New Color?

Whattdo you think of this new color?

Dave

Guitar Care Tip #3 - Stands

Can you stand it?

Good question, should you store your guitar
on a stand? Or is it always better stored in
it's case?

Well, I've certainly seen, and experienced
myself, the perils of guitar stands. Even worse,
try to find a good stand for a five-string banjo.
Banjos tend to be very front-heavy and
love to just leap off of guitar stands. And when
that happens, it's not pretty....

I always feel very divided on this issue; the
repairman in me says "keep your guitar in
the case unless you are playing it, it's safest
in there", but the player part of me wants to
have my guitar available at an instant, I may
loose my inspiration to play if I have to
wrestle it out of it's case every time.

I guess it depends on the environment. Do you
have pets, kids, earthquakes, windstorms,
somewhat careless family members who might
whack it with the vacuum cleaner? Or do you have
a safe space, like a separate room where your valued
wood can be safe at all times?

I suggest a few ways to find balance with this
issue. First, if you have only one guitar, I would
tend to be more protective of it. The case is
surely the most safe storage method, and perhaps
using a GOOD stand (be sure to test drive stands
before you purchase one) and use it only when you
are able to keep an eye on it.

You might consider getting a second guitar.
Many players purchase a lower cost guitar to
use as the "bang-around" or "beach-guitar" so
the more valuable instrument can remain in it's
protective case more often. I use a fairly beat up
Taylor Baby guitar as my informal "don't really
care if it gets scratched, dented, cracked, or
whatever" guitar. It sounds good enough
for me to enjoy it, and I can leave it on the couch
and not cry if the Dog jumps up on it and leaves
some pawprints.

I have found that hanging guitars from wall mounted
hooks (you can find these at good music stores) are
quite safe, as long as the geometry of the peghead
sits securely in the hook. I have 4 or 5 hooks in my
music room, and they work fine, except for my Martin
D28V which, over a few days, rotates slowly
out of the hook. If I were to leave it for a week or
so it would probably fall right out and I'd be needing
counseling....

But I do know of situations where guitar owners have
discovered damage to their guitars which were hanging
in rooms that are accessible to other people, especially
kids. So, be very careful unless your music space is
completely off limits to others.

Another note about stands for those of us
who are out gigging; Do not leave instruments on-stage
after the show has ended. It's very easy to be distracted
(selling CDs, signing autographs, kissing babies) while
the sound crew gets impatient and starts pulling
cables. I've had one of my banjos knocked off it's stand
after a gig and the peghead snapped off.

Lucky for me I know a fairly competent repair guy...

At shows end, the "Kids" get "Put to bed" immediately,
and my adoring fans just have to wait. "Family"always
comes first, I tell them.

The last point I'll add is that if you live in
a dry climate, or a region where it gets very
dry, you must hydrate wood guitars and this is
often done most effectively inside hardshell cases.
In my personal situation, I have guitars, mandolins,
banjos; not a LOT of them, but enough where
individual case humidifiers would be a part-time
job to maintain. Since I'm lucky enough to have a
dedicated "music room" I use a large room humidifier
and get it going once my digital hygrometer tells me
the relative humidity has dropped below 40%.
I know it's a pain-in-the-brain, but keeping guitars
nicely hydrated will avoid all kinds of nasty
problems.

So, remember; evaluate the environment that
the guitar lives in, and pick your storage method
accordingly.

Regards,

Dave

Guitar Care Tip #2 - String Gauges

I've talked to a few clients recently about
string gauges, and there seems to be some
confusion. How is it that "Medium" acoustic
guitar strings are actually the heaviest gauge
normally used? And "Light" gauge strings
are actually the second heaviest? Confusing?

Yes, it sure is. The only sure-fire way to understand
string gauge is to look into the numbers. Strings
are measured by their diameter, and this is generally
expressed in inches, more specifically in decimals.
The gauges are most often referenced by the
measurement of the thin E string (1st string) gauge.

First-string gauges for acoustic steel-string guitars
ordinarily go from the heaviest, 0.013" to the
lightest 0.009". Electric guitar strings range
from 0.013" all the way down to the wispy 0.008"
gauge. To simplify,we say these numbers as 013
(oh-thirteen), or 009 (oh-oh-nine), and so on.

Most string manufacturers consider 012 acoustic
strings to be "light". This is somewhat odd, since
the 012 set is the second-from-the-heaviest
gauge. To add to the confusion, 013 gauge is usually
described as being "medium gauge" even though
you'll be hard pressed to find anything heavier
available. The same quirk is present with electric
guitar strings as well.

Here's a general guide to which gauge string is
given which name. Of course there are ALWAYS
exceptions;

013 acoustic, Medium
012 acoustic, Light
011 acoustic, Custom Light
010 acoustic, Extra Light
009 acoustic, Ultra Light

Electric strings seem to carry an even greater
variety of names, however convention generally
is thus:

011 electric, Medium
010 electric, Light
009 electric, Extra Light
008 electric, Super Light

Just when you start to get a grasp of this, you'll
see that there are sets made with in-between
gauges (0.0095 or 0.0105) and there are also sets
which have lighter strings on the trebles, and
heavier strings on the bass side; these are (sometimes)
called Hybrid sets.

Then there's Nickel wound, Steel wound, Phosphor
bronze, 80/20 bronze, Vintage bronze? Coated strings,
not coated strings...Strings in all colors of
the rainbow? Flatwound, roundwound, compression
wound, the list goes on and on....

And how about Nylon strings, which gauges are
commonly given names like "Normal Tension"
and "Hard Tension".

Isn't being a guitarist fun???

Regards,

Dave