So, let's begin!
Take a look at these two heavily used guitars, a Jackson Dinky MIJ and an Epiphone LP custom. Both guitars were covered in dust when they came in. So the first thing to do is to get rid of the old rusty strings and clean your guitar! It's important to clean your guitar thoroughly every once in a while as all the sludge, dust and rust are definitely not good for your health and could damage your favorite instrument.
Here's a tip on how to remove the sludge off your fretboard: Do not use steel wool and stuff like that, an old neckplate or piece of metal with smooth edges could help you scratch the sludge a bit and then remove it using some degreaser or lighter fluid and a clean rag. Lighter fluid and a clean rag can also be used to clean the guitar body. Be careful not to damage the finish, especially if it's "nitro".
Once you've removed the fretboard sludge, proceed to the fret cleaning-polishing. All frets get a bit rusty and loose their shine over time. So, it's time to polish them with an ultra high grit sandpaper like 8000 or so. You have to use a fretboard protector when working on each fret so that you don't scratch the wood. Here, we're using a metal cover from Dunlop along with a couple 8000-grit papers. Clean the fretboard as there will be some gray metallic dust once you've polished the frets.
Then, it's time to oil the fretboard using lemon oil and a rag. Let the oil stay on the wooden surface a bit and then wipe it off.
Hardware:
The next step is to check that every piece of hardware on the guitar is nice and tight.
Strap buttons tend to get loose and you just have to tighten their bolts. If the hole in the body is not tight enough for the strap button to be bolted in, place a piece of a toothpick inside the hole and then bolt the strap button in.
Guitar tuners tend to get loose as well. There are several types of tuners on the market but every tuner is attached on the headstock of the guitar with some kind of bolt/ring. Make sure that these bolts/rings are tight. Some tuners have a side screw. This screw on the side is to adjust how stiff the key is when turned. If your tuner key feels way too loose when turned, tighten this side screw.
The bridge has also quite a few bolts and metal parts that can be adjusted. We all know that you can adjust the action and intonation using some of these bolts but it's always good to clean them up first with some WD40. Cleaning the metal parts will make the setup of the bridge much easier.
If your bridge has rust issues, you can use some vinegar to clean it up a bit. Be extra careful with the gold hardware as it can easily fade and look like nickel...
NOTE: When adjusting the Intonation of your guitar, be sure to lower all pickups so that they don't interfere (magnetically) with the strings. Just don't lower 'em too much. Always tune/adjust your guitar with the Neck Pickup position selected, it's more accurate!
Electrics:
The pickups, pots and jacks of an electric guitar are very important. All your tone comes from these electrics and therefore, you 've got to maintain them. The pickups are easily cleaned and you can always adjust their height and the height of their pole pieces to get the best string balance possible. Lowering the pickup, reduces output but you could get better dynamics and string balance. Neck, middle and bridge pickup could be adjusted to match in terms of output.
Changing pickups:
You can easily change pickups that have quick connectors rather than classic soldered joints. In case of emg or other active style pickups, you can also swap the neck and bridge pickup for different (and maybe better) tones. Some neck pickups sound better in the bridge position and vice versa!
You could also modify your pickups and put a pair of male-female connectors on them. Then, you'll be able to change pickups without using a soldering iron! Furthermore, you can wire a quick connector on your strat's loaded pickguard(you'll need 3 pins: output jack hot and ground plus bridge-ground). Then, you can swap loaded pickguards on your guitar (e.g. swapping an SSS with an a HSS loaded pickguard whenever you like)!
Now, let's unbolt the backplate(s) of the guitar and see the electrics:
Guitar potentiometers (pots) get scratchy when used and they can be cleaned with a contact cleaner spray. Be sure to turn them all the way back and forth a few times once you've sprayed them with cleaner. If that doesn't work, maybe it's time to change some pots.
Changing pots? Here's a quick tip: 250K pots tend to sound darker than 500K of 1M ones. You can use log(logarithmic) audio taper pots for both the tone and vol control.
The output jack could become loose over time. Ensure that it's firmly bolted on its plate so that it doesn't move. Check the jack and see if there's a weak/broken solder joint. The guitar cable tip should fit tight inside the jack so that no signal is lost.
The pickup selector is also prone to failure. Some pickup selectors have a few bolts and metal contacts that can be tightened/adjusted like the Gibson 3-way ones. You can also spray some contact cleaner on the selector. If the selector cuts out sometimes and there's no sign of cold/bad solder joints or slack metal contacts, it's maybe time for a new quality selector.
Easy vol/tone control MODs:
The tone control capacitors can also be changed for different value ones. Fender uses 47nF caps and Gibson uses 22nF. You could put a smaller value cap in your tone control to get a bit more highs or a higher value one to get a more jazzy tone. Use anything between 4,7nF-220nF with passive pickups.
A treble bleed circuit could also be connected to the Volume control(s). This circuit cancels the high-cut effect of a volume control when rolled back a bit. It's pretty useful if you feel you need a bit more treble/tone when you turn your guitar's volume at lower settings. Here's a nice article for these treble bleeders:
http://guitarnuts2.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=wiring&action=display&thread=5317
Nut filing:
The nut on your guitar could be the main reason why it gets out of tune... A nut that's well cut and lubricated is the best way to improve the tuning stability of your guitar. Tuners are rarely the ones to blame for going out of tune. There are several nut types and materials. Bone and graphite nuts are usually the best but some nuts are made of brass or metal. Floyd type nuts are metal and should be lubricated with wd40. Most affordable guitars have plastic nuts but you don't always have to change a plastic nut as long as you maintain it. Always check you guitar's nut for signs of wear and breaks. Even metal nuts could wear out.
Here's how you can file the string slots on your guitar's nut: You could use a set of welding tip cleaners as nut files to make the slots just wide enough for the strings to slide in. Don't make the slots too large or too deep because that will ruin the nut and it won't be able to act as a "zero fret", you 'll get buzz on open chords.
Lubricate your nut before putting new strings on the guitar. Running a 2HB type pencil on the nut slots will do the trick. There are a few nut lub. products on the market as well.
Dents/Marks on your guitar:
Many people like the aged look of their guitar and the fact that some of the dents/marks/scratched remind them of their adventures on stage! Still, these "wounds" have to be treated somehow. The easiest way to protect the wood on your guitar without painting all the body/neck is to apply some mat/satin lacquer on its "wounds". Be sure to properly dissolve a small portion of lacquer in a plastic cup and use an ultra fine paint brush to apply it on your guitar. You can apply some color too if you like. Some people use nail varnish to cover up guitar dents/marks. All you have to do then, is to polish the spot with ultra fine sandpaper and some polishing solution.
Final step: the set-up
Set up your guitar with a nice and fresh set of strings. Make sure your guitar is set up to your standards (e.g. low action, drop tuning, string gauge etc) even if the guitar tech thinks otherwise. After all, it's your guitar and you know what's best for your hands and your playing style.
Now, enjoy your new shiny guitar and get ready to rock!
Cheers,
-Thanos
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