GRAND CENTRAL TALENT

August 11, 2003

Hi Music Fans! For some of you, I got your email address from Walden's website. This is the first issue of the Grand Central Talent (GCT) newsletter. To receive the next issue(s) FREE, please see SIGN UP instructions below.

That New Sound for my Guitar Strings

Check this out! A while back, I bought "Fast Fret," a product that cleans guitar strings, lets you play faster, brightens sound, etc. Supposedly, it's "specially formulated."

Maybe it is, but I wondered what's in it.

After the Fast Fret applicator went dry, I began experimenting with other products on old strings to bring back the "newness" quality of strings on my classical and flamenco guitars. (I use Plastic or Kevlar (Savarez Brand) classical strings with metal-wound 6th, 5th, 4th, and plastic-wound 2nd and 3rd.)

I tried Armor-All, which provided some temporary relief but within days, the strings went dead again. Maybe worse than before.

Then recently I applied some WD-40 to these same totally dead strings. Wow, that's it! CAUTION: WD-40 is a penetrating petroleum product that drives out moisture.

So, unlike Fast Fret, do not apply to your fretboard or other wood.

ALSO NOTE: I am not a guitar technician, a guitar string specialist, nor chemist.

I don't even own a white lab coat! So, try this on old strings at your own risk.

1. I protected my fretboard and wood with a large plastic grocery bag.
2. I then sprayed WD-40 on the strings and let them "soak" for a few minutes.
3. I then wiped the strings of excess WD-40 and carefully removed the plastic bag.

WOW! That brand new sound again!

Anyone out there know of a reason NOT to use this procedure?

Humidity and Wooden Instruments

I learned about the relationship of humidity and guitars (wooden instruments) the hard way.

When I moved to Reno, within 2-3 weeks my brand new handmade Carlos Pina flamenco guitar developed a mean 3" crack in its back.

It cost me a round trip to San Francisco and $150, to get it fixed. Damn! Within 2-3 weeks, another 3" crack developed, symmetrical to the first.

I had to send the guitar back to Carlos Pina for a rebuild. That took 10 weeks elapsed time.

Meanwhile, I met Richard Bybee at Walden's. He told me about the Taylor Guitar website, which offers several technical papers about guitars and humidity (among other valuable topics).

Find out how to protect your guitar from Reno's notoriously low humidity at Taylor Guitars' Tech Sheets at:

http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/reference/techsheets.html

Oh yes, Carlos did a fabulous job of completely rebuilding the back and refinishing my whole guitar - at no charge! Truly a labor of love. Thank you Carlos!

New "Guitar Society"

Recently, a couple of Reno's classical guitarists suggested that I design a "Guitar Society." This I did, based on a successful, marketing oriented business model.

The (GCT) Guitar Society will be an educational, membership organization. Its purpose is to provide learning, personal development, and stage work to its members.

To learn more, click here.

If you'd like to get in on the "ground floor" of this exciting new organization, send me an email.

Faithfully in Freedom,

Mike Hayden

Founder, Grand Central Talent

(c) 2003 Mike Hayden, All rights reserved. You may use material from the Grand Central Talent eZine in whole or in part, as long as you include complete attribution, including live website links and email link.

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(c) 2003 Mike Hayden