Guitars are complicated instruments: there are so many parts needed to make it work that it’s no wonder sometimes a part breaks down or wears out.

Fortunately, a lot of problems can be solved with very little effort and cost, so you can make sure your guitar doesn’t end up with one of the problems I listed in this article. Those 10 signs your guitar needs some TLC are much more expensive to fix, so taking care of your instrument, even at its most basic level will ensure an extended life of your instrument. Here are some lo-tech DIY ways to tackle common guitar problems. (As always though, if you’re not comfortable doing this stuff, take your guitar to a trusted tech).

1. The Old Graphite-In-The-Nut-Slot Trick

What’s more annoying that a guitar going out of tune? I can’t think of many things, to be honest: perhaps my beer running empty way too fast? An easy fix to solve slight tuning problems, even way before replacing the nut, tuning keys and whatnot, is using a soft graphite pencil and drawing a few strokes in the nut slots. It’s that simple. The graphite acts as a lubricant without gumming up the works. A bit goes a long way, too. If you use a teflon, nylon or GraphTech nut (or similar) the nut is already self lubricating, but even then it doesn’t hurt to make it more slippery. Or you could use Big Bend’s Nut Sauce or a similar product.

2. Toothpicks for loose screws

Imagine this scenario: You’ve got your nice guitar, with your nice handmade leather strap. You thought, ‘Y’know what, I’m gonna use straplocks to secure the guitar.’ Good idea! But kinda pointless if the strap buttons aren’t fixed tightly to the guitar. A thicker screw often doesn’t fit the strap button itself, and tightening the screw is pointless if screw isn’t long enough and the hole is already a blubbering mess. You could plug the hole and redill, but an easy, fast fix is to fit a toothpick in the hole (measure and cut to length, OUTSIDE of the guitar!). Use a drop of CA glue (a tiny, tiny, tiny bit goes a long way!) when you press in the toothpick. There you go. A five minute fix for a problem that could otherwise cause problems that will hunt you for a lifetime

3. 470k Ohm Resistor

These things are cheap but so darned useful. I use them all the time as an easy fix to temper the high end. I solder them on the outer two lugs of a 500k pot to essentially turn it into a 250k pot. Often the tone is just fine but the upper high end is just a touch too harsh or shrill. By using a 470k resistor I can tame the highs just enough.

4. Drop-filling a dent with Super-glue

Super-glue is perhaps the luthier’s best unknown friend. I use it in my shop for a billion little tasks because it cures super-fast, leaves no residue and it sands down to a smooth finish. It’s exactly that trait that makes it an excellent choice to fix dents in a drop-filling repair procedure. I can take my time and explain it myself, but Dan Erlewine explains it perfectly in this video. It’s terribly easy to do and the results are lovely.

5. LOCTITE for loose washers and nuts

If you’ve got controls that keep coming loose no matter how hard you crank the nuts, a bit of LOCTITE may be the key to the solution of your problem. I use a toothpick to smear a bit ofLOCTITE on the thread of a pot, switch or jack then crank the nut of the part in question and let it rest for the manufacturer-recommended time. If you don’t haveLOCTITE, superglue will work fine as well but don’t forget the following two points.

1: Be conservative in your use of the glue. You really don’t want to use a lot for two reasons. If you use too much it may spill on the finish (despite point #2 that will be addressed in a moment). Also, if you use too much, despite not having spilled on your precious finish, the nut may be glued too tightly, making a change down the line all but impossible.

2. Tape off your guitar! It’s that simple. Use a bit of painter’s tape to tape off approximately four square inches (10 square centimeters) around the nut you’re going to glue and crank so if the glue spills, clean-up is easy.

My old Warmoth, battered and beaten but still going strong.

6. Rubber bands for spring noise

I once had a guitar with horrible spring noise. I’m still not sure why: I’ve used that bridge before but this guitar was borderline useless due to the noise; a strange, chiming reverberation due to the trem springs. So I thought of a way to fix it. It had to be flexible so it wouldn’t inhibit the springs when I use the trem but it should also dampen the vibrations. I came up with rubber bands. A pic is worth a thousand words, so take a look. It’s worth doing this with the strings still in place: if you remove each spring one at the time and replace it afterwards with the rubber bands, you won’t have to reposition the trem since, if all strings and springs are gone, the trem may pop out of the guitar and personally, I find it a chore to fix that. All that’s happening is that the strings pull harder against the springs, nothing more. If you did your job right, you’ll have to retune very little after this procedure!

These are my favorite mods that cost next to nothing. If you have mods of your own that you like that are equally effective yet cheap, let me know!