http://www.well.com/user/wellvis/tuning.html

Timber is more sensitive to variations of humidity than it is to temperature.

And yet prolonged periods of heat increase the vapour pressure in timber, and therefore have a drying effect, forcing free moisture from the timber.

Accordingly storage in a hot car or the window display of a shop during summer periods should be avoided.

Refrigerant type air conditions also tend to remove moisture from the air, and so can be detrimental.

Since guitar tops and backs are ?crossed braced? and since longitudinal sections of timber, which comprise braces, do not change in length, given variations in humidity, whereas tops and backs are ?quarter cuts? which may increase in dimension by 1 or 2 percent in extreme variations of humidity, there will be movement in extremes of dry and wet conditions. The braces are stable in length, and so as the top expands in humid conditions it convexes against the stable brace length. Conversely soundboards tend to concave or drop as they contract against braces during dry conditions.

That is, in wet conditions soundboards or tops tend to rise, raising the action. In dry conditions soundboards tend to fall, lowering the action. Humidifier devices are available for periods or conditions of excessive dryness. It is recommended that the device be fitted inside the guitar, the guitar then to be stored in a case or other enclosure.

Out side freezing conditions with central heating or desert environments are likely to be ?excessively dry?.

Given that backs are generally braced at right angles, or are ?crossed braced?, to the back timber, a back is likely to move a greater amount than a face or top.

This is one reason why the Fat Lady?s soundboard is braced more longitudinally.

Minor splits which maybe the result of extremely dry conditions are to be avoided, and yet, are repairable and in the most part will not compromise the instrument?s performance.

Acoustic guitars are often assembled relatively dry so that the timbers expand against the braces making splitting or cracks less likely.

And yet acoustic guitars produced in extremely dry conditions can convex, in turn raising the action, and may cause some rippling or bulging of the face when exposed to high humidity.

65 plus percent Relative Humidity or ?RH?, is wet, while below 30 percent RH may be considered dry. 15% RH may be considered ?desert conditions?, or excessively dry.

Guitars are often produced at what is considered to be average. The question is: ?what is the average household?, the average of the guitar?s environment?

Generally speaking your guitar is comprised of organic material, and may be best kept in the room in which you are happiest, that is in the absence of you owning and understanding a device which will measure ?RH? or relative humidity: Not too hot or wet, or too dry.

Cole Clark Guitar?s manufacturing is centred on 43% Relative Humidity.

Cole Clark does not provide a warrantee against prolonged exposure to extremes of humidity or temperature.

If your guitar?s action is high, it may be that the neck has pulled forward given the compressive force of around 70kg, at concert pitch, exerted by the strings, or that the face has taken on moisture, causing the top or soundboard to convex, which may cause the action height to increase.

A slightly lower and higher saddle in your kit is an advantage. We use and recommend Graphtech BQ 9200 for our six string acoustic guitars.

If your guitar is finished with nitrocellulose lacquer, which is comprised of plant fibre as the suggested by the name:

Modern ?Nitros? have been slightly modified with a ?cross-linker? so that different to the more exact definition of a lacquer, they do not as easily soften when exposed to some volatile chemicals: A lacquer can be dissolved by thinners.

Many guitar makers have achieved their best results with ?nitro?. This is possibly for reason that this plant fibre is in keeping with the timber?s surface, is less interrupting of the instrument?s ability to reproduce the kinds of frequencies or responses that you are likely to find aesthetic, pleasing to the ear. In fact some finishes ?roll off? or decrease the instrument?s ability to transpose top end. Provided that the amount of roll off is pleasing, then this i s not problematic: After all Spruce, Cedar and Bunya are chosen for reason that they have a low ?janka? or hardness, therefore rolling off, or filtering top end frequencies so that the result is pleasing.

It is recommended that should you need to clean your nitrocellulose-finished instrument that you do so with a soft cloth, applying sparing amounts of warm, slightly soapy water.

?Milkiness? under the surface of nitrocellulose generally indicates the presence of moisture. Leaving a guitar in the case with trapped moisture is often the cause. In many instances drying the instrument by placing it in a warm dry environment is the remedy.

Do not apply silicone-based products as they prevent refinishing.

There is much conjecture and opinion about aging and ?playing guitars in?.

My view is that the most volatile or changing aspect of a guitar is its surface coating. The surface tension of the instrument is naturally affected by the coating. The initial change is substantial as solvents leave; this change slows over the first few hours, days and then months.

Given the timber?s rigorou s drying regiment, where it is exposed to temperatures in excess of 50c for prolong periods and in various forms, I do not take the view that timber aging is a major factor.

As we see, moisture is able to enter and leave over a relatively short period of time, which would seem to be an unsubtle effect. (The inside of an acoustic is unsealed, and to do otherwise inhibit performance.)

Certainly whatever changes occur in timber are far less than the initial changes occurring in finish.

Collings and Martin, as I understand, are finished with nitrocellulose, and achieve a superior acoustic performance to many other instruments, which are finished with urethane and polyester products, even where the specifications and build qualities are comparable.

The phenomenon is best understood by producing unfinished instruments, and or instruments with sparing amounts of, or Tung oil, for instance. The dramatic effect of finish is then understood. Stradivarius placed more than considerable emphasis on finish, type and surface tension.

Becoming comfortable with an instrument, getting the set-up to your liking is of course also important. A good instrument may well stimulate you to play, to be creative, more so if you are comfortable.

On of Cole Clark?s goals is to examine test, and to therefore demystify to the customer?s advantage.

The 70 kgs of compressive force exerted by the strings at concert pitch may compress the front of the neck, the fingerboard, moving it forward. (This force is generally noted on string packaging)

At the back, inside of the neck, is a 3/16 of an inch, mild steel ?truss rod?.

The role of the truss rod is to compensate for the compressive force exerted by the strings at the front of the neck by the truss rod exerting tension at the back of the neck.

How to test this:

If a string, and preferably the ?D? string, as it is central, is depressed at the first fret and simultaneously at the 14th, then there should be a gap at the 6th and or 7th fret of not greater than 0.25 mm or 10 thou/ inch.

Slide the appropriate 0.25mm feeler gauge under the string.

This curve is often described as an ?envelope?.

It is in this curve or envelope in which the string is allowed to effectively oscillate forming the note. The lower the note is fretted or played, the longer the string, the gr eater the envelope, and therefore the greater the curve in the neck.

And yet many top players prefer a very low action with little or no envelop. In other words, a flat neck which minimises the pressure needed to ?fret the note?, enhancing the performance.

If the string is struck or plucked hard there will likely be fret buzz or fizz, (the string?s oscillation causing it to hit frets) and yet good players are often able to minimise this given their dexterity, or at least they are able work within it.

The player who prefers to play ?big? open chords may prefer more curve or envelope in which the strings are able to oscillate.

As one moves up the neck to the higher notes, the string is effectively shorter, the oscillation less, and so the neck may be flatter or may be said to flatten out. The ideal neck curve may be described as a hyperbolic parabola.

Some months after purchasing the guitar, when the guitar?s timbers have had time to ?settle in?, especially where the timber at either end of the truss rod has been compressed, the truss rod may need to be tightened.

The truss rod may need to be loosened where the player decides to use light gauge strings, as less compressive force is exerted on the neck by lighter gauge strings.

The string height at the 12th fret is, from the top of the fret to the underside of the string, around 2.5mm on the bass side, as a medium set-up, and 2mm on the treble side. Opinions vary; set-ups vary to suit the instrument and the player. There is no real rule.

Generally however the bass side should be 0.5 higher than the treble side.

A slightly lower and higher saddle in your kit is an advantage. We use and recommend Graphtech BQ -9200 for our six string acoustic guitars.

If in doubt refer to your dealer/ an authorised repair person.

Cole Clarks are provided with what is considered an ?average action?. It is fully expected that specific settings are the responsibility of the customer.

High action can cause the guitar to be difficult to tune:

Cole Clark uses and recommends D'Addario Strings/ Graphtech/ Tusq nuts & saddles
www.daddario.com.

D'Add ario are, in our view, the clearest longest lasting strings available.

Some comment that Phosphor Bronze strings sound superior or have a ?warmer? response: If this is true is only for a very short space of time.

Depending upon conditions, generally meaning the amount of perspiration and contamination to which strings are exposed, D'Addario strings may endure for weeks or even months, while Bronze strings become dull in days, or even hours. Again this is dependant on the player, the conditions and the frequency of use.

It is true that Nanoweb strings are more expensive and yet last several times as long as Bronze stings.

Dull strings should be changed.

It is common to break G strings.

The G string is tunned relatively high, and has a 10 to 12 thousands of an inch core? similar to the high E, yet under more strain, and so is likely to break more regularly than other strings, but to be followed by the D string.

It is important to have the strings ?angle over the saddle?, from the bridge pins, in order to provide downward pressure on the saddle.

If the angle is too acute , the string will hinge at one point, and break more quickly. A smooth, rounded top-of-the-saddle or transition will alleviate the problem to some degree.

If the string digs into the saddle, breakages will likely increase.

We advise to keep a few spare saddles, and to check the condition of the saddle for grooves.

A slightly lower and higher saddle in your kit is an advantage. We use and recommend Graphtech BQ ?9200 saddles for our six string acoustic guitars.

Also keep extra/ spare G strings?

Consider a softer plectrum.

String are comprised of high tensile steel and will eventually fatigue and will mostly break at the saddle: Change your strings fairly regularly.

Ensure that you remove the string ball end, otherwise it may cause rattles/ extraneous noise.

Insufficient turns around the capstan / machine head, so that the strings are able to slip. Machine head slips: the screw at the end of the peg can be adjusted to tighten the machine.

The more common cause is that strings ?ra tchet? though the nut. That is playing, bending, causes the strings to pull through the nut and yet not always return to tune. The nut should have slip. Apply graphite, readily available from a sharpened ?2B? pencil, for instance, into the slot so that the string is able to slip with ease. A sure sign that the string is able to ratchet, is that it makes a ?tic tic? sound when the string is bent. Unwound strings, (B) is often the greatest offender.

?Nut Grease? is available from luthier suppliers: Stewart MacDonald, for instance.

www.stewmac.com/shop/Nuts,_saddles/Tools_and_supplies:_String_slot_lubricant.html

If the nut is too tight, the problem is exacerbated, and if too lose, some rattle or sibilance can occur. (see set-up)

The string?s ?ball end? is not properly positioned, maybe anther cause.

The Fat Lady is made to shake and amplify, and so anything loose will be heard.

• A worn or badly cut nut, which allows the string to oscill ate, can cause sibilance. See your luthier or guitar repairer.
• A loose truss rod will allow the washer to rattle: Cure: tighten.
• A loose brace from transit damage.
• A loose battery or other component in the preamp.
• In most instances, extraneous noises are from fret buzz: Please see set-up notes.

Under the bridge are 6 of 5 x 10mm cylindrical piezo elements.

They are clamped or pressed up under the bridge by the two stainless steel M3 (3mm metric) cap screws at either end of the saddle. These screws do not adjust the action.

They do ?load the piezos? under the saddle and achieve good electrical contact with a strip top and bottom, as well as good physical contact under the saddle. Intimate contact is important for the transference of sound.

The loading of these piezos could be referred to as the ?accelerometer effect?, and to some degree accounts for the success of the instrument?s electronic or amplified performance. (Patented)

There are three other piezos captured in what could be described as a clamping element, which is in turn adhered to the face and or back of the instrument. The latest system comprises the ?Face Brace Sensor? (Patent Pending), where the sensor is one of the major braces, the brace the sensor. In this was no extra device is needed and the length of the Brace Sensor monitors or reproduces more of the soundboard.

The instrument?s first slide pot or potentiometer is a volume control.

The third is treble, the forth, mid range frequency control, and the last is bass cut and or boost.

The second is actually two pots wired as one. (?Dual Gang? or ?pan pot?) Moving the slider away from the player increases the volume of top end frequencies from the piezos under the saddle: The crossover point is raised.

Moving the slider towards the player amplifies top end frequencies sensed by the face sensor while reducing volume from similar frequencies from the under bridge and saddle assembly. This functionality is Patent Pending.

In effect top end from the face is swapped for top end from the saddle and visa versa.

The bottom end or lower frequencies are always taken from the saddle.

The crossover or ?set point? of this was set at 750Hz, and more recently, in mid 2005, at 350Hz.

This ?gain structure? configuration reduces feedback and maintains a clear bottom end response.

An acoustic performance is where the face, sides and back timbers are heard vibrating sympathetically with the strings.

It makes sense to amplify the face and or back of an acoustic guitar to more accurately simulate an acoustic performance.

The ?blend?, second slider, allows the player to return to, or blend the more typical underbridge piezo sound of the strings at the saddle with signal from the face and or back of the acoustic guitar.

Available through our Japanese Store http://www.coleclarkguitars.co.jp