Easily one of the best things I've ever purchased for my guitars. Previously, I would usually put the guitar on the bed or on the floor and try to do the maintenance that way, be it string-change, cleaning or simply oiling the fretboard.
Even if you do not have a dedicated workbench for your guitars, this would more than suffice your needs for working on a guitar.
Regarding quality and all mishaps that might happen:
- I accidentally spilled the lemon oil all over it while I was doing the simple cleaning. If I were using a standard cloth or anything else, this would be a nightmare to clean, however, this nicely absorbed the lemon oil and washing it is no more inconvenient than washing your mouse pad.
- One thing that I would recommend to buy (along with this) is a simple neckstand for the guitar. If you have a long bass guitar or a baritone guitar, the mat might not be up to snuff in terms of its length, but you easily remedy that with a simple neckstand for a guitar.
- Even though I am not the best guitar tech around, I take this bad boy out even for a string change, just because it makes you feel that more awesome.
- For convenience, the mat rolls back up nicely and does not take too much space (I suggest keeping the original box it comes in as it makes this easier than using a tape to hold it together)
- Unfortunately, I do not have any old Gibson guitars with nitro to confirm if this will or will not damage the finish, but the matte finish on my ESP LTD EC-1000 remains in mint condition.
If you are a sensible musician and do the necessary maintenance and upkeep of your guitars or simply like the feeling of "guitar tech" while doing a simple string change, this baby has you covered.