Guitar Care
Guitar Care
Guitar care guides from Paul's Guitar Hideout in Glens Falls, NY. Every winter the same parade comes up the stairs: fret ends you can suddenly feel, buzzing that started when the furnace kicked on, action that changed with nobody touching the truss rod. Heated Upstate air causes most of it. Skipped maintenance causes the rest.
These guides cover what actually comes through the door, written the way we'd explain it at the counter. Humidity and what winter heating does to wood. What a setup includes. Fret buzz, tuning drift, when strings are due, cleaning, long-term storage, and whether an old guitar is worth fixing. The regional pieces get specific about Upstate New York, the Adirondacks, and New England, because this climate is harder on guitars than most players realize.
If your guitar is doing something described here, you'll usually know what's wrong before you drive over. For documented individual repairs, instrument by instrument, see the Repair Vault.
Upstate Climate and Humidity
- How Humidity Affects Your Guitar — and What to Do About It
- Why Upstate NY Is Harder on Guitars Than Most Players Realize
- The Adirondack Guitar Player's Seasonal Maintenance Checklist
- New England Climate and Your Guitar — Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine
- Why the Northeast Is Hard on Guitars and What to Do About It
Playability and Setups
- What a Guitar Setup Includes and Why It Matters
- What Is Fret Buzz and How Do I Fix It
- How to Know If a Guitar Needs a Fret Level
- Why Won't My Guitar Stay in Tune
Everyday Care and Storage
- When to Change Your Guitar Strings — and How to Know
- How to Clean Your Guitar Without Damaging It
- Guitar Case vs. Guitar Stand — Which Is Right for Your Guitar?
- How to Store a Guitar Long-Term
When to Bring It In
If your guitar needs hands on it, that's what the repair bench and setup service are for. Setups are $79 standard, $99 specialty. Full repair and setup pricing.
Common Questions
What does a guitar need in an Upstate New York winter?
Humidity control, mostly. Heated indoor air dries guitars out and causes most of the winter problems we see: sharp fret ends, new buzzing, action that changed on its own. A case humidifier through the heating season prevents most of it, and the humidity guide above covers the rest.
Are these guides based on real repair work?
Yes. They're written from the bench at our shop in Glens Falls, covering the problems we see most often. For individual documented repairs, see the Repair Vault.
My guitar buzzes or won't stay in tune. Where do I start?
Start with the guide that matches the symptom. Both problems usually have simple causes, and both guides tell you when it's a home fix and when it's a bench visit.
Is your instrument not playing the way it used to, or just due for a tweak? Bring it in and we'll look at it together. We're located at The Shirt Factory in Glens Falls, NY. Use the Cooper Street entrance and take the stairs up. If you need assistance, give us a call and we'll come down.
Paul's Guitar Hideout · The Shirt Factory
71 Lawrence St., Suite 201B, 2nd Floor
Glens Falls, NY 12801
Wednesday–Sunday, 12–5pm
(518) 217-8695 · info@paulsguitarhideout.com