How to take care of your guitar
HOW TO CARRY YOUR INSTRUMENT
When not in use, we recommend that you always keep your instrument in a high-quality case or gig bag. This will reduce the possibility of damage due to mishaps and sudden changes in climate or atmosphere.
When placing your instrument in its case, be sure that all the latches are securely fastened. Carry the case with the lid towards your body. In the event that the case falls open, the lid will fall against your body and help prevent the instrument from falling out and suffering damage.
Never put your instrument in the trunk of your car. Extreme temperatures, even on moderate days, are often found in such a closed environment. Likewise, never place anything on top of your instrument.
If you transport your instrument via common carriers such as airline, train, or bus, your instrument may be subjected to rough handling and severe environmental changes. For these reasons, a cargo approved hard-shell or flight case would be required.
(image from everythingsg.com)
CARING FOR THE FINISH OF YOUR INSTRUMENT
Your Gibson instrument is finished with several coats of a high-quality nitro-cellulose lacquer. This finish is hand-buffed to a high-gloss, mirror-like surface. Unlike other less expensive finishes, nitro-cellulose does not detract from the tone of the instrument and ages beautifully.
Exposure to certain synthetic materials, leather straps, and cushions such as those found on some instrument stands could adversely effect the finish To insure your finish maintains its beauty, please follow these steps:
- Never cover or wipe your instrument with synthetic materials.
- Always remove the strap from the instrument when not in use.
- Cover or replace guitar stand cushions with cotton cloth.
Perspiration can also damage the guitar finish as well as the hardware finish. Always clean your instrument and hardware with a soft, non-synthetic cloth before storing it. To prolong the beauty and durability of the finishes we recommend polishing it with Gibson Hi-Gloss Polish or a good quality carnuba wax.
A rapid change in temperature or humidity can result in small cracks in the finish known as "finish checking". In most cases it happens when a chilled instrument is exposed to warm air. It occurs most frequently in the winter when a guitar case is opened in a warm room or studio after being outside. This is a result of the wood expanding faster than the lacquer. While this condition does not affect the tone it certainly does affect the appearance. To eliminate the possibility of this happening to your instrument we recommend you warm it slowly by opening the case slowly and fanning it to induce warm air to circulate over the top. If a bright bluish fog appears on the top, close the case immediately and let it warm up for a few minutes. Then lift the instrument a little bit from the case and allow the rest of it to warm to room temperature.
MAINTAINING THE INSTRUMENT
Guitars are tuned to A-440. Leave it tuned to pitch in the case during short periods of storage. If you are going to store it for extended periods, relax the string tension but leave them attached.
Keep your instrument clean. Wax deposits or other foreign materials that are allowed to accumulate will impede its performance.
Keep the strings clean. Perspiration and other foreign materials that accumulate in the windings will cause oxidation and loss of excursion. This results in pitch and intonation problems in the upper ranges.
Change your strings frequently. Fresh strings add to the exciting tonal characteristics of your instrument!
HOW THE ELECTRONICS WORK ON YOUR GIBSON GUITAR
Your Gibson Electric Guitar is capable of producing a variety of sounds by manipulating the controls.
Tone Controls
The tone controls on all models are "treble cut" controls. This means that as you turn the knob counterclockwise you reduce the treble output of that pickup and produce a darker tone. Turning the knob fully clockwise will produce the brightest sound. T his means that the pickups full range of harmonic frequencies are being passed on to the amplifier.
Selector Switch
The selector switch permits you to turn pickups on and off. In the middle position both pickups are turned on. When the switch is "up" the neck (or Rhythm) pickup only is turned on. When the switch is "down" the bridge (or Treble) pickup is turned on.
Coil Tap Switch (certain models)
Certain models are equipped with a coil tap switch. This allows a double-coil (humbucker) pickup to give you the sound of a single-coil pickup.
When the switch is "up" you have the traditional humbucker sound. When the switch is "down" it produces the brighter sound that you expect from a single coil pickup. Some volume loss is experienced in the single-coil mode.
The Varitone Control (certain models)
This control works through a reduction of the fundamental harmonic frequencies. The higher the setting, the greater the loss of "low" frequencies. Positions 3 and 4 produce a sound similar to a single-coil pickup. The exact frequency "cuts" are listed below:
Position 1–> no cut
Position 2–> -5db at 1950hz
Position 3–> -12db at 1 100hz
Position 4–> -16db at 620hz
Position 5–> -18.5db at 360hz
Position 6–> -21db at 1 20hz
THE PROPER WAY TO STRING YOUR INSTRUMENT
As simple as it may sound, proper string installation is critical to the playability of your instrument. An incorrectly installed string can slip and cause the instrument to continually go out of tune.
At the bridge…
The lower end of the instrument is strung .
Different instruments are strung according to the bridge and string type. The bridge end is always strung before the string posts at the neck..
At the neck…
To fasten a string on the string post bring the string up the center of the instrument to the post desired. Put string (A) through the hole or slot in the post at (B) to (C), then around the upper side of the post (D) and under the string (A) at (B), then back again around the post (D).
Now the string will lock itself against the post as you tighten the string and prevent slipping.
Information provided by Gibson Guitar Corp.
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