In the literal and tonal sense.

I clean my guitars every string change(about once a month), but in terms of tone, I lean slightly towards clean.

Here's me on clean blues.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H35EWL-_3Vs

My guitars are cleanish/dirtyish, my tone is a great whacking mess.

Since I am back playing electric. I clean meticulously every time I play.




My old classicals could grow potatoes..

just plain filthy...

I keep my guitars pristine...most of the time...especially when I change my strings.
I put some lemon oil on the fret board, rosewood, about once per year.
I even whip out the Q-Tips with Windex or Alcohol on occasion, mainly in the summer when you sweat a lot.

Tone...I love a POWERFUL clean tone because I play Strats and Tele's with Fender amps.
I like to flavor them on occasion with reverb, chorus, and delay..to taste.

Still, nothing beats a good over driven amp with a Fender guitar.
I guess it's the Time and Place theory.

Randy

Clean phyically, guitars are too. Tonally, I use what works for the song I'm playing, but I don't seem to do songs that call for an extremely dirty tone.

Physically no dirt thanks, sometimes I get a Q-tip and swab inside the jack with alcohol-not just for the guitar but everything.
Tone wise it depends-currently I`m not set up for harder than hard rock, fun to listen to some of that stuff though. Even if I`m just noodling I`ll switch off the growl sometimes.

I was told by my tech to roll up a piece of sandpaper so it's thinner than a pencil and insert it into input jacks to brighten and clean the surfaces.

Works well on pedals - kind of like a tampon for guitar players...

The older I get, my clean tone gets dirtier and my dirty tone gets cleaner...

^ this

Only thing that sees regular cleaning are the strings. Once every couple of years or so I may disassemble and wipe down the nooks and crannies, but for the most part I just let it be.

I keep my guitars clean, change strings regularly, check intonation, all of that. I tend to keep my gear clean, too - everything works better and lasts longer if you care for it, we all know that.

My tone, OTOH, always has just a bit of snarl. I maintain that most of us prefer a little bit of dirt in our tone, even if it's very subtle. Put a clean Fender amp next to a JC-120, and see which one calls to you. It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that zing!

I like playing clean on channels with a little verb and no string squeek on my electrics, acoustic and nylons...I like a wrapped 3rd string to keep the open chords sounding clean, and I use Thomastick-Infield 11's flatwounds...

As for cleaning, it depends on the weather. During the colder months I just keep the strings clean and during the hotter months I wipe the bodies off where I sweat after each time I play. I also wash my hands before playing to get rid of rib sauce and grime. When I change strings I get more into the cleaning as it gives me more access to the nooks and crannies...I'm not a clean freak.

I do pretty much the same with my acoustics. Only I clean the fretboards with Old English wood cleaner, THEN treat with lemon oil. So far, I still use Martin spray guitar polish until I can locate some of that Gibson cream polish somewhere.

As far as tone, well, they ARE acoustics, and tones can be limited.
Whitefang

I'll take the Fender...and put an area rug's worth of pedals in front of it.

(OTOH, I'm in the market for an Orange...)

All depends on my mood.

yup i keep my guitars clean. mainly the necks are kept clean of gunk. always wash my hands during the sweaty months. as for tone i am a very dirty boy. not than i don't like cleans, i just love crunch.

I keep my guitars clean, and I like both clean and overdrive tones. I never let anyone play my guitars, because their hand oils and mine don't mix. Whatever the reason when others handle my instruments the neck always feels sticky afterwords.

I never use anything on my neck or fretboard, if they get dirty I just wipe them with a dryish but slightly damp cloth.

This. is. very. wise.

i change strings when they break, or get so dead they're untunable.
i play with a LOT of distortion, being a fuzz freak. but i often play "cleaner" than a lot of other guys do.

I keep my guitars extra clean. My tone varies depending on what kind of music I'm playing - sparkly clean to dirty crunch. I put on a new set of strings before each gig. The first 24 to 48 hours of a new set of strings just have that extra mojo that sound sooooo sweet.

This is maybe a good place to ask . . . I'm embarrassed that I don't really know the answer having owned guitars for over a decade:

What's an appropriate way to clean a guitar neck?

I have a Martin acoustic, and whenever I change the strings (not often) I'll take damp paper towel and clean off the gunk from the fretboard.

Is that good? Should I do more? Should I do something different?

@ BluMunk....Try this video out from Taylor Guitar.

Randy

Part - 1
http://tinyurl.com/a7hw4ej

Part - 2
http://tinyurl.com/bqmubcn

As I stated earlier, I use Olde English wood cleaner. Gets the gunk just fine. I then treat the neck with a "dibby-dab" of Olde English lemon oil. Others here in the past suggested almond oil, but I haven't casually spotted it anywhere.

But I would imagine any cleaner designed for wood would work as well.
Whitefang

I'll bet that Martin and your other guitars have held up well over the decades that you have been cleaning them. Each of us has our own methods of cleaning a guitar and listening to the advice of the experts on Youtube is not a bad idea at all. I'm not a fan of using water and use products that are made for guitar cleaning as a little oil is a good way to keep ebony and rosewood from drying out. String cleaners like GHS Fast Fret and Fingerease can also be used as they are pretty safe on the woods but be careful with other string cleaners and check to insure they are safe before letting them make contact with the wood. Lately I've been using Fingerease. In the old days I used a furniture polish like Pledge.

I'm sure each of us has different ideas (which can be challanged) but here are a few of my quirks: I keep the guitar in the case when not in use and avoid dust which mixes with sweat to form grime. It also helps control humdity. I wash my hands before playing as it keeps human grime, acid and oils in check and keeps the strings and neck feeling cleaner. I clean the neck when I change strings and I only change one string at a time. I like to keep tension on the neck at all times (even though Bob Taylor and others say you can take'em all off and clean the neck). I have a humidty guage and humidifier and have the room at 30 percent or above (prefer 40) when playing at home and when changing strings. After playing if the strings feel sticky or dry, I use a little string cleaner which also puts a little oil on the neck while cleaning the strings, and wipe the strings off and the wood inbetween the strings before putting the guitar in the case...This is all based on superstition but it has worked well for me.

Someone advised against using any essential oils, because they are solvents. IMO that`s a bit overreacting but it is important not to overdo it. Soaking the wood will take the dirt away, and eventually your frets along with it.

My guitars are exceptionally clean, my body is relatively clean, and my mind is as clean as the driven slush. As far as guitar tone, clean quickly bores me. I have much more fun discovering new sounds and tones, and trying to make something good out of them.

All my guitars are pristine clean. I am anal retentive about that. Meguiar's Body Mist Cleaner is great for in between full cleans and linseed oil is great for all my necks (once a year). I give a detailed cleaning to the neck every other string change. I'm even more picky about the Acoustics I own. (another long story).

Tone wise, mostly clean to a Larry Carlton, Dumble-type breakup. That's 90 % of my playing right there.