Caring for my 335s

[qwertypants]

Hi all

 

Apologies if this is done before, I had a quick search and didn't find anything, but please direct me to the thread if I missed it.

 

Basically, before I got my 335s I never paid any mind to guitar maintenance as I had relatively inexpensive ones. However, now that I'm an owner I wanted to get and idea of how to take care of them from this forum as I've seen so many conflicting opinions elsewhere.

 

I leave my guitars in their cases in room temperature. I'm based in Sydney, Australia and it is currently winter here. I was hoping I could get some information on the following:

 

Humidity - do I need to worry about humidifiers etc for semi hollows? Or is it all good if the room is pretty much comfortable for humans?

 

Polishing - are polishes bad for them? Is there such a thing as polishing it too much and am I better off just using a damp rag with no polish

 

Fretboard - is it bad to oil it a lot? Should I be oiling it at all?

 

Clip on tuner - is there any negative effects on the headstock finish if I use a clip on tuner? should I invest in a pedal tuner?

 

Is there any thing else that you recommend doing to maintain them?

 

Apologies for the newb questions, hopefully I can be a more worthy owner of my 335s!

 

Thanks all.

[IanHenry]

Hi Qwerty,

Welcome to the forum.

On the subject of humidity, I can't really help you because I live in a different environment (the U.K is never that dry that we need to humidify our guitars), my 335 lives on a stand unless I'm taking it somewhere. It should be noted that people in the U.S spend quite a lot of time worrying about humidity though, so maybe you shouldn't neglect it. One the subject of stands you need to be very careful because some will mark the guitars finish. I only use Hercules stands on my Gibson's. See here:

 

http://www.herculesstands.com/guitars/guitarstands.html

 

Polishing, I polish my Gibson's regularly using Gibson's own polish. I know a lot of the members in the U.S use different polishes which aren't available here in the U.K, but I would stress not to use furniture polish because most of it contains silicone which is a nightmare (In my youth I trained as a cabinet maker & French polisher).

 

The Fretboard should be oiled maybe twice a year, you can use Lemon Oil, Fretboard Conditioner or boiled Linseed Oil (like you would use on your Cricket bat), but don't over do it, you giving it a drink not drowning it!

 

Clip on tuners are fine, I really like my Snark, however, under no circumstances leave it on the guitar (the same goes for capos) for the same reason as I mentioned earlier regarding un suitable stands.

 

Enjoy your Guitar, you've made a good choice.

 

Regards,

Ian

p.s you need to post a photo of your guitar because the rule of thumb around here is "if we don't see it, it didn't happen"

[Drog]

Yes, you still need to worry about humidity. I keep all my guitars in a controlled room that stays at 45%.

 

I rarely use cleaners or polish, use my breath and a soft cloth the majority of the time. If you do use a polish, make sure its ok for nitro and put it on the cloth and then wipe. I also never use anything on my fretboards, but you can use it once or twice a year if you want.

 

If you wipe your guitar down after each use and keep her in an environment that is consistent, you should have many happy years of playing.

 

Have fun!

[SteveFord]

An in-case humidifier couldn't hurt and I use lemon oil on the fret board once every 3 months or so, the guitar gets a good polish every string change and you know to avoid quick temperature changes, I'm sure.

 

Enjoy your new guitar!

 

 

 

[zigzag]

My two cents, which may be all it's worth.

 

1) I wouldn't worry about humidity unless you live in an area where there are extremes over a prolonged period. Of course, going from one extreme to another quickly can also be a problem, especially with the neck, like going from an air conditioned room to a 95 degree outdoors with 95% relative humidity.

 

2) Polishing? NC likes a little polish unless you like a worn/used look. I use Gibson or Martin polish. Those will also help rid of that blushing (white) look NC gets when the guitar sits under your armpit for a while. I would personally not use polish with wax, and even though naphtha is supposed to be okay with NC, I personally wouldn't use it either.

 

3) Fretboards do not like extremely dry environments, and they do need cleaning from time to time. I've heard that Fret Doctor is the best for fretboards, but I've not been able to find it anywhere. Once, maybe twice a year, I'll use a little Gibson fret conditioner. It has a little naphtha in it so it cleans well. Then I'll follow that with some Guitar Honey. Follow instructions.

 

4) There are usually no negative effects from clip on tuners. NC is not a very protective finish, so whenever it is handled roughly, it shows. You're gonna get nicks and dings on a NC finish; it is inevitable.