Your guitar could be far better than you think! An awesome guitar can be reduced to being a struggle to play by not being well kept up. On the flip side you can also take a shoddy guitar and make it surprisingly playable with some easy adjustments. I’ve done this a number of times for a stage guitar (usually electric) that I do not mind putting in the flight hold luggage, painting or generally trashing on tour.

And let’s face it, we are never as good at keeping on top of these jobs as we would admit. Yes as a teacher I have seen hundreds of guitars that are falling apart before they get some attention. Also a quick heads up before we dive into some ideas is more experience and skill on the instrument will give you a much more refined idea of what is needed. So stick at it and you get the feel of it.

So let’s get started at the main checklist for your guitar. These are general pointers and ideas so follow the links to my more in-depth and specific articles.

Strings are the obvious place to start but I’d like to put forward a few different ideas to the usual. Firstly lets ask of how regularly your guitar is used? If it is your only guitar it may be used everyday. If you have a few you may have one workhorse guitar or go through phases of which guitar you use the most. Asking this will help you choose the best strings for that specific guitar and get your string care routine on track.

A guitar that is regularly played will have the strings wear out faster. As you are spending so much effort and time with this guitar it is very worth changing the strings every few months. The strings go dull and the harmonic range becomes much narrower over time. This removes much of the richness in harmony, clarity in playing harmonics and sustain. Without these the guitar becomes less inspiring to play. But it is this inspiration that is a major part of learning at any level!

Do you choose long-life or regular strings? More expensive long-life strings mean less effort in regular changes but you cannot experiment as much with different gauges. I am personally a fan of good quality but regular strings that I do not feel precious about changing out when I have a different piece of music that might benefit from a different gauge. Or to change them out for a performance that I would want fresh strings for. Either way get a multi-pack. Cheaper and you have them ready for if one breaks.

What if this guitar is not regularly used? This time I would say yes to long-life and specifically “coated” strings. These have a very thin protective layer that acts as a barrier to the elements. Without this coating any oils and moisture from your fingers can degrade your strings while it is not being played. These sit on the string and react with the metal. With the newer manufacturing technologies coming out these coatings are becoming much better. The D’Addario strings in particular are very impressive without feeling like they have just been sprayed with plastic.

So now you have chosen strings with a little more intention and it is time to cover string care. Get the tools you need and have them there ready to use when you are putting the guitar back in its case. Here’s where you want to think of.

Next up is your guitar’s intonation. Intonation in guitar setup is matching the length of the string to the scale of the neck. The strings on most electric guitars can be made longer or shorter at the bridge end by moving that string’s saddle forwards or backwards. This is a bigger subject so check out my post on How to Adjust Your Guitar’s Intonation. Over there I take you through the whole process and different bridge types.

For now know that if this is not adjusted then the open string might be in tune but the higher up the neck you fret the further it will be from in tune. As high positions are commonly favoured on the electric guitar this will have your guitar sounding constantly out of tune.

The truss rod in electric and acoustic (and now days some classical guitars) helps control the bend in the guitar’s neck. The neck is more malleable than you might think and many things can have an affect on it. This is an important one to tweak and check. I’d recommend checking it the day after you change strings and a few times a year when the weather or humidity changes with the seasons. Both of these can have an affect on your guitar’s neck and the tension running through it.

Humidity softens the wood allowing the strings tension to have more affect. And of course a different string gauge will add more or less tension to the neck. Like an archery bow this will bend the neck making a bigger gap between the strings and the frets. Read my full article and lesson on adjusting your guitar’s truss rod. I explain how to get just the right bend to compliment the movement of the strings.