Saturday, July 30, 2011

Ukuleles- Caring for Your Ukulele

By Scott E. Hutton


As all musicians know, instruments need typical care and maintenance. Weather as well as other environmental aspects have an effect on the condition of a Ukulele. Because they are made of wood humidity affects the condition of the instrument as it loses or absorbs moisture.

Too dry and also the wood might crack or shrivel. Too moist as well as the wood might swell or warp. For this reason, the instrument wants cleaned and inspected regularly. Often this indicates keeping them in a case with a humidifier or taking them out to dry. Adjustments in weather can also affect tuning and cause the neck to warp.

Cleaning and caring for your instrument will be the identical as caring for a guitar. Clean and care for your Ukulele regularly. Exactly the same brand of polishes, cleaners and fret board oils utilized for guitars can also be utilized to clean a uke. The body as well as the fret board are created of differing materials and need distinct type of cleaners. In no way use exactly the same one on each surfaces. Cleaning and polishing protects the instrument against the sweat and salt produced by the player's skin. Sweat can deteriorate the wood finish and corrode the fret wires. It also collects on the wood surface causing it to hold on to dirt and dust.

Take care when cleaning about dings, blemishes, cracks or dents. If cleaning fluid gets into them, it may possibly cause the wood to swell and make those blemishes worse. If the ukulele shows some little scratches or surface marks, it is possible to use a clear nail polish to seal them. This approach needs the use of a modest brush as well as a steady hand. Wax is very good to make use of for sealing cracks inside the wood. You can use a guitar wax as it is going to also keep moisture out. 1 strategy to prevent scratches when cleaning is the use of a microfiber towel.

Never use ammonia based cleaners on your instrument. These sorts of cleaners aren't created for wood and dry the surface out causing it to warp or crack. Ammonia will also deteriorate strings and dull the ukulele's finish. Household cleaning merchandise like furniture oils are not good cleaning merchandise at the same time. They leave a residue that attracts dirt and dust permitting it to collect on the instrument. Never use straight lemon oil to clean the fret board as it really is a solvent. Nonetheless, you'll find fret board oils that include lemon oil, but not at a high enough concentration to hurt the instrument.




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