Care and Maintenance of an Electric Guitar
Basic care and maintenance

Make a habit of wiping the body and strings

The first step in maintaining your instrument is to carefully wipe dirt and sweat from it with a cloth. For a guitar, this means carefully wiping the body, strings (which easily rust due to sweat and the like), and fingerboard (which tends to get dirty).

Replace strings frequently

Although you can keep using strings as long as they have not snapped, old strings tend to lose their pitch stability, and their sound grows dull. You should replace strings frequently-at least once every six months or, if possible, each month.
There are three things you should keep in mind when replacing strings:

  • Wind strings around the peg posts, from up-down. Wind strings two to three times around the pegs. A good rule of thumb is to leave room roughly that of the space between pegs and start winding.
  • Apply tension with your right hand while winding to eliminate slack and reduce tuning issues.
  • It may be easier to wind the strings directly around the posts without turning the pegs, but it is not recommended. Doing so can twist the strings.