| As you tune up after restringing, consider
how your guitar is playing. Barre an "F" chord -
if it's about as easy as a "G" then your nut is
not too high. Pick around in different areas. A string that
buzzes only in the open position tells you that the nut action
is a bit too low. Buzzing in the general area between the
nut and the fifth fret may be a sign of a too-tight truss
rod. A nasty buzz in only one fretted position may indicate
an uneven, loose or damaged fret. High action up the neck
may be a sign that the truss rod is a bit loose, that the
neck angle may need resetting, or that the action is simply
a bit high and could be lowered at the saddle. Any of these
symptoms should lead you to a consultation with your local
luthier before you hit the road or the jam scene. 
Peer around behind the bridge and see if it's still firmly
glued to the top. If you have any suspicion, use one of those
little yellow sticky notes and try to jam it under the back
edge of your bridge:
If it slips under more than about 1/16", it may be time
to reglue the bridge before serious damage starts. Left unattended
a loose bridge can result in some pretty nasty damage to a
sensitive guitar top!
That same little paper can help you identify other, potentially
less serious areas of glue failure or looseness:
Pickguards are protective devices and primarily cosmetic,
but on older Martins and other instruments, they can cause
top damage as they curl and shrink with age:
A curly pickguard can be downright annoying to look at and
use, too.As it ages, the ivoroid or plastic body and neck
binding can become unglued, loosening at the waist of the
guitar:
For sure, you don't want to snag the binding and rip it loose
- best to have loose binding reglued as soon as possible.Look
again at the bridge. If you notice that the saddle is leaning
forward, you get some advice from an experienced luthier.
A leaning saddle may fail unexpectedly, or may be a sign that
the bridge itself is cracked in that area.
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