Home Forums Guitar News Weekly Guitar News Weekly Archive Buying and Maintaining a Guitar – Part 2

  • Creator
    Topic
  • #22732
    Guitar Expert
    Keymaster

    by Pual Adams
    http://www.pauladams.org

    (Click here to open Part 1 in a new window)

    THE TRUSS ROD

    Another improvement in the newer cheap guitars is the functionality of the “truss rod”. This is a metal rod running inside the length of the guitar neck (Usually about 1/2″ below the fret board.) to counter to “pull” of all those strings. The “pull” of the strings can create a “forward bow”. If you tighten the truss rod, it creates a counter pull theoretically reducing any warping. The easiest (Yet not necessarily the most accurate way ) of seeing if a neck has a “forward bow”, is to sight down the neck like you would a rifle. If it looks flat, or has just a slight amount of “pull”, chances are you are OK (Please note that the classical guitar, utilizing nylon strings, does not traditionally use a truss rod so don’t worry about your future classical friend not having one. There is usually less string pull or tension on a nylon stringed guitar. And the neck is usually bigger having more mass and strength. Some guitar necks are actually made of a sandwich of woods glued together. The photo below on the right is an example. This sandwich effect makes the neck stronger.). Other evidence of a “bowed neck” is if the action – or the string height (The distance between the string and the 12th fret.) is high making it difficult to press the strings and play.

    #https://www.guitarsite.com/newsletters/gnw/images/buyingpart2/1.jpg
    The slot opening displaying the end of the truss rod that can be adjusted.

    #https://www.guitarsite.com/newsletters/gnw/images/buyingpart2/2.jpg
    This shows the truss rod slot that runs through the inside of the neck.

    #https://www.guitarsite.com/newsletters/gnw/images/buyingpart2/3.jpg
    A Zebra wood Electric with brainy fancy electronics and a photo of Meher Baba inlaid with Ebony and Abalone.

    “DUDE, LOOK AT THAT PAINT JOB. THERE’S OZZIES FACE UNDER THE BRIDGE”!

    One battle a parent will have when buying a guitar for their son or daughter, is the cosmetic aspect. Most professional musicians I know don’t really care what the instrument looks like. Well, maybe that’s going too far, BUT, I do know that the emphasis is on playability and sound. The two most important features in the relationship between man and musician. Many kids are going to be attracted to that fancy glittery thing shaped like hangman’s Ax. Well, here again, the news isn’t that bad. Most of these instruments are fairly well constructed as well, and should provide a structurally integrated start. If you are shopping for an electric guitar, you might want to ask the store owner about the strength of the metal hardware like the bridge and “vibrato arm”. Even today, they are sometimes made of weakened pot metal and can break. But, this is becomming more rare. The DOWN SIDE about fledgling musicians focusing on looks, is that they may exclude a really great instrument available at a decent price because of a few “dings”. I really don’t know what to say about this dilema, I had to have a Madras belt when I was 13. Maybe you can show them a photo of Stevie Ray Vaughn’s Strat. It was definitely ridden hard, but very road worthy!! On my third album A VIEW FROM THE PLAIN (Acoustic oriented finger style guitar.) I made extensive use of an old Regal guitar I bought for 0.00 at a flea market. Once I re glued the back to the sides, it made a great slide guitar. Matter of fact, all the slide guitar work on that album was done with the little Regal (Hint: Have a nice guitar, sounds great but strings very high off the neck? Can’t afford to fix? Whala!!! You have yourself a “slide guitar”!!).

    THEY’RE EVERYWHERE THEY’RE EVERYWHERE!!! ARGH!!!!!

    There are many sources for buying instruments these days. The Home Shopping Network sells a $ 99.00 guitar created with the help of Estabon, their very own Troubador. I have no experience with it. I will unhappily say that the little Roy Clark Guitar that was being marketed awhile back wasn’t a favorite of mine (I say unhappily because Roy is a great guy and fine musician.). Even Wal Mart has guitar packages. Now, here is where I have one slight exception to my belief in the cheaper instruments being well built. I HAVE played the Wal Mart guitar and amp packages. My response was mixed. I was very impressed with the tone of the electric guitar. It had a very nice Fender Stratocaster sound. BUT, both on an experiential as well as intuitive level, I felt they were assembled just a little sloppy (Action a tad high, frets sticking out the side of the neck. Just not a smooth set up or feel.). Once again however, I admit that they were better than the instruments I had when I was 13. And well, I guess I have to admit that I hate Wal Marts corporate policy of taking over the world. When is enough money, enough money?? Oh well 🙂

    We can’t avoid EBAY. I have bought a number of instruments there. Because of my experience building and repairing, I can buy with a bit of confidence. If there is a major problem with the instrument I can usually fix it (I wish I could say the same about my car!!). If you know how to buy on EBAY you are fairly safe. Make sure that the person you do business with has a good track record. Right next to their screen name, is a number that indicates the amount of transactions this person has accomplished. You can then check his “feedback” and see if positive comments were left by other folks he’s done business with. A few negative comments can really ruin a persons ability to continue to do business on Ebay. Although there are a few bad apples, the Ebay experience is built on the need for a seller to maintain a positive experience rating. He does NOT want unhappy folks in the world.

    When buying a used instrument from an individual you go by three main factors:

    1. How does the guitar, look structurally (See important structural points below).

    2. How does the guitar play in your hands? Is it comfortable? Is it easy to play?

    3. How do you feel intuitively about the person you are doing business with? Does he or she feel like a straight shooter??

    When buying from a music store, you ask the same questions as if you are buying from an individual. Now, providing the store operates honestly (and most do. After all, they don’t want to make people mad.), they can offer a bit more professional advice.

    While the stores don’t have the depth of knowledge that an instrument builder has, they know what instruments are right for a particular individual based on their size, their musical interest, their budget, and the instruments resale value should you decide to trade to a better instrument or sell this one. Furthermore, most reputable stores can assist in minor adjustments in setting up an instrument to an individuals needs. They can also show you how to restring the instrument as well as provide information about care.

    So, you need to weigh the options, and travel the path that seems best to you. I wish there was a way I could download myself to a potential buyers house and go with them to offer advice in making a choice -especially in purchasing a used instrument. BUT, I’m afraid technology hasn’t gotten that far yet – thank God!

    If you are buying a used instrument from an individual, perhaps if you leave a deposit, they will allow you to take the instrument to a person who is more knowledgeable. It is really a lot to ask, but maybe some of you are bold?? And again, the market is very much a buyers market. Today’s starter guitars are generally pretty good and you can’t go too wrong. The most important thing is to find an instrument you can “connect” with. There is a magic to some instruments. One that “fits” a particular person can encourage the him to continue to practice, and more easily see the victories rather than the struggles and defeat.

    A REMINDER

    Non professionals seem to be more concerned with “appearance” or cosmetics than professional musicians. Many real “pro’s” are concerned with sound, feel, and playability. BUT, some of you parents out there who are not sure your child will stick with it, may want to take some consideration in re salability. I thought I’d drop a few observations.

    1. Classical or nylon string guitars don’t sell as well as steel string instruments. So, if you want to be able to sell the instrument easily if your child looses interest, you may want to take this into consideration. It has nothing to do with what is better or best – just what will sell.

    2. If you want to sell your student or first guitar, remember that your potential customers are going to be non professionals who will take the look and cosmetics into account. For this reason, try to convince little Johnny or Sally to treat the instrument well.

    ——————————————————————————–

    Hints about stringed instrument maintenance.

    First of all, there is a lot of pressure on a stringed instrument. This, combined with other factors such as variances in climate, and the unpredictability of wood, can make things tricky. Wood is a living breathing thing. It isn’t as stable as metal, and like people, can be unpredictable. THAT, is also the beauty of wood. It’s mass and characteristics make it THE perfect medium for making musical instruments. Be aware that wood has a cellular structure and changes in climate, temperature, and humidity, can effect an instrument. In the winter months when we have our heaters on and the level of humidity in the air declines, wood can exhibit some shrinkage. ESPECIALLY if the wood was not dried properly before the instrument was constructed. Conversely, during the summer – especially here in the midwest – things can get VERY humid. This of coarse means that wood can absorb some of that moisture and actually expand somewhat.

    Now, if you were to expose a stringed instrument to drastic and repeated changes in atmosphere, and climate, it can hurt the structure of the instrument. This is one reason why you don’t see well known musicians touring with their favorite Martins. Not only do they go from Arizona to Georgia in a matter of one day, frequent jet travel will also expose the instrument is variances of atmospheric pressure. A long time ago I made a beautiful electric guitar for Rick Zunigar of Stevie Wonders Band. It was made of Paduk and had been recently finished w/ acrylic lacquer. Well, at 30,000 feet, the finish cracked. OOPS!!

    Paul Adams has a web site where he has his albums, photos of the musical instruments he builds, and writing here.

    His newest and fondest project is THE NEURONS.

  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.