1. Don't leave your guitar in a hot car. They are mostly held together with a type of glue that softens when heated. Furthermore, wood sweats, dries out, stiffens and cracks when exposed to high temperatures.
2. Do have your guitar checked out by a qualified technician from time to time. You might not know what to look for, but a technician will easily be able to identify impending disasters, and recommend an out before they come about.
3. Don't allow your guitar to stand in a place that is too humid. What is too humid. 50 percent relative humidity is ideal. That is to say, the humidity of a nice autumn day in Johannesburg. This does pose a problem to people living in humid places like Durban, and dry places like the Northwestern province. Joburg winters can also be fiercely dry. The expensive solution is a climate controlled room the likes of which not even many guitar stores have. A more moderately priced solution is simple. Keep the instrument in it's case. If it's wet out, vacuum the case now and then to remove moisture. If it's dry out, keep it in it's case with a guitar humidifier hanging between the strings.
4. Guitars are a bit like creatures of the night, and don't like the sun much. See point one.
5. There are certain things that it is unwise to play with. Truss-rods are one of those things. The truss-rod is a metal rod that runs along the inside of most steel-string guitar necks, and some nylons. Tightening on this rod by means of the correctly sized wrench causes if to pull back, and loosening it relieves it, allowing it to bow more. When your guitar is very buzzy when you are fretting at the first four or five frets, it probably means the neck is bent too far back. Buzziness in the middle frets I.e.: 5 to say 10 often means it is too lose. This is not the rule, as uneven frets and bad technique also contribute to buzziness. Sometimes, truss-rods are ill-effective and when manipulated, might be entitled to break or become stripped. Having a new truss-rod made up and installed is very expensive, and in most cases, it would be better to simply buy another guitar. Again, it is wise to take your guitar to a qualified technician. He'll know what to do.
6. Every four months or so, it's a good idea to get your (rosewood or ebony) fret-board oiled. The oil used by most is pure boiled linseed oil. Don't rush out to your corner hardware store for some of that now. You'll find that most bottles with labels reading 'pure boiled linseed oil' are lying through their teeth. They mix the stuff with motor oil. Motor oil should never have anything to do with wood. Some people use Lemon oil. I like Linseed oil. Oiling the fret-board of your guitar stops it from drying out and cracking, and gives you a chance to clean all the old finger muck. Use very fine steel-wool (grade 0000). Anything else is likely to scratch. Better yet, see a tech.
7. You can use furniture polish to clean your guitar. I use pledge because it doesn't have any nasty chemicals in it.
8. Wipe your strings clean after you play. Sweat is corrosive, and the muck that your fingers leave behind will eat away at your frets, never-mind deaden your tone.
9. Check now and again just to be sure that all the nuts and bolts holding your guitar together are snug. Don't over-tighten then and this can lead to damage. When your guitar's volume and tone nobs start to complete 360 degree revolutions, they are warning you that soon you will have an electrical problem. Pull off the knobs, and tighten the bolts. Having tuning problems? Check that your tuning machine heads' bolts are good and snug. Does your guitar neck bolt on like a Strat? Check that it is good and tight. Rattles are often dead giveaways. Something zinging, twinging or anything like that, check you nuts and bolts. Can't find the source? Take it to a tech.
10. Is your guitar hard to play in the open positions, or any positions? Take it to a tech. You will be amazed what a trained hand can do do make the playing of your instrument a more enjoyable experience.
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