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Classical Guitar Care and Ownership Guide
Classical guitars must be built lightly in order to vibrate in response to nylon strings. As a result, they are fragile and sensitive to temperature and humidity. If the following guidelines are followed, your guitar should give you years of musical enjoyment.
MAINTAINING A PROPER ENVIRONMENT FOR YOUR GUITAR
Don't leave the guitar in a parked car during any season of the year. If you do, the heat or cold may damage it beyond repair.
Don't place the guitar in the trunk of a moving car. Instead, keep it in the passenger compartment. Choose a placement that does not allow the guitar to move significantly if the car stops suddenly.
Don't place the guitar near an open window where sunlight can heat it up. Don't place it near a heater, air conditioner or heating/cooling duct.
If the guitar is exposed to cold for a long period of time, such as walking outdoors with the guitar in winter, allow at least an hour for the guitar to warm up to room temperature INSIDE THE CASE. Opening up the case when the guitar is first brought inside can cause damage to the finish.
Keep the guitar at room temperature
During the winter months, the air becomes very dry. The first symptom of your guitar's exposure to excessive dryness is a "dead" or thumpy sound.
More severe levels of dryness cause the following:
a warped or twisted neck
fingerboard shrinkage, causing the frets to protrude
cracks on the top or back
bridge detachment (may cause injury if you are playing at the time)
The first three problems would typically cost $100+ to repair. Repairing a detached bridge can be very expensive. If the slightest error is made in reattaching it, the guitar will never play in tune.
We recommend a humidity range of 45-55%.
The typical recommendation of 40%, in our opinion, is too close to the excessive dryness point, which can cause the problems listed below. 45% humidity provides a margin of error in case the hygrometer is off. Also, if the in-case humidifiers dry out without your knowledge, or your room humidifier runs out of water, a guitar that has been regularly humidified at 45 percent should not dry out severely unless the humidification system is neglected for 24 hours or less.
IN-CASE HUMIDIFICATION
The best way to ensure proper humidification is to keep your guitar in its case or gig-bag, using guitar humidifiers. If you don’t have a Humicase (see below), insert a large dampit in the sound hole, and a smaller one in the case near the neck.
To properly fill your dampits: Run them under the faucet, squeeze out the excess water, dry the exterior with a cloth, making sure no water is actually dripping out, which could damage the guitar.
ROOM HUMIDIFICATION
In our showroom, we use a large COOL EVAPORATIVE humidifier with a built-in humidity gauge. Other types of humidifiers disperse moisture particles that can damage your guitar.
If you use this approach, make sure your guitar is at least six feet away from the humidifier to avoid moisture damage.
Never leave home for extended periods with a partially-filled humidifier because the water may run out before you get back.
In the summer months, as long as air conditioning is running in the room where the guitar is placed, the humidity should not be higher than 55 percent. Above this level, the guitar may be in danger of moisture damage, and the room needs a dehumidifier.
If you can purchase a Dampp-Chaser humidifier/dehumidifier controller, you can plug the humidifier and dehumidifier into the controller, which will activate them if a humidity is not 42 percent.
REGULATING HUMIDITY
Humidifiers don't provide consistent protection against dryness unless you know what the humidity is at any given time in the guitar's environment.
If your humidifying the case, use an in-case hygrometer, which we now offer free of charge for final guitar purchases over $1000. If you are not eligible for a free hygrometer purchase a battery-operated digital unit.
If you're humidifying the room or the guitar is placed, buy a good-quality room hygrometer.
SELF-HUMIDIFYING CASES
If you have a "Humicase", use the built-in humidifiers. Read the following link from the manufacturer's web site BEFORE you install the humidifiers: http://www.humicase.com/activation.aspx. Some of the key points are discussed below.
WARNINGS: allow newly moistened humidifiers to dry for 30 minutes before installing, and wipe away any visible moisture off the humidifiers with a towel. If these steps are not taken, your guitar could be damaged. The solution contains propylene glycol and should not contact your mouth or eyes.
Each humidifier has a Velcro patch on the back. In the center of the lid of the case, there is an indentation with the same shape as the humidifier, with a matching Velcro patch. Squeeze the humidifier firmly into this indentation, which humidifies the inside of the guitar.
In the section of the case where the head of the guitar is placed, just in front of the accessory compartment, is an indentation for the second humidifier.
Take the Humicase humidifiers out of the case before subsequent refilling with solution or distilled water.
The manufacturer states that the solution provided with the case should be used until it is gone. Then, distilled water can be used for three months. At that time, another dosage of the solution must be used.
When the silver-plated bass strings (4-6) become discolored or sound dead, they should be replaced. Otherwise, they will also deaden the sound of the trebles through lack of adequate sympathetic vibrations.
When the guitar will not tune, check for faulty strings. This is accomplished by playing the 12th fret note of every string followed by the 12th fret harmonic. If they are not the same or very close, replace the string. To play a 12th fret harmonic, lightly touch the string directly ABOVE the 12th fret, not behind it as you do when playing normally. Pluck the string close to the bridge and let go of the left-and finger immediately.
Replace any faulty strings that you find.
If all the strings are good, and the guitar doesn't play in tune, this may be due improper tuning methods. To determine this, take the guitar to an expert teacher or concert performer and have them tune it by ear.
Intonation problems may also be due to the long-term environment of the guitar. These issues can be addressed by an experienced guitar technician.
If your technician determines that the intonation problems are due to structural issues not attributable to temperature, humidity, or abuse of the guitar, contact us regarding a warranty claim as indicated below.
Always use NYLON strings on your classical guitar. Be aware that there are music store salespeople who claim you can use certain types of steel strings on a classical guitar. No matter how much they insist on doing this, please ignore them.
CARBON FIBER strings usually have thin or overly bright sound.
Be aware that treble strings (1-3) on carbon fiber sets can slip out of the tie block. If so, you will find a large dent in the top of your guitar. To avoid this, tie a knot at one end of the string LARGER THAN THE TIE BLOCK HOLE. Feed the other end through the tie block. As a result, if the string slips as you bring it up to pitch, the knot will catch and stop the string from completely detaching from the guitar.
Never use EXTRA HIGH or EXTRA HARD tension strings on your guitar, as doing so may cause significant damage. Note that some guitar builders specifically warn against this. As before, ignore any advice to the contrary.
Even if these strings don't damage your guitar, using them extensively may cause serious or permanent injuries to your hands.
Beginners do best with LIGHT/LOW or MEDIUM/NORMAL tension strings because they are easier to pluck and fret. They are also more responsive and have a sweeter, more colorful tone in the trebles.
HIGH/HARD tension strings produce a more solid sound in the basses (the three strings wrapped with silver coating), but the trebles sound somewhat dull. For guitarists with weak fingers, these strings may cause repetitive strain injuries. Therefore, unless your guitar buzzes with lower tension strings, use them exclusively.
A compromise is to use high/hard tension basses and medium/normal tension trebles.
If you or anyone else, such as a guitar dealer or builder, alters your guitar in any way, the warranty is no longer in effect.
You'll need a receipt to make a warranty claim. Most student classical guitars have only a one-year warranty. The exception is the Cordoba line, which offers a lifetime warranty if a Humicase is purchased with the guitar and used properly.
In the case of a warranty claim, the responsibility and cost for shipping the guitar to and from the manufacturer or wholesaler falls on the guitar owner. Call 952-322-1310 if you believe your guitar has a problem covered by the warranty, or if you have any questions about care or maintenance.
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