Guitar age

[MrStitch]

This is prolly going to sound dumb, but....

I've had this guitar for over ten years now. Recently, I looked passed the strings for once, and noticed that it looks like its getting dirty in the pick-up area.

Which makes sense, since i've never opened the back of the guitar the entire time.

Will dirt, or lack of cleaning the internal parts, have any affect on the sound, or basic functionality of the axe?

 

[Ironklad Audio]

it depends on the guitar...cheap guitars will get all kinds of dust and crap into the body cavity, which can mess up the contacts for the switches/knobs/pickups. more quality instruments have a casing inside the body that houses all the internal components and keeps them fairly isolated from outside crap

 

[Dani Pace]

Blowing out the dust occasionaly is always a good idea, dust and moisture aren't good for any electrical components. Those cans of compressed air (the same kind you use to blow the dust out of your pc are ideal for this) and a spritz of contact cleaner (in your controls) will help keep your guitar in good working order and prolong the life of the parts. Whenever I do a set up I always clean the inside as well as the outside of a guitar, I often find a lot of sanding dust inside new guitars (especially in the economy models) and on some older guitars the accumulation of dust is incredible. Also if anything inside is rusted or corroded it is a good idea to replace that part. If your guitar has the painted on type of shielding, look for cracks in the shielding and recoat any you may find. We all wipe strings, clean fingerboards, and polish bodies, and all too often neglect the internal parts which need a periodic cleaning too.

 

[Nick The Man]

....... so what kinda guitar do you have ... ever seen SRV's lol

 

[killthepixelnow]

Cheap or pricely, you should ALWAY clean your pickps, neck, strings, tremolo, headstock at least once a month.

 

[MrStitch]

I'm still trying to figure out exactly what guitar I have...

But I 'think', as far as I can tell... It's an Ibanez Radius. Back in the day, this was one of the better models, that was later signed off to Joe Satriani (spelling?)

Ibanez doesn't have a good tracking system, so it's pretty hard to figure out. But the axe is really nice to play on... but has taken on quite a bit of use over the years.

I'd almost go buy another one, but can't afford an equivilant guitar. So i'm afraid that i'd get a cheaper model, and then 'think' that it sucks.

Believe it or not.... I got this guitar at the local shop, who at the time, lost their Ibanez contract. This was the last one sitting in the back, that was just traded in by someone else. Basically, the timing was perfect. I got the guitar and a hardshell MOLDED case for only $300.

Even if I got my information wrong, the money I spent was well worth it.... very nice ride!