should physically meet the tech, and ask to see where they would be working on your instrument. If everything checks out, then you’ve found the right person. Finding and maintaining a relationship with a good tech is the first step in keeping your guitar looking, sounding, and feeling great.

2. Don’t Let it Fall!

Let’s face it… not all guitar straps and strap buttons are created equal. I’m sure we’ve all experienced catching a guitar that has come loose from one end of the strap at some point of our playing career. Now imagine what happens if that strap came loose while your hands are in the air clapping, or just after you throw the guitar around your waist for a spin…

…Yeah. Either your guitar or someone in the audience is going to get a pretty serious dent. If you’re going to play live, it’s important that you can rest assured that your guitar is secure to your body. Investing in a good quality leather guitar strap is never a bad idea. If it’s hard to loop the strap ends around the strap buttons, then you know it’s going to be just as hard for it to come off. Even still, these leather straps find a way of slipping off certain buttons. Strap locks are a great work around for this. Simply buy a set, and replace your current strap buttons with these and you’re pretty much guaranteed that your guitar isn’t going to go anywhere.

Some guitars don’t have a strap button on the upper portion of the body or neck, and are intended to be worn by tying one end around the headstock, underneath the strings. If you prefer using a regular button-to-button strap, you’ll need to install a second strap button. In this instance, it’s vital that you install the piece where the screw is going to have enough solid wood to bite into. It’s a good idea to contact the manufacturer to find out the best spot to do this, or to go back to that handy dandy tech you met by following tip number 1!

3. Don’t Let it Fall #2!

Of course, your guitar won’t always be strapped around your body. When it’s time to put it down between songs, or to stand it up at home, you’re going to want to have a proper stand for it. I personally learned my lesson years ago, when I stood my Les Paul up against my amp during practise. Not five minutes passed before hearing a loud “smack!” and looking in sheer horror to see that the head-stock had been knocked right off of the neck. Getting a stand that firmly holds your guitar in place is a ~$30 way to potentially save you a few hundred dollars down the road, and spare you the grief of thinking “my guitar will never be the same”.

Aside from the decreased risk of damage, having a stand holds your guitar in a much better way than laying it flat down. Gravity works wonders on your guitar, especially when you consider that that long, thin piece of wood known as the neck is under 120 lbs of string tension to begin with. Try this: lay your guitar flat on your lap and check its tuning. Now hold it in playing position and do the same. You might just notice a difference, and that’s all thanks to gravity. Due to this, the best way to display or place your guitar is in playing position or straight up and down.

4. Protect it

This one might seem obvious, but for some it just doesn’t register. I’ve seen people cross through a parking lot during a torrential downpour with their exposed guitar in hand – the kicker is they’re bringing it to be worked on. In their defense, they probably just don’t know any better – perhaps it feels like wearing a leather jacket out in the rain. “I probably shouldn’t do this.. but what’s the worst it could do?” Well, the answer is a lot. The guitar manufacturer spent a lot of time getting a ton of moisture content out of the wood before putting it together, the last thing you want to do is put it back in!

The rain is the least of your troubles, though. If you’re doing any travelling with your guitar, you’ll want to have it packed into a good guitar case. A hard-shell that fits your guitar is your best option (you don’t want your instrument sliding around on the inside), but there are some nice gig-bags out there with good padding that keeps the guitar safe, and makes it easier to carry.

5. Keep it Acclimated

As I mentioned previously, various steps are taken by guitar builders to get the wood of your guitar to a certain moisture content level before putting it together. So if you have a guitar that was built on the other side of the planet, the temperature and humidity is likely a tad different. Your guitar is greatly impacted by differences in climate, so measures should be taken to make sure your guitar doesn’t experience as much of the change going on outside as everything else is.

Drier climates can lead to sharp fret ends and wood cracks, while too much moisture can lead to tarnishing of frets, wood swelling, high action and loose components. You can get mini guitar humidifiers that can be stored inside your guitar case, or some that fit inside the sound hole of an acoustic guitar, or just get a regular humidifier to use in the room that you store your guitar in. You can contact your guitar’s manufacturer to find out what they recommend you keep the relative humidity at, but as a general starting point I’d aim for 45-55%. If your guitar has had some serious exposure to moisture, then you may need to go the opposite route and use a de-humidifier.

So there you have it; a few examples of things you can do to keep your guitar in tip-top shape. Remember: don’t break it! If you’re questioning the way you’re putting your guitar down, how you’re holding it, storing it, or having it worked on, chances are you’re risking it!

Top 5 Practices for Keeping your Guitar Safe from Harm from MyRareGuitars.com

Joey Leone’s recent article on the importance of set-up was spot on. Years back, I worked as a salesman in a small, independent music store. I’d never worked in music sales before, so unpacking brand new guitars fresh off the UPS truck was a new experience for me. I quickly discovered that they were almost never properly adjusted. It was a roll of the dice at best. The guitars that happened to come in playing well were the first to go out the door in the hands of happy, paying customers. The other instruments would hang on the wall a lot longer, while we repeatedly explained that a professional set-up would make them play and feel much better. So I got to thinking that if I learned the basics, and at least got the guitars and bass guitars into reasonably good adjustment, sales would go up. I started talking to our guitar tech, and asked him to explain to me how it all worked. He was amazingly patient with me while I relentlessly picked his brains, until finally, I began to “get it.” I got pretty good at setting up the instruments, and sales went up substantially—not that the owner of the store was in a hurry to give me a raise for my efforts!

Still, I was glad for what I’d learned. While major repairs and maintenance (including fret work and the neck set on acoustic guitars) were things I was wise enough not to tackle, routine adjustments became, well, routine. The electrics were the easiest to work with, because most of the adjustments were done mechanically, with a screwdriver and an Allen wrench.

I found a quick way to scope out a truss rod adjustment, without needing the expensive machined straight edge our tech used. Using both hands, I’d just press the bass string down in two places on the fingerboard, simultaneously–say at the third and 11th frets–and then pluck the string with a free finger. If the string bottomed out, it meant the rod was too tight, and the neck too flat. Conversely, if I could see much more than the thickness of a playing card’s worth of space between the string and the frets (looking from the side, as you would while playing), it meant the rod was too loose, and the neck had too much forward bow.

After that, I’d start adjusting the saddles—up or down for string height, and on the electrics, forward or back for string length. These two adjustments—height and length—are highly interactive. If your strings are higher, you have to press them down farther to play a note. That means more stretch, higher tension, and raised pitch—resulting in the need for lengthening the string, by moving the saddle away from the nut a bit. Lower strings mean less stretch, and less need for compensation. Different players like different string heights, of course, so there’s no single right way to do this, but at the store, I’d try to find a middle ground that would satisfy most players.

Nut slot adjustments are something untrained players shouldn’t mess with. The tech showed me how to do them, using an X-acto saw blade and 400 grit sandpaper. If the slots aren’t shaped properly, the strings won’t seat and flex properly, causing all sorts of problems. I started out doing nuts on cheap, entry-level guitars that had action bad enough that I could hardly have made them worse. And amazingly enough, I had a pretty good touch, and was able to do them well. Still, I left the top-of-the line instruments to our tech, though I’ve done the nut slots on my own pro guitars, since then. Ironically, most guitar techs don’t take the slots down far enough, in my opinion. That’s because if they go too far, the strings start buzzing, and they have to make you a new nut, or at least do some extra shimming—things they really don’t want to take the time do. I think the open string clearance between the nut and the first fret should be about the same as the clearance obtained between a closed string (that you’ve pressed down at a given fret) and the next fret up (toward the bridge). That way, you don’t get additional stretch at the first fret, sparing you the all-too-common aggravation of a guitar that plays sharp at the first fret. But talk to your guitar tech about it. As the saying goes, don’t try this at home.

Worn frets make guitars play sharp! That’s because as a fret wears down, the string vibrates from the front edge of the fret, rather than from the crown—effectively shortening the string, and thus slightly raising the pitch. Worn frets can also cause string buzz against higher, less worn frets. If you then raise the action to offset this, you create all sorts of tuning and playability problems. So get your frets worked on, when they need it. A guitar tech I know suggested that changing your strings is like buying gasoline for your car—something routine and inexpensive. Getting your frets adjusted and replaced is like buying tires. More expensive and done less often, but it’s something you simply must do, from time to time.

Keeping your guitar in tune requires strings that still have some elasticity. They don’t have to be brand new, but over time, strings become stiff and brittle, long before they break. Stiff, brittle strings play sharp, so once they reach that point, it’s time for a new set.

String gauges can make a difference, too. I like fairly heavy strings on my Strat. I use a 12 to 52 set, with a wound 3rd string—pretty much the same gauges I use on my acoustic flat top. I find them more stable, tuning wise, than lighter strings, and I like the fatter tone I get. But some people have no trouble with the lighter, faster, 9’s, 10’s, or 11’s. It just depends on your touch and style.

The weather affects your guitar! Humidity swells wood, higher temperatures expand everything, colder temps contract everything, and all of these variations affect the tension on your strings. A guitar can be in tune at home, and get wonky in a cold car trunk on the way to a gig. At the gig, you re-tune the still-cold guitar, only to have it shift on you again as it warms up in your hands, requiring you to re-tune again (and again!). Don’t worry. It’ll eventually settle down. Better still, arrive a little early, and let the guitar warm up before you play it.

Finally, let me just touch on the question of scale tempering. Musical scales are built around theoretical mathematical ideals, but real world instruments have built-in compromises. These compromises are called scale tempering. The modern equal-tempered tuning system was a major innovation developed for keyboard instruments during the time of J. S. Bach, and his composition, The Well Tempered Clavier, demonstrated its effectiveness. Prior to that system’s introduction, you could not play in some keys without retuning your keyboard. These days, most guitars are built according to the equal-tempered system, but ironically, acoustic pianos employ a variation called “stretch tuning,” to compensate for the sharp harmonics generated by their stiff, massive, bass strings. The piano sounds more in tune with itself, but it’s a challenge to get guitars and other instruments in tune with the piano. Guitars with compensated nuts, guitars employing the Buzz Feiton nut and tuning system, and guitars with computer-designed curved frets are all examples of recent attempts to improve tuning accuracy and compatibility with keyboards.

There’s no way this short article can address all of the things that affect how in-tune a guitar plays on its own, and with other instruments. But I hope it points you in the right direction.

Gordon Kaswell is an award-winning composer, working musician (playing guitars, keyboards and bass guitar), and freelance writer. He lives in the Pacific Northwest. You can email him at gordon@efn.org

Adventures in Intonation from MyRareGuitars.com