A well-kept guitar’s sound will continue to improve with each passing year. And one of the ways to keep your guitar in excellent condition is to focus on guitar neck maintenance.
Guitar care starts at the neck
The neck of your guitar is constantly under pressure from the strings of your guitar. Depending on the condition of your neck and guitar body, the tension from your strings and setup can warp the neck, causing your guitar to buzz when fretted – or worse – warp the neck in an irreversible way, rendering it unplayable.
If you’re storing your guitar for a long period of time, experiencing extreme pressure or weather changes from flying or travel, or if you simply want to take some added precautions for peace of mind, you should loosen your guitar strings whenever possible in order to reduce the tension on the neck. It’s also a good idea to send your guitar into the repair shop for a set-up every now and then, just to make sure your neck is not being bent out of shape over time.
The most fragile part of the guitar
While it seems obvious that you should be taking extra precautions with your gear, many people tend to focus on protecting the body and not the neck or overall condition of the guitar. Backwards drops and side-to-side impact are some of the most common ways people break their guitars. When using a standard gig bag, if the guitar inside happens to drop on its back or is lightly thrown around, that might be all it takes to break the neck – this is especially true for guitars with angled headstocks. Unfortunately, neck and headstock repairs are incredibly expensive and your instrument’s value may take a plunge after it’s been repaired.
We’ve got your back… and neck!
Naturally, we see guitar protection as serious business. One of the features present in our MONO cases is our Headlock™ neck suspension system. It’s molded from solid, shock-absorbing EVA rubber to protect the neck and headstock from impact during falls. Simply zip the case up and the top section of the Headlock™ automatically clamps down over your guitar – holding it firmly in place to provide full protection – with no need to strap, buckle, or belt anything in.
Take a look at our full range of guitar cases featuring Headlock™ over on the main MONO website.
