Instrument Care

The woods chosen for a Murray instrument are air dried and then stored in my shop for a minimum of 6-months, in Boise, Idaho.  My shop is subject to a relative humidity between 30 to 40 percent (Boise is a very dry environment).  When not playing your guitar, it is best to store the guitar in its case and keep it between 30 to 50 percent humidity.  With that said, I like to keep my instruments out on stands for easy access and also for viewing (my house year round is typically 25 to 40 percent relative humidity). Just use common sense. The biggest killer of wood instruments is extreme temperatures (avoid leaving your instrument in a hot car, which can easily get over 120 degrees F - which loosens glue and does very bad things to the instrument).

Each instrument has a French polish finish, which is shellac dissolved in grain alcohol (I use Everclear), this is an all-natural (organic) finish. I dislike the nitrocellulose finishes used by most factory guitar makers, it’s highly toxic and to me takes away the intent of a hand-made instrument. Shellac is a resin secreted by the female lac bug, found in trees in the forest of India and Thailand (pretty wild right?).

 

The French polish technique is hundreds of years old. It is more susceptible to scratches, but that’s the trade-off.  Use a dry cotton cloth to clean the instrument. Avoid using water or any kind of solvent when cleaning. I can use other finishes on guitars upon request. 

My instruments are set at a medium action (distance between the string and frets).  I don’t like to lower the action until the instrument has “settled in” - in other words the guitar should be played for a few months and allowed to acclimate to its' new surroundings.  A local guitar shop should be able to adjust the action of the instrument if you want it lowered or raised.  Also, my guitars have a two-way adjustable neck rod which will help in this process. Again, I recommend using an experienced guitar repair shop for any adjustment of action or neck angle.