Who else does not pamper their guitars

[zhelton]

I do the best I can do with them, I keep them in cases when not in use, wipe down with string changes and thats about it.

[Deliberate1]

My guitars remain cloistered in their own cases. Always. In the winter, RH dips into the low 20's, and that is when the Humidipaks go in. And they reside in a room with a humidifier. I am careful with belt buckles, buttons, jewelry and am conspicuously in the moment when I walk around with one. Only some, not all, have ever smelled the air of the great out of doors.

All of that said, I do not "pamper" my guitars. Indeed, the idea of wrapping one of them in a deposable diaper, while intriguing, seems just a bit obsessive - even for me. Though given what comes out of them sometimes...

David

[rmp]

The RH where I live fluctuates a lot, so if I'm not playing them, they are cased.

I change the strings when I need to, and I will clean them up a bit when the strings are off. I use coated strings, and get about 5 months between changes, I'll usually hydrate the fret board

Maybe once a year polish the frets, or when they look like they could use it.

is this pampering? I don't think so.

More like a reasonable amount of due diligence to keep them at optimum playability and keep things stable.

A few friends of mine keep them out on hangers and stands year-round.
The tops/backs have cracks, their fret edges are rough (fretsprout) and they are always chasing truss rod adjustments.

[Silly Moustache]

This is very similar to the recent thread about polishing.

This is my take. My guitars are very expensive (to me) acquisitions.

I was brought up with certain "guidelines" - one being look after your stuff, as they took many hours of hard work to achieve and you may not get them replaced.
It applied to my school uniform, my shoes, clothes, bicycle etc.

In 1996 I (foolishly) sold my precious 1973 D35 to a friend. It had been through many bluegrass band gigs but still looked pristine.
I'm appalled to how carelessly my friend mistreats it now, but it still sings.

I play my guitars as and when and clean and polish them when I change strings - about every three months.

[FingahPickah]

Originally Posted by jaymarsch

I take care of my guitars but I don’t pamper them. I take them to workshops, open mics, and let other folks play them. I don’t worry too much about dings that happen through regular use. I do wash my hands before and after playing but that’s more about pampering me. :-)
Best,
Jayne

While I am a bit of a pamperer (is that even a word?) I'm with you on this, too. I play them.

The other folks who play my instruments are pretty much limited to my adult sons and close friends.

Like Silly Mustache: "I was brought up with certain "guidelines" - one being look after your stuff, as they took many hours of hard work to achieve and you may not get them replaced."

[davidd]

When I see guitars that have pick scratches all over the body I wonder what was wrong with the person who produced such damage. What does playing hard mean? Are you a Tommy Emmanuel devotee?

There seems to be quite a few players these days that go out of their way to create an image of "it's only a tool" with their guitar.

[raysachs]

I don’t feel like I pamper them, but I also don’t abuse them. I think most of us probably find a balance between the two that feels right to us, so probably very few would cop to “pampering”. And yet there are so many points along the spectrum between full on pampering and full on abuse, that we may be at very different points along that spectrum without feeling like we’re “pampering” or abusing” them. IOW, one person’s pampering is another person’s abusing and vice versa, so my belief that I don’t pamper mine is my totally subjective opinion based on the standards for both that have evolved in my mind between pampering and abuse.

In short, maybe.

-Ray

[soma5]

My guitars seem to get little dings and playing marks regardless of whether I try to pamper them. The biggest culprits, in no particular order: mic stands, guitar stands, friends with picks, door frames, string winders, string ball ends. I don't know how to play with and for other people and avoid these things, even though I try. Many of them happen when I'm just playing for myself in the house. I feel like I'm careful with them, but stuff happens, at least to me and my guitars.

[musicman1951]

Originally Posted by Proclaimer888

I play em, I use them, I hit them hard, I do store them in their case if its been a few days, and with humidipacs. I really don't care bout ding and such....Wow....maybe I do pamper my guitars if putt'n them in their case is argumentative.

I do what you do, minus the dings. If not getting dings is pampering then I pamper mine.

[rllink]

I'm not particularly obsessed with it as some people seem to be.

[dilver]

I take care of my guitars (humidity, string changes, occasional cleaning) and I’m careful with them to try to avoid unnecessary dings, cracks, and damage. But I don’t baby them and I don’t get people who treat a guitar like this some kind of super complicated thing. I also don’t understand why some people get so freaked out about making minor adjustments like turning a truss rod. Most guitars come with a truss rod adjustment tool - you’re expected to use it; just don’t be an idiot.

[Mike4mus6]

Yikes! I feel almost weird about how I care for my guitars.

All guitars in cases, and yes I could leave them out, but would be concerned about humidity. No humidity controlled room in house, but searching for dehumidifier to keep them happier (my Taylor 12 came with a soft case and while it’s nice, I haven’t been able to get humidity below 66-70 even with humid paks)

Wipe down after each play including strings and tuners.
Wear long sleeve shirts, no buttons, so don’t mess with finish.

I am guilty of not playing all my guitars, but blame that on my J-45 I got 10 months ago. My Taylor’s and Martin are not liking it!

[gibpicker]

Nope, no babying here. Mine are kept out on stands and I run a T shirt over the strings after playing and dust them once in a while. That's about it other than being careful about dings, but if I do get a rare ding I just live with it. No biggie.

[nostatic]

One break point on the spectrum is gigging. For those that don't play out, pampering is a lot easier and perhaps the norm. While I don't go all Townsend on my instruments, at home they are on a rack and the only time they see a case is to/from a gig. About half my gigs are outdoors, I just try to keep them out of direct sunlight.

[Joseph Hanna]

Originally Posted by Mike4mus6

Yikes! I feel almost weird about how I care for my guitars.

No humidity controlled room in house, but searching for dehumidifier to keep them happier (my Taylor 12 came with a soft case and while it’s nice, I haven’t been able to get humidity below 66-70 even with humid paks)

Gosh, Mike if my guitars were at a consistent 66-70 RH they sonically would be unplayable. Admittedly this applies only to me, every guitar, every player is different but at 70%, and tone-wise, I might as well stuff wet socks in the guitar