hideOriginal Post
Jul 08, 03 at 10:02pmSniper
This thread will have many guitat tips like how to handle your guitar,clean your guitar and any other information I find need to post here. Some of these tips are off other websites some are written by me. Almost are tips are mine. If they are not mine I will edit them to fit neoseeker or beginners.
Tip 1 - How to tune your guitar -- Tuning your guitar is probably the most basic, but most important thing you should do before playing your guitar. Its probably easiest to just buy a guitar tuner, they cost about $15 - $20 and they're really the quick and easy way to tune your guitar with near 100% accuracy. However, if you don't have a guitar tuner and you want to tune your guitar, here is the method that I use...there are many others, but I find this to be the easiest to understand.
We start at the 6th string, this is the fattest string on your guitar, and when played open its an E note. You will need either a harmonica, pitch pipe, tuning fork, or any other instrument so you can hear the note. All you do is turn the tuning peg until the note on the guitar sounds like the E note that you've just played. Once you have that first note you proceed in an orderly manner tuning one string after another. Press down on the 5th fret of the 6th string...then play the 5th string open. The 6th string with the 5th fret pressed down is the same note as the 5th string played open. Turn the tuning peg until the 5th string sounds like the 6th string with the 5th fret depressed.
Now the pattern continues and you press down the 5th fret on the 5th string...then play the 4th string open. Once again, tune until these two notes sound the same. Then move onto the next string...Press down on the 5th fret of the 4th string and tune the 3rd string to this note. Once you get to the third string there is a different pattern...you press down on the 4th fret of the 3rd string and then tune the 2nd string to this note. Finally you press down the 5th fret of the 2nd string and tune the open 1st string to this note.
There you have it, a tuned guitar, as a sidenote, you can tune your guitar without having the 6th string in tune with E...this just will mean that your guitar is in tune with itself, but you would need to tune it to the E if you wanted to play with other musicians.
This is also called standard tuning [E A D G B E] and is used by most guitarists, however, this is not the only way to tune your guitar. You can tune it in any variety of ways...but for the beginner this is the tuning that you'll most likely always use.
But I highly recommened an auto tuner.
Tip 2 - Cleaning your guitar - Cleaning your guitar is on of the most important things you can do to insure a long life of the finish. There are many different methods of cleaning your guitar out there but mind you, your guitar is made of wood. And wood as it dries becomes more resonate to sound. If you think of using waxes or polishes then you should reconsider this. As in using such products as funiture polish and other household items, this will eventually penetrate the finish and may or may harm the wood.
I suggest using just a real damp cloth or chamois to polish the finish of the guitar body. A VERY DAMP CLOTH!! Because as water sets it will harm or even warp certain areas.
I've heard of people using a drop or two of Almond oil on the fretboard but I don't know about this. But I suggest using a very fine steel wool and lightly going over the fretboard to remove any oil that might be attributed to sweat.
Every person has their own unique body chemistry and some peoples sweat may contain more sweat than others. So what I suggest is after each time you play your guitar, you wipe the strings to remove anything that might inhibit oxidation. As in time as strings get old they lose their abilitly to retain intonation and tune. So just get in the habit of wiping . And when your not playing your guitar might I suggest keeping your guitar in it's case. Since this is what is made for and is a lot better than just leaving it propped up in some corner of your house.
Mind you that there are different ways and methods out there for cleaning your guitar and if you are in doubt, contact a professional. They might have some special cleaners out there such as,"Martin Guitar Polish".
I have heard many things you can do to help clean your guitar and most of them work. Try testing things.
Tip 3 - Changing your strings - I've played just about all types of strings. From heavy guage to extra light guages. You know as well as I there are a lot of different name brand strings out there for you to chose from. The best thing I can tell you from experience, is to find a brand that your most comfortable with and stay with them.
It is not a good idea, after you set the intonation, to keep changing different guages of strings. For example if you used to playing a light guage set of strings and you change over to a heavy guage set, the intonation WILL NOT be the same, and your guitar won't be intune all over the neck.
It is also hard to say how to put on your strings because almost every kind of guitar is strung differnetly. So, my advice is go to your local music store or just look at your guitar and see how to put on the strings. It's really not that hard.
You all may request tips and I will do my best to write them for you.
Note:] I am not a 6 string guitar player. I know nothing really except the tuning. I know loads more about bass. But me and my friend sat down and started getting ideas of helping beginners. But I do know alot of guitars so please ask.
[color=#666666]This message was edited by Abused Child on Jul 09 2003.
This message was edited by FortePenance(moderator) on Aug 05 2007.
Tip 1 - How to tune your guitar -- Tuning your guitar is probably the most basic, but most important thing you should do before playing your guitar. Its probably easiest to just buy a guitar tuner, they cost about $15 - $20 and they're really the quick and easy way to tune your guitar with near 100% accuracy. However, if you don't have a guitar tuner and you want to tune your guitar, here is the method that I use...there are many others, but I find this to be the easiest to understand.
We start at the 6th string, this is the fattest string on your guitar, and when played open its an E note. You will need either a harmonica, pitch pipe, tuning fork, or any other instrument so you can hear the note. All you do is turn the tuning peg until the note on the guitar sounds like the E note that you've just played. Once you have that first note you proceed in an orderly manner tuning one string after another. Press down on the 5th fret of the 6th string...then play the 5th string open. The 6th string with the 5th fret pressed down is the same note as the 5th string played open. Turn the tuning peg until the 5th string sounds like the 6th string with the 5th fret depressed.
Now the pattern continues and you press down the 5th fret on the 5th string...then play the 4th string open. Once again, tune until these two notes sound the same. Then move onto the next string...Press down on the 5th fret of the 4th string and tune the 3rd string to this note. Once you get to the third string there is a different pattern...you press down on the 4th fret of the 3rd string and then tune the 2nd string to this note. Finally you press down the 5th fret of the 2nd string and tune the open 1st string to this note.
There you have it, a tuned guitar, as a sidenote, you can tune your guitar without having the 6th string in tune with E...this just will mean that your guitar is in tune with itself, but you would need to tune it to the E if you wanted to play with other musicians.
This is also called standard tuning [E A D G B E] and is used by most guitarists, however, this is not the only way to tune your guitar. You can tune it in any variety of ways...but for the beginner this is the tuning that you'll most likely always use.
But I highly recommened an auto tuner.
Tip 2 - Cleaning your guitar - Cleaning your guitar is on of the most important things you can do to insure a long life of the finish. There are many different methods of cleaning your guitar out there but mind you, your guitar is made of wood. And wood as it dries becomes more resonate to sound. If you think of using waxes or polishes then you should reconsider this. As in using such products as funiture polish and other household items, this will eventually penetrate the finish and may or may harm the wood.
I suggest using just a real damp cloth or chamois to polish the finish of the guitar body. A VERY DAMP CLOTH!! Because as water sets it will harm or even warp certain areas.
I've heard of people using a drop or two of Almond oil on the fretboard but I don't know about this. But I suggest using a very fine steel wool and lightly going over the fretboard to remove any oil that might be attributed to sweat.
Every person has their own unique body chemistry and some peoples sweat may contain more sweat than others. So what I suggest is after each time you play your guitar, you wipe the strings to remove anything that might inhibit oxidation. As in time as strings get old they lose their abilitly to retain intonation and tune. So just get in the habit of wiping . And when your not playing your guitar might I suggest keeping your guitar in it's case. Since this is what is made for and is a lot better than just leaving it propped up in some corner of your house.
Mind you that there are different ways and methods out there for cleaning your guitar and if you are in doubt, contact a professional. They might have some special cleaners out there such as,"Martin Guitar Polish".
I have heard many things you can do to help clean your guitar and most of them work. Try testing things.
Tip 3 - Changing your strings - I've played just about all types of strings. From heavy guage to extra light guages. You know as well as I there are a lot of different name brand strings out there for you to chose from. The best thing I can tell you from experience, is to find a brand that your most comfortable with and stay with them.
It is not a good idea, after you set the intonation, to keep changing different guages of strings. For example if you used to playing a light guage set of strings and you change over to a heavy guage set, the intonation WILL NOT be the same, and your guitar won't be intune all over the neck.
It is also hard to say how to put on your strings because almost every kind of guitar is strung differnetly. So, my advice is go to your local music store or just look at your guitar and see how to put on the strings. It's really not that hard.
You all may request tips and I will do my best to write them for you.
Note:] I am not a 6 string guitar player. I know nothing really except the tuning. I know loads more about bass. But me and my friend sat down and started getting ideas of helping beginners. But I do know alot of guitars so please ask.
[color=#666666]This message was edited by Abused Child on Jul 09 2003.
This message was edited by FortePenance(moderator) on Aug 05 2007.
