A Restring for the Holidays
Take a journey in setting up a used guitar.
Let’s Get Started
My dad needed a restring for his Taylor 214CE and dropped it off to get the premium package, which includes cleaning and setup. Right away I looked it over while keeping his play style in mind. The first place I look at on acoustic guitars is the back because it will give you a lot of clues as to what to look for on the front.
There were some minor scratches, but a pattern of cracked wood was showing up. The Florida humidity is brutal for people and wood. Optimal humidity for any guitar is from 40% to 50%. If you must take a guitar outside, I suggest you put it under a fan inside afterwards. Proper airflow will be about the only thing that can quickly dry out a guitar without causing more damage. Now to look for similar issues on the front.
My dad also likes to play with a flamenco flair, so damage to the finish in this corner of front isn’t a surprise. Flamenco guitars have much wider pick guards that are on both sides of the sounds hole so that the guitar can take the beating that comes from the golpe technique. After tapping that position on the body, I could hear why he hits this spot consistently. It gave bright percussion that could not be found anywhere else on the body of the guitar.
Aside from that, this guitar just needs a good cleaning. There isn’t much that I can do to repair the damage shown, so I’ll chalk these marks up as characteristics of the instrument. The guitar still plays great, so any changes in tone from the damage will make it sound unique over time. Think of it like adding a vintage effect to the wood.
Acoustic Guitar Setup
There isn’t too much you can do to adjust an acoustic guitar beyond adjusting the neck. A professional luthier may find it necessary to alter the nut or saddle piece, but that’s for guitars that can’t be fixed with a turn of the truss rod. Thankfully this guitar plays great, so I just want to check the intonation.
We can easily check that by tuning the instrument and playing notes that the twelfth fret. These notes should be the same notes that the guitar is tuned to. If the intonation is correct, these notes will also be in tune. Upon checking this I found that the twelfth fret was slightly sharp. This meant that the string was too short. To lengthen the string, I needed to back-bow the neck a little. To remember which way to turn a truss rod, look at it with the headstock towards you and remember, “left in” and “right out”. We want to go right on out and take the headstock back to elongate the string. When doing adjustments its best to detune the string a little (a half-step or more) and turn the trust rod in increments of 1/8th to 1/4th. After about 1/3rd of a rotation the intonation is corrected.
Clean Up
Before I change strings, I like to clean the instrument. This requires removing the strings. Some people hate taking all the strings off at one time because they believe that it lets the neck bend due to a lack of tension. My response to that is, “That’s what the truss rod is for.” Now I will admit that a long period of time without strings can allow the neck to twist, but we’re just going to clean it. A few minutes won’t hurt anything.
When I remove the bridge pins, I like to keep them organized just like any other part. Each pin shown here is in the same order that was used on the bridge so any deformities on the pins match their string.
After applying some light elbow grease and cleaner with a microfiber cloth I was able to get the fret board cleaned up as you can see on the twelfth fret. I also like to take the saddle piece out and give the bridge as much help as I can. The neck was surprisingly clean. Usually there is a buildup in one or two locations from where the owner usually holds the guitar. A clean neck tells me that my dad plays everywhere, so a buildup of grime can’t happen.
The inside of the guitar appeared to be fine. If you come across a guitar with dirt, hair, or a loose pick then try shaking out the large parts first or reaching in if possible. Some guitars like this one have electric capabilities, so be sure to avoid damaging any internal components. Once the large bits are out, you may want to use a vacuum or leaf blower on low to knock out any small debris. None of that was needed this time.
Now to clean the frets. Using .0000 grade steel wool and a fret guard I could easily clean the frets and restore their shine. Doing this will produce many metal fibers, so I’ll protect the body and work surface with shopping bags. A little painter’s tape helps to hold things in place and makes it easy when cleaning up all those little metal bits. Any remaining pieces of metal are picked up with painter’s tape. I’ll move on to the next step once I’m sure the guitar is totally clean.
Fresh Strings
The first step to putting on strings is lining up the tuning post holes so that they face the body. This way each string can be slid into position through the tuning post. I also like to turn the tuning keys, so they are pointing up and down. This will give me more room for my string winder to not bump the tuning keys.
When seating the strings in the bridge I’ll grab the corresponding pin, set it over the ball end of the string, and slide both in. Very quickly the ball end moves towards the sound hole and can stop going down. The pin then continues down until it is seated. Take note of the extra windings on the string. Once the pin is seated, you can see the end of those windings. Now compare the length of the pin to the length of the windings. Each guitar is different, but the end of the windings will give you an idea of how far in the string actually goes.
To find the amount of string needed for winding around the posts I put the string taunt, but not crazy taunt, and measure to the nest post. I then back the string through the post I’m working with and hold it in place. This creates a ton of slack, but I’ve found that this is a great rule of thumb for any guitar. Now some people like to make knots and use as little string as possible. I find that adding more material around the most allows the entire string to stretch more evenly. I also find that knots create inconsistencies in the stretching and tuning of strings.
To fix that I simply start winding and when the string turns into my hand, I’ll give the loose end a sharp pull up at the post. This keeps the loose end above the string as it wraps onto the post. All I need to do is guide it in place and allow the tension of the wrappings to do their job. The last step for each string is to check the bridge pin in case any friction pulled the pin back up.
Once the strings are on and wrapped around each post from the center of the head stock towards the tuning keys, it is now time to trim the ends. I’ve noticed that many players have specific ways of handling the ends of strings. I do not like to make fancy ornaments out of them because they can vibrate and create unwanted sounds. I also don’t like cutting too close to the post because I want to be sure that the wrappings are left alone. I also don’t like sharp string ends. To avoid all of this I will hold the loose end at a 45 degree angle from the post, put my snips along the top of the post as a guide, and clip the string at a 90 degree angle. The 45 degree angle keeps me away from the wrappings. The 90 degree angle makes a clean cut through the string and prevents any pokey or excessively sharp ends.
The Final Touch
After tuning the guitar up the strings are actively stretching. I like to help expedite this process by pulling the strings at the twelfth fret for about one minute. I’ll add enough force to pull the strings up, but not lift the guitar off my work surface. If you do this, be sure to pull at multiple points along the string. You don’t want to crimp fresh strings. All we need is a minute of extra tension. After that, I’ll re-tune and play it for several minutes to give the strings some extra stretching. I’ll follow this with another re-tuning and then leave it alone for a little while so the strings can seat into place.
The strings should now stay relatively in tune. After about a day the strings should be done stretching. Now this Taylor guitar is ready to play with a brightened sound and a fresh look just in time for the holidays.
