Neck adjustment (truss rod)
Action adjustment (string height)
Saddle adjusted for optimum playability (acoustic)
Setting intonation (Electric Guitar / Bass)
Fretboard cleaning and conditioning
Fret polishing
Electronic inspection / cleaning (Electric / Bass)
Entire guitar cleaned & polished
New strings installed, stretched & tuned

GUITAR CARE

The ideal conditions for a guitar is 70-75o F and 40-50% humidity. Of course this is ideal and not always attainable. When I have to take my guitars out in hot or cold weather, I always cool off or warm up my car ahead of time and never leave my guitars in the car unattended. Never put a guitar in the trunk.

Direct sunlight is enough to soften the glues in your guitar, which will weaken or destroy the joints and destroy it. Do not display your guitar anywhere that will be exposed to the sun even as the light moves across your room during the day. One of the most unsettling experiences I ever had when shopping for a guitar, a Taylor no less, was after playing a few, the owner of the music store came up with a guitar and said, "Here, try this one". When I grabbed the guitar, it was hot. This was a beautiful air-conditioned store! I asked him why it was hot and he said he just took it out of the window. He said he took turns with all the guitars putting them in the window. Needless to say I didn't buy a guitar there.

When you turn on the heat in your home, make sure you humidify your guitar if your house humidity drops below 40%. There are many types of room humidifiers and furnace add-ons available to put moisture back into the air. I believe this is the best way to protect your guitar. A dry environment for your instrument causes its wood to shrink. The instrument's design and construction allows its plates to "move" to some extent in response to humidity shifts, but prolonged and chronic dryness will cause them to eventually crack. If you can't humidify the air in your house during the heating season with a humidifying machine, then at least keep a moist soundhole humidifier in the instrument throughout the heating season. Protruding fret-ends, dropped action, shrunken glue seams, wood cracks are evidence of excessive dryness. There a few inexpensive soundhole & case humidifiers on the market if a room humidifier isn’t available.

Some guitarists tell me to leave my guitar in its case when I'm not playing it. There are others who say to keep it out on a stand and only put it in the case when I take my guitar somewhere. Personally, I like it out (I play it often). Does it matter? Will keeping my guitar out affect it in a negative way?

Answer:
The best place to keep your guitar is in its case.
If you want to leave it on a stand, do the following...
1.) Keep the sun away from it, even as the sun passes by a window.
2.) Keep the temperature and humidity of the room around 65-80 deg. F. and 40%-50%.
3.) Make sure it's in a place where someone won't accidentally bump it over.
4.) Keep the kids, pets, etc. away from it.
5.) Dust it periodically.

KEEP THE INSTRUMENT IN A PROPER CASE WHEN NOT IN USE
The case acts as a "shock absorber" for damaging temperature and humidity shifts, and against physical damage. Repair shops are kept busy by instrument owners who leave their instrument on their bed or leaning up against the wall. Remember, the outside of the instrument is the case. The finish is not: it's just for keeping dirt off the wood, and for making it look pretty. The instrument should only be in two places: in your arms or IN THE CASE. Instruments on stands are ok, until you walk into them. Keep the instrument/case away from heat sources.

PROTECT YOUR INSTRUMENT FROM TEMPERATURE SHOCKS
Allowing the instrument to freeze and then exposing it to sudden extreme heat WILL crack your instrument. Example: after leaving your instrument in the trunk of the car overnight in the wintertime, the frozen instrument is then brought inside and pulled out of its case to play in front of a raging wood stove...CRACK! If the instrument feels icy to the touch, return it to its' case and place it in a cooler room until it warms slowly.

PROTECT THE INSTRUMENT FROM EXCESSIVE HEAT
As long as it's placed in a well-ventilated area, the instrument can withstand heat up to 110 ºF. (Above that temperature the glue will begin to release). In a closed automobile or in a windowed alcove, the direct rays of the sun can raise the temperature to that level and beyond, seriously damaging your instrument.

DO NOT WORRY ABOUT DIRT, or NICKS, BUMPS OR SCRATCHES IN THE FINISH
You'd be surprised at the lengths that instrument owners will go to, to forbid any evidence of use or wear on their instruments. But beware, these lengths may be more harmful than the wear itself. Normally, dirt and scratches will in no way harm or threaten the instrument. The instrument's finish is principally cosmetic. It simply provides a barrier film for dirt and water stains. It is NOT expected to protect the instrument from excessive humidity and dryness, cracking or any other damage (note that all the interior surfaces of the soundbox are unfinished). It is the owner who should protect the instruments from these assaults, not the finish. The finish, however is washable and repairable, but in NO WAY requires waxes, polishes or oils in order to be "replenished" or "fed." If need be, a barely damp sponge can be used to occasionally remove dirt accumulation. Occasionally, a fine abrasive liquid cleaning compound such as Martin or Gurian "cleaner" can be used to remove fine scratches and scuff marks. DO NOT buy or use any aerosol product, no matter what the salesman says. They usually contain silicones which wreak havoc by making future repair work all but impossible. Evidence of slick silicone polish voids the Warranty. Fingerboards can be periodically scrubbed clean with 000 steel wool and a bit of naphtha, xylol or turpentine, followed by the application of fingerboard oil. Buff excess off with a soft rag before re-stringing.

STORING A GUITAR FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME
Remove some but not all of the tension from the strings, clean & polish the guitar, and then put a little lemon oil on the fret board. Put the guitar in its case and store it where it won't get too warm, cold, or humid and won't get bumped around. A good place is an interior closet.