Nylon-string guitars, and similar instruments with thin wooden fronts and glued-on bridges, place a lot of strain on the wood fibres just behind the bridge. Their designs evolved based on using a thin slice of solid wood for the soundboard and rely on the wood grain of the front – and its direction of greatest strength – running the same way as the strings. If the soundboard grain ran sideways, parallel to the back edge of the bridge, it would probably break quite soon. ...more

There are many things a guitarist needs to prepare for before playing a gig, open mic night or rehearsal. However, many guitarists are not organised enough when it comes to preparing for breakdowns with their guitars or equipment while playing live. It is prudent to have a tool bag handy with all of the things you might need on a gig just in case anything should go wrong. It is Murphy’s Law that you will break a string when you haven’t got any spares handy, or the battery will go flat in your tuner when the nearest shop is 50 kilometres away. The reason I am writing this article is a few months ago a guitarist, who was playing at the bar across the road from our gig, came over and wanted a top E string for his guitar. He had broken his and had no spares. All the music shops were shut, but luckily I had a spare set to lend him. Never let yourself be in this situation. While it is normally only minor issues that crop up if you look after your equipment, they can ruin your night and possibly your reputation. ...more