Jonny Blackwood - Complete Guitar Care & Maintenance

Complete Guitar Care & Maintenance:

The Ultimate Owners Guide

By Jonny Blackwood

Copyright 2020 Jonny Blackwood. All rights reserved. No part of this eBook covered by copyrights hereon may be reproduced or copied in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews. For more information, please contact the publisher at info@blackwoodguitarworks.com.

Discover other books available from the author (paperback and digital editions):

How to Setup Your Guitar Like A Pro: An Easy Guide for Beginners

How to Build & Setup Guitar Kits Like A Pro: An Easy Guide for Bolt-on Neck Guitars

How to Start and Run a Successful Guitar Repair Business: Practical Tips for the New Entrepreneur

How to Do Fretwork Like A Pro: An Easy Guide for Beginners (coming soon)

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Discover the Guitar Setup Pro app, featuring the Guitar Setup Calculator at your favourite App Store.

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Disclaimer

All trademarks, service marks, trade names and copyrights present in this book are trademarks, registered trademarks, or copyrights of their respective owners. Fender, Strat, Stratocaster, Telecaster, Tele, P-Bass, and J-Bass are registered trademarks of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. Floyd Rose is a registered trademark of Floyd Rose Industries. Gibson and Les Paul are registered trademarks of Gibson Guitar Corp. Gretsch is a registered trademark of Fred Gretsch Enterprises. Blackwood Guitarworks, its agents or authors are not affiliated with Fender, Gibson, Gretsch, Floyd Rose, or any other Brand, copyright or trademark listed in this Book. No warranty of any kind applies. Information in this book is for educational purposes only, and the publisher, author, website owner, affiliates, and any other person associated with the distribution, marketing or advertising of this book publication will not be held liable for any damages of any kind as a result of action taken from the content within this book. The information contained in this book is provided in good faith by the author for general guidance on matters of interest only.

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T hank you for buying Guitar Complete Care & Maintenance: The Ultimate Owners Manual. After many years of working in the repair business, I noticed a large number of instruments I worked on were commonly neglected of simple upkeep and care. Owning a musical instrument is not unlike owning a car, and requires seasonal checkups and maintenance to ensure everything keeps running tiptop, year after year. Even the frequent task of restringing the guitar has its role in play & performance. These things arent always talked about by the salesperson at the guitar store, the guitar instructor, or friends. Like many things, we usually react to problems as they come up, but a little knowhow can prevent most common issues from ever happening.

This guide has been designed to fill in all the blanks between routine maintenance, improving its playability, and to doing the odd repair. All of this, combined into a concise manual, means fewer trips to the repair shop and more time playing and understanding your instrument. Procedures are described in a step-by-step manner so that you can easily follow along, no matter where you are, and no matter what your experience level.

I wish you all the best in your guitar playing journey, and I hope this manual provides all the key information you will ever need in maintaining and caring for your instrument. Connect with me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/blackwoodguitarworks), Instagram (@blackwoodguitarworks) or through my website (https://www.blackwoodguitarworks.com/) and let me know how its worked out.

Cheers,

-JB

T his book is written in a particular sequence to assist the reader through professional guitar maintenance, setup, and repair, using step-by-step instructions. For those new to the subject, it is best to read the book from beginning to end, for a broad overview of the entire operation. Each step is described in detail for each guitar type that would be applicable, with subsequent sections on related topics. Thumb through the sections as needed, try different setup specifications, and when youre ready, tackle something new, such as nut slot cutting.

*Click the highlighted headings at any time to return to the Table of Contents.

NOTE: The work described in this guide is intended for individuals with basic mechanical skills. If you do not understand the described procedures or are uncomfortable using tools, please leave this kind of work to a qualified technician.

T o do a successful setup, lets get familiar with all the working parts of a guitar.

Body: The body of the guitar contributes to its comfort, style, and resonant tonal quality. It is often made from select tonewoods, laminates or in rarer cases, composite materials.

Neck: The neck of the guitar also contributes to the overall comfort of playing and can vary in thickness, width, and length. Guitar necks are generally made from hard tonewoods such as maple or mahogany, or a select combination of different tonewoods.

Fretboard: The fretboard is the main playing surface and is often made from hard tonewoods most popularly maple, rosewood, or ebony.

Frets: Fret size and fret wear condition can play a role in the comfort of playing and ultimately affect the end-result of the setup. There are tips on this throughout the book, but we will not dive into fretwork as it is an advanced-level topic.