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Guitar Care for Dummies
Novawind
Posts: 836
Am the proud owner of a 1995 MIM Ocean-blue Stratocaster as of today. Do any long-time guitar owners have suggestions as to how they keep their axes in pristine condition? I'm going to keep this guitar for a very long time and I intend to care for it as such.
Question 1: Is my soft case OK or should I upgrade to a hard case eventually?
Question 2: On a limited budget, do you think a Roland Cube 15W ($95 USD) would be a good amp to go for?
Question 3: Any other miscellaneous care suggestions you my have, cleaning/repair/parts exchange.
Thank you!!
Question 1: Is my soft case OK or should I upgrade to a hard case eventually?
Question 2: On a limited budget, do you think a Roland Cube 15W ($95 USD) would be a good amp to go for?
Question 3: Any other miscellaneous care suggestions you my have, cleaning/repair/parts exchange.
Thank you!!
If idle hands are the devil's workshop, he must not be very productive.
7/9/06 LA 1
7/10/06 LA 2
10/21/06 Bridge 1
7/9/06 LA 1
7/10/06 LA 2
10/21/06 Bridge 1
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Comments
Q1: Depends what you are doing with it but yes, unless you are travelling the world, a soft case is good for throwing in the car and getting around.
Q2: Again, depends where and with who you are playing. If by yourself in your house then yes, if with a band you might want something a bit meatier.
Q3: Just take good care of it in general, don't lean it against the wall, get a stand, change your strings regular and give it a good dusting regularly and take the lead out of the jack when you are not using it.
- PJ avoid me like the plague
Big Bends Nut Sauce is great for lubing the nut and bridge to keep strings from breaking and keeping things in tune.
look at http://www.stewmac.com and they have some non silicone stuff called preservation polish that's good. but on an opaque color like blue, something like some dunlop 65 spray polish or automotive quick detailer will also work well to clean off the heavy finger prints and dust but for general daily cleaning a good microfiber cloth (available in most auto sections of general stores for pretty cheap) will get the daily grime off.
You can use naptha (lighter fluid) and a rag to get the gunk off the finger board, a que tip to get it out from around the frets, and if you're very careful and use a very fine tiny piece of 0000 steel wool you can polish the frets. Make sure you take it in to get crowned and polished, when you start feeling indentations in your frets (common normal fret wear) it'll save you some money the earlier you get it in when that happens, so you won't need an expensive re fret. If your finger board is rosewood or pao ferro (also works for ebony and other darker woods but not maple) you can use lemon oil to recondition the fretboard as it dries out it will be really dry after the naptha cleaning. I like to use a very light coat of lemon oil on the back of the satin finish necks too because it darkens the color a bit and it feels good to me but it will be a bit oily. just make sure to wipe everything down after playing and you'll be golden.
oh, and the roland cube is a fine practice amp for 100 bucks.
2. depends how loud your planning on playin, for gigs you want something around 80-100w and marshall are a GREAT make, but thats only my opinion
3.ive forgotten what question 3 was
3. when you've finished playing, give the strings a wipe with a tissue, and dont get them dirty. change the strings when they feel rusty. reccomended strings: ernie ball-super slinky
funny, cause i would NEVER buy those strings! lol, preferance, on a strat with a tremelo system, these strings don't go over well, the springs have more tension that the strings it seems and your bridge and tunign will allways be outta whack...just my thoughts
HM
2005.09.05
"how many people did die from that?...did P.Diddy kill them?" - Eddie Vedder 2006.02.19
If its good enough for Pearl Jam, its good enough for me. I use GHS Boomers.
#2 - My buddy has a 15W Roland Cube amp and it's awesome!!! But he said it was like $300 ???
#3 - Nope.
"Sorry is the fool who trades his love for high-rise rent, Seems the more you make equals the loneliness you get"
.NJD.
I bought Boomers the other day for the first time
What gauge??
"Sorry is the fool who trades his love for high-rise rent, Seems the more you make equals the loneliness you get"
.NJD.
.10's... the same as PJ.
"Sorry is the fool who trades his love for high-rise rent, Seems the more you make equals the loneliness you get"
.NJD.
I went with the .10-.46. My E buzzes enough sometimes, don't need to go any bigger.
Just to get in on your string discussion, I am always trying new strings. GHS Boomer are pretty good but unlike a professional band I imagine most people cannot afford to change strings every gig and need some that will last a long time.
any thoughts on this?
I change mine about once a month. Granted I don't gig at all.
elixir or whattever they are lol, theyre dear but last for a long time, and just to reply to the dude who said he doesnt like super slinky, what strings would you reccomend for a standard fender strat with tremelo??
Anyone with elixer experiance, which gauge works best for you? I was thinking about .09 but .10 may work too. Whatever I get, it should preferably be low tension.
7/9/06 LA 1
7/10/06 LA 2
10/21/06 Bridge 1
good for the blues.
old music: http://www.myspace.com/slowloader
- PJ avoid me like the plague
my strat has a floating bridge. would it be better for me to invest in a hardcase for that reason? i usually take it from my house for uni to my home every weekend on the train.
also the input jack keeps on slacking. is there anything i can do to stop this from happening?
cheers