LOOK! How To Get Your Acoustic Guitar Sounding Great

Playing guitar is a lot of fun. And when you play with friends or at a party, your guitar tone is an important part of the mood – it helps set the tone for your audience. So it’s worth learning how to get your acoustic guitar sounding great!

Practice!

The main way to improve your acoustic guitar sound and tone is simply to spend more time playing. If you want to improve your chord progressions and arpeggios, practice them every day. Or if you’re interested in learning a new genre of music, like bluegrass, then listen to bluegrass songs for a few hours every day. The more you listen and play, the more advanced your playing will be and the better your tone will be.

Tune Your Guitar Every Time You Play It

No matter how well tuned your guitar is when you start playing, it will change over time. You might get distracted while playing or want to play for a long period of time. These things can all lead to your guitar going out of tune. You can avoid this by tuning up at the beginning and end of every practice session or performance.

Keep Your Guitar In Good Shape

When you play a guitar it undergoes changes. The wood moves, the strings stretch out, and other parts wear down over time. Making sure your guitar is in good shape will help make sure that each time you play it sounds just as good as the first.

This also includes keeping the guitar clean. Wipe off any dust, and wipe down the strings to make sure they are still clean. This will help keep them sounding great as well!

Know How To Fix Issues As They Occur

It’s always a good idea to learn some basic guitar maintenance. If your guitar has any issues you’ll be able to spot them before they make things worse. If you see a loose string, for example, you can take a few seconds to fix it before it breaks.

Purchase Quality Strings And Change Them Regularly

Over time, the tension on your guitar strings will change. The string will break or snap and not sound as good as it did before. This damages the musical instrument and also leads to other problems. For example, one string can cause undesired buzzing in the instrument. Changing your strings is a great way to keep your instrument sounding great all of this time!

It is very important to make sure your guitar is stringed correctly. Acoustic guitar strings, like electric guitar strings, are made from different materials and are designed to work along the way a guitar plays. The most common options for a guitar are nylon, steel or phosphor bronze. Phosphor bronze strings are typically best for acoustic guitars because they have a much mellow sound than nylon or steel guitar strings do.

Store Your Guitar Properly When Not Playing It

A normal part of being a musician is storing your gear properly. When you are not playing your guitar, it’s important to keep it in a place where the humidity is low, the temperature is correct, and the air circulation can keep it away from dust and dirt. Even after you’ve finished playing, make sure you store your acoustic guitar somewhere cool where it will be out of reach of children.

When storing the guitar, you also should think about the humidity in the room; if it’s excessively humid, this can shorten the life of your guitar. If you live in a humid area, it is a good idea to buy an acoustic guitar humidifier to keep in the case. A humidifier will help keep the humidity of your guitar at a low and healthy level so that it doesn’t crack or warp over time.

Make Sure The Guitar Is Setup Properly

Setting up your acoustic guitar is important to making sure it has the right sound and feel. The setup process involves adjusting the guitar so that it plays just the way you want it to. For example, you can change the action and string-height to make it better for your needs. It’s a good idea to bring your acoustic guitar into a music store and have a professional set up your instrument for you.

Try Different Guitar Picks

Using a guitar pick will make your acoustic sound crisp and clear. Picking the strings means that you get a direct attack on the string, as opposed to strumming with the tip of your finger. To get a good attack on the strings it is important to use guitar picks that are made out of different materials. Try out different kinds of picks until you find one you like.

• Laminated plastic – This type of pick is very affordable, but it also sounds dull and lifeless.
• Nylon – These picks are a good value for the money and they are very durable. They do not sound as vibrant as other picks, though.
• Celluloid – These picks have a warm tone and great attack, but they wear out fairly quickly.
• Acetate – Acetate picks give you a very bright tone while still retaining some warmth on the low end. They are also inexpensive and durable enough to use without worry of breaking one all of the time.

Upgrade Specific Parts Of Your Acoustic Guitar

Replacing parts on an acoustic guitar is a great way to modify the sound and feel of your acoustic guitar. It can be a bit pricey, but if you have the money you can add different pieces to make it even more “alive” and unique. For example:

• Upgrade your nut – A nut is the plastic piece on the headstock that holds all of your strings in place. The sound of your guitar will be much better if you have a quality nut that is installed by a professional.
• Upgrade your bridge pins – The pin that holds the strings in place on the bridge of your acoustic guitar can make a big difference (especially when you are using nylon string guitar).
• Upgrade your tuners – The tuners are what keeps your acoustic guitar from losing its tuning as you play. Tuners will also impact overall sound quality.
• Upgrade your saddle – Saddles transmit vibrations from the strings to the top of an acoustic guitar, so it is important to make sure it’s made of quality material.

Listen To How Your Sound Improves!

To get the most benefit from your acoustic guitar, it is important to take care of it regularly. By cleaning and caring for your instrument, you can keep it sounding great!