Hanging Guitars Misconceptions

[Mandobart]

They're all hanging out in my finished basement with insulated walls, radiant floor and forced air heat and two small humidifiers. Three of my guitars, a banjo, mandocello, octave mando, mandola, two mandolins, two violins, three violas and a solid body emando. Almost all are carved arch top instruments, solid wood (not laminates). I've been doing this for about 5 years. I monitor the temperature and RH. I keep the temp 66 - 71 F and try to keep RH 40 - 50% but don't panic if it drops into the 30's. Some of my instruments have spent 80 to over 100 years in very arid climates with no thought whatever about humidity control. They have play wear, but no other damage.

Here in the first world hobbies are as much about the gear, jargon and minutia as about the actual activity. So of course people are going to obsess over their way of doing things and the tools they use to do it. For many its basically voodoo - if I do it this way I'll appease the gods of guitar damage and escape their wrath. I'm just not that obsessive about this issue.

[Earl49]

Originally Posted by paulzoom

....I feel bad for those who live in low humidity parts of the country......

Don't feel too much pity for us living in drier climates. It is far easier to humidify the guitars than to get comfortable in places with 95°F and 372% humidity. I grew up in Michigan, where muggy summers could get unbearable -- and were still nothing compared to the deep south or tropical climes.

[tonyo]

"I used to worry a lot. I used to stay out till the break of day. Oh, that didn't get it, It was high time I quit it. I just couldn't carry on that way."

Guitars are not that fragile. Don't worry. Be happy. Enjoy them.

Great post! Yesterday I had the chance to ride my old motorbike in our local Australia Day parade. I rode it with a good guitar strapped to my back. In the sunshine.

I worried a bit before setting off thinking it may not be good to expose the guitar to the sunshine.

As it turned out, the staging area was in shade and only for the 15 or so minutes of actually parading the guitar was no more exposed than on any camping trip.

After the parade I got to play Waltzing Matilda (what else!) to a variety of people in a variety of places around town (it's a small town).

A memory well worth any small risk to the guitar. And it was fun.

IMG_2037 by ynotob, on Flickr

[AZLiberty]

Originally Posted by Scoobtay

But with this said, how do we read about these stories of people who leave their guitar on the couch for a day and come back and it has a crack in it??

Life is strange.

Some of us live in very dry places like Phoenix.

[tonyo]

And guitars are under great stress on the soundboard. Sooner or later failure will occur. Perhaps it's not always what we blame?