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Important First Steps

Read the Guitar Approval and Package Handling Guidelines in the email or letter that was sent to you when the guitar shipped.  Below are some key points from this document.

1.  DO NOT INSTALL the humidifiers supplied with a case unless you are certain you are keeping the guitar, as this causes problems during return shipping.  Instead, use the soundhole humidifier inside the accessory compartment of the case.  Put this humidifier back in the compartment before shipping so it won't become dislodged and damage the bracing.

2. Before calling or writing to us, let the guitar acclimate to your environment for 24 hours after shipping in conditions that may be adverse in terms of temperature and/or humidity.  Many typical complaints resolve themselves within this period. 

3.  During the first day, monitor the temperature (should be 70-72 degrees) and humidity (should be 45-55 percent) with the free temperature/humidity gauge inside your free guitar case. 

Real vs. Perceived Problems

When customers receive an expensive guitar, especially if they have upgraded from a guitar under $1000, they tend to play individual notes very slowly and over-scrutinize each one.  As a result, they often hear what sound like unusual defects, which are actually characteristics inherent in all classical guitars. 

Since most guitars over $2000 are near-concert or concert instruments, they will amplify inherent distortions to a much greater degree than student guitars.  Many times, for example, we hear "My $500 budget classical doesn't make that noise".  This may be true, but you can't hear a budget classical as clear as a bell 100 feet away.  It also doesn't have a full, rich, complex tone that sings out and sustains like a human voice.

We recommend auditioning your guitar by playing moderate-tempo music, not individual notes.  Also, listen for the overall character and beauty of sound.  As you do, you become lost in the instrument and forget about minor flaws that can never be removed or engineered out of a classical guitar.

Common Issues and Corrections

1.  The tone of the guitar is dead, mushy or dull.

This will occur if humidity in the room where the guitar is played is below 40 percent or above 65 percent. 

Using  the case humidifiers or sound hole humidifier in humid weather will also cause this problem.

Another possible explanation is holding the guitar so that the back is pressed up against your torso.  Instead, tilt the guitar slightly forward so there is space between your stomach and the back.

2.  Buzzing

This may be due to climate change, as we do not ship guitars with these problems, or the fact that you play louder than average, or because of improper technique.

Install high tension strings.  If this does not help, a higher saddle or fret work may be necessary.  You can check with a local classical builder or technician for a repair estimate or return the guitar.

3.  The guitar does not tune properly.

This may be due to climate change or defective strings, as we do not ship guitars that don't tune properly.  Keep in mind that nylon strings can have tuning problems relatively early in their life span.  Therefore, change the strings before assuming the guitar is defective.

Furthermore, "tune properly" can be subjective.  For example, a friend of ours tried to sell his guitar to someone who claimed it had tuning problems.  When it was returned and checked by a technician, the guitar was found to tune better than expected for the price.

As the retail price increases, guitars exhibit better and better "intonation".  At the same time, the intonation of less expensive instruments is well tolerated by many guitarists, but not by experienced players with sensitive ears.

Another problem may be the tuning method used.  Electronic tuners are not recommended because the tuning indicator is rarely stable, and tuning essentially involves visual estimation.  

Another erroneous method is matching fifth and seventh fret harmonics on adjacent strings, which is flawed because seventh fret harmonics are slightly sharp.

The basic unison tuning method should establish that the guitar plays in tune well enough for most amateur players.  Start by tuning string 6 to a reference pitch or electronic tuner.  Following that, a lower adjacent string is fretted to match the pitch of a higher, open string.  For example, string 6/fret 5 is played along with string 5 open, and string 5 is adjusted "beatless" to string 6/fret 5.  The two strings should sound as one to achieve this state.  The remainder of the unison tuning method can be found in any method book or by looking up guitar tuning on the Internet.

For a more refined unison method, see the one below published by the Guild of American Luthiers:

http://users.adelphia.net/~cygnusx_1/equal_temperament.html

To check tuning, which is essential, I listen for various octaves in the first position, such as string 6/open plus string 4/fret 2.  With octaves, as with unisons, there should be a beatless "one string" sound.  If you hear any flawed octaves, you must retune.

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