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Posts: 1240
Joined: Nov. 6 2008
From: Sydney, Australia
Keeping guitar on stand?
Any thoughts people? Does anyone here keep their luthier made guitars in the open, like on a stand or a wall hanger etc? I just sold my yamaha and it usually sits in the living room on a stand so I can reach for it easily, was wondering whether I can do it with my luthier made guitar.
RE: Keeping guitar on stand? (in reply to HolyEvil)
I wouldn't recommend it The guitar could fell down and also it would depend on the temperature of the room in which it is. Usually a guitar case helps to maintain the humidity in the guitar, if you have it on a stand and the room's humidity is to low your guitar could suffer a crack on the wood.
RE: Keeping guitar on stand? (in reply to HolyEvil)
I've kept my 1968 luthier-made guitar out in the open for years. It's been through cold NYC winters (and the dry indoor apt heating) and now the San Francisco summer/fall/winter/spring (it's always the same season here) plus I have a fairly large pitbull that loves to play rough, and nothing ever happened. It's much easier to grab and play when it's on a stand -- but I wouldn't say that it looks new.
Not advocating you don't take care of your guitar, but if you're not obsessed with keeping it in perfect condition and are a little mindful... Well like I said nothing ever happened to my guitar, yet.
RE: Keeping guitar on stand? (in reply to chester)
quote:
I've kept my 1968 luthier-made guitar out in the open for years. It's been through cold NYC winters (and the dry indoor apt heating) and now the San Francisco summer/fall/winter/spring (it's always the same season here) plus I have a fairly large pitbull that loves to play rough, and nothing ever happened. It's much easier to grab and play when it's on a stand -- but I wouldn't say that it looks new.
Not advocating you don't take care of your guitar, but if you're not obsessed with keeping it in perfect condition and are a little mindful... Well like I said nothing ever happened to my guitar, yet.
I live in Beirut, 100 meters away from the Mediterranean Sea. My guitar (a cheap $120 Hohner HC-06 classical guitar) accompanied me to Michigan last year. I used to crank the heat in my room to the max, and it got quite dry in there. I had the guitar in the soft case all the time. Two weeks of that, and I once came back home to play, and all notes past the 8th fret on the D string were dead. The neck had warped. Thankfully, when I came back to Beirut, I gave it a good dose of our Mediterranean Sea humidity, then raised the saddle a bit, and it's kind of fine now.
Moral of the story - keep the guitar in the HARD case at all times, and keep a humidifier and a hygrometer in there. Invest a couple of hundred bucks in those latter items to get yourself stuff that works, and keep monitoring. I'll be super careful with my guitars from now on. If I were to get a decent luthier made flamenco guitar soon, I'll be super-careful with storing it and keeping the humidity etc. just right. I don't want to go through another warped neck.
RE: Keeping guitar on stand? (in reply to HolyEvil)
quote:
Moral of the story - keep the guitar in the HARD case at all times, and keep a humidifier and a hygrometer in there. Invest a couple of hundred bucks in those latter items to get yourself stuff that works, and keep monitoring.
I also had a similar problem, I live in Miami and even though the humidity here is EXCESSIVE!! inside the houses it gets really dry because of the air conditioner, once I left the guitar on the sofa for 15 minutes because I was on the phone, then I picked it up and heard a crack , luckily it didn't affected the sound at all but from that day on I've kept my guitars with a humidifier and a hygrometer.
My guitars are my princesses, so I like to keep them looking and sounding good.
I use to all the time, then my daughter got a puppy and he chew the wooden leg on the kitchen table, my guitar is in the case now and forever.
hehehe -
I´m with Ramzi´s detailed advice. One can be lucky like Chester, but unless living in moderate weather conditions, I wouldn´t rely on it. Even in regions of moderate climate a guitar could crack if the stand being situated between two windows / window and door.
While under challenging humdity conditions you can´t really feel safe in the long term, even after years of acclimatisation. Some expensive guitars cracked yet after more than 10 years under same conditions.
Wanting a permanent-on-stand guitar, I got me an exceptionally performing specimen of the 500 bucks shelf. Which shows to be relatively insensitive to low humidity. And still: Just can´t stand it when its frets start sticking out. So, whilst using it for times of ~ 30% RH in the living room, I still find myself putting it back into its case and in a humidified room at the end of the day.
Even without humdified storage, a case helps buffering climate fluctuation, and avoids drying out through wind, which is what can happen at positions between windows and doors.
Ruphus
PS:
Ramzi,
In sight of humidifying in emergency case: I remember a luthiers advice to put the guitar in the bathroom and let the shower run for a while. After the air being saturated, letting the guitar in there for some hours until you see the top / neck recover.
In sight of humidifying in emergency case: I remember a luthiers advice to put the guitar in the bathroom and let the shower run for a while. After the air being saturated, letting the guitar in there for some hours until you see the top / neck recover.
The danger is the extremes. A super dry guitar you should re hydrate slowly and carefully. If you stick it in the bath room after a shower, then it swells with water, when you put it back to normal environment, it will surely crack somewhere. Otherwise you have to also slowly let it dry, which is hard to do I think.
Cases of neck shrink, the frets poke out etc, keep in the case with humidity, just a wet paper towel or sponge or something, keep an eye on it everyday, and it will be normal again after a week.
Posts: 3487
Joined: Jan. 20 2004
From: Austin, Texas USA
RE: Keeping guitar on stand? (in reply to HolyEvil)
I'd say keep it in the case, both for physical protection and to moderate the swings of humidity. And when it's in the case, keep one of the latches latched so the case doesn't absent-mindedly get picked up, only to dump the guitar. I've seen it happen.
RE: Keeping guitar on stand? (in reply to Ricardo)
quote:
ORIGINAL: Ricardo
quote:
In sight of humidifying in emergency case: I remember a luthiers advice to put the guitar in the bathroom and let the shower run for a while. After the air being saturated, letting the guitar in there for some hours until you see the top / neck recover.
The danger is the extremes. A super dry guitar you should re hydrate slowly and carefully. If you stick it in the bath room after a shower, then it swells with water, when you put it back to normal environment, it will surely crack somewhere. Otherwise you have to also slowly let it dry, which is hard to do I think.
Ricardo
That sounds reasonable.
I was wondering myself about the bathroom tip. But as it came from a very fine luthier I thought maybe my own estimation of what could be a too sudden / radical treatment might be off.
Richard,
I always fear that latch thing to happen! So much even that I latch at least two, even when it´s just for a short moment with noone else in the house.
Maybe that´s why it´s going to happen one day, still. - With the lashes falling off all together by themselves or something.
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, luckily it didn't affected the sound at all but from that day on I've kept my guitars with a humidifier and a hygrometer. 
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