How to Clean Your Electric Guitar

Video Transcript

"MATT GRAHAM: Okay, now that I've got all the strings off the guitar, this is an ideal time to clean the guitar. Now cleaning the guitar obviously is not a crucial step and changing the strings if you don't clean the guitar--the strings still get put on there, but there's no other time while you got strings on your guitar when you have as easy access to these spaces between the pickups and down underneath the strings past the nut where you can really get a towel in there and clean off a lot of the dust. Dust can be detrimental to your electronic systems on an electric guitar. They can cause these knobs and the pickups to just be scratchy or staticky. And so yeah, I'm just going to get my clean, nonabrasive soft cloth and really rub, rub the guitar down good, getting all the dust out. This is a good time to use polish if you're into that. Also you can take a cotton swab and really get in here around the bridge. Don't be afraid to lift up on these bridge pieces a little bit and clean down underneath them. A lot of dust coming out of this thing. As you've noticed, as thorough or as quickly as you deem necessary, just go around all the edges with the swab. Picked up a lot of dirt. And then you can get your cotton swab or your towel and just kinda rub down the fretboard because it's obviously covered with the strings too. And another good time to use the swab, you can really get up against the fret if there's a lot of gunk from your fingers, oil and dirt down next to the fret. And then the last place you really want to get with your towel is where the strings are over the headstock and that's another place lots of dust will accumulate on an electric guitar like this."