Ask the Expert | Acoustic Guitar

Here are answers to many questions about acoustic guitar care and repair.

Uncertain about guitar care and maintenance? The ins-and-outs of guitar building? Or another topic related to your guitar? Ask Acoustic Guitar’s repair experts by sending an email with the subject “Repair Expert” to editors.ag [at] stringletter.com. If AG selects your question for publication, you’ll receive a complimentary copy of our Acoustic Guitar Owner’s Manual.

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closeup of an acoustic guitar fretboard and a tape measure being used to measure scale length

Ask the Expert: Understanding Acoustic Guitar Scale Length

Here's a guide to understanding scale length on acoustic guitars, an often overlooked design variable that has a big impact on the sound & feel of the guitar.

closeup of open back tuners on an acoustic guitar headstock

How to Keep Acoustic Guitar Tuners Moving Smoothly

Here's how to keep the tuning components on your acoustic guitar moving smoothly, from cleaning to proper lubricant selection for both modern and vintage guitars.

How a Skilled Touchup Artist Can Make Your Guitar’s Dings and Scratches Disappear

Touchup is one of the real dark arts of instrument repair, and one that exists in an almost entirely different universe from structural and functional repairs.

Ask the Expert: How to Cure Your Guitar’s Wintertime Humidity Blues

Maintaining your guitar’s humidity level is key in avoiding lots of headaches, from a fluctuating setup to potentially expensive structural repairs.

Ask the Expert: Sound Advice for Making a Living in Lutherie

Perhaps above all, I’d recommend starting right away by finding some inexpensive broken guitars and trying to repair them. Often, people are happy to give them away.

guitarist holds a resonator guitar and cleans it

Ask the Expert: Caring for Your Guitar Over the Long Haul

Guitar repair expert Mamie Minch gives a rundown of some basic things a guitar owner can do, and not do, to maintain the health of their guitar.

collage showing three different packages of nylon guitar strings

Ask the Expert: What’s the Deal with Nylon Guitar Strings?

Guitar repair expert Martin Keith explains the differences between steel and nylon guitar strings and shares some useful terminology.

closeup photo of a guitar tech measuring the action on an acoustic guitar

Ask the Expert: Why Is My Guitar Buzzing?

Is your acoustic guitar making an unwanted buzzing sound? Here our resident expert offers some possible causes and solutions.

Why Isn’t My Acoustic Guitar Intonating Well, and What Can I Do About It?

Here are some things to check if you notice something is outside of the reasonable range of intonation on your guitar and it’s off enough to bother the ear.

a closeup of a solid guitar headstock with banjo tuners

Ask the Expert: What’s the History Behind Solid Headstocks and Banjo Tuners on Guitars?

In this installment of Ask the Expert, George Gruhn dives into the history of slotted headstocks and banjo tuners on acoustic guitars.