Leaving my acoustics out all the time?

[Londonlefty]

Hi All
Seen a few threads on this, but wanted to delve further.
I basically leave my Martin D15, Larrivee 0M3 and Guild D150 on stands all the time, sometimes I play all 3 in a day.

I read so much about people leaving only beaters out, with everything half decent kept in cases, but I’ve got electrics in cases I haven’t played in 3 years.

Sure the acoustics get a bit dusty, but is leaving them out shortening their lifespan?

Live just outside London so don’t have the extremes of say a Wisconsin winter and summer and the house is at a pretty standard 18-21C. Humidifiers??? - a whole new world to me- do I need them for the UK?
Many thanks in advance

[fazool]

I will save you the search function time.

This is the Internet so this is what will happen:

50% of the people will vociferously tell you that you MUST leave them out at all times and that anyone with a differing opinion is negligent, stupid and evil.

50% of the people will vociferously tell you that you must NOT leave them out at all times and that anyone with a differing opinion is negligent, stupid and evil.

And then the thread will ramble for a while and run out of gas, until next time.

[Chipotle]

Many people leave their guitars out. It's just fine. Just make sure you dust them occasionally!

Aside from protection (do you have rambunctious animals or children in the house?), another reason people leave guitars cased is for humidification. I imagine London is in general a bit damper than many other locations. As long as the relative humidity (inside--not always the same as out, especially in winter!) doesn't drop below, say 40% for extended periods, you don't need to worry about that either.

Many people who leave guitars out have room, or even whole house, humidifiers to keep appropriate humidity levels for the guitars.

[Coler]

Having checked humidity in the room I keep my instruments including guitars in, I leave mine out all the time.

If the levels of humidity were not ideal I would case them with whatever was needed to maintain at an appropriate level.

Leaving them out runs a risk of bumps and dings but I don't care about those.

[Rosewood99]

Originally Posted by fazool

I will save you the search function time.

This is the Internet so this is what will happen:

50% of the people will vociferously tell you that you MUST leave them out at all times and that anyone with a differing opinion is negligent, stupid and evil.

50% of the people will vociferously tell you that you must NOT leave them out at all times and that anyone with a differing opinion is negligent, stupid and evil.

And then the thread will ramble for a while and run out of gas, until next time.

LOL
I think the real answer is it depends on the humidity in your space. By a hydrometer and if your humidity stays at 40 degrees and above, you are fine leaving them out. However if it dips below that for more than a few days then you either need to get a room humidifier or put them in cases.

[DCCougar]

Originally Posted by Londonlefty

Humidifiers??? - a whole new world to me- do I need them for the UK?

Yeah, depends where you live. Maybe not. You should get a hygrometer (a cheap one should be good enough) and check the relative humidity in the room where your guitars are. Excessive dryness over a period of time may cause solid wood to split, or more probably fret sprout (the fretboard shrinks, the frets don't).

[roylor4]

Originally Posted by Londonlefty

Hi All
Seen a few threads on this, but wanted to delve further.
I basically leave my Martin D15, Larrivee 0M3 and Guild D150 on stands all the time, sometimes I play all 3 in a day.

I read so much about people leaving only beaters out, with everything half decent kept in cases, but I’ve got electrics in cases I haven’t played in 3 years.

Sure the acoustics get a bit dusty, but is leaving them out shortening their lifespan?

Live just outside London so don’t have the extremes of say a Wisconsin winter and summer and the house is at a pretty standard 18-21C. Humidifiers??? - a whole new world to me- do I need them for the UK?
Many thanks in advance

If they have been left out on stands for a good while with no damage or ill effects I see no reason to start worrying now. Mine stay out year round. They are not expensive guitars though.

As you already surmised - a guitar that is easy to access gets more playing time - pure and simple. IMO, YMMV. .02, etc.

[srbell]

They key things are protecting your guitar from bumps and bruises, and protecting from humidity extremes.
If you're good with the risks of bumps/falls, then that pretty much just leaves humidity. My recommendation would be to get a hygrometer (only around $20) and do whatever is necessary to keep the guitar between 40% and 60%. If your room is always in that range then no worries. If it goes outside of that range and you want to leave it out then you should humidify or dehumidify as needed to keep it within that range. The other option is to put it in the case when it's outside of that range and use humidipaks or similar in your guitar case to keep the guitar within the proper humidity range.
If you leave it out I'd make sure the HVAC vent is not blowing on the guitar, and it's not where direct sunlight is heating it up during the day. Otherwise just keep it in the proper humidity range and enjoy playing it.

[menhir]

My guitars are all out on stands, except...

-When the humidity gets so low that my humidifiers are overwhelmed. Rare. Then they go into their cases with a sponge humidifier.
-When I go away for an extended period of time during the humidification season. If I'm not there to refill the humidifiers, then I turn them off and the guitars go back in their cases.
-When I'm taking them with with me.

Caveats

-But there are no little children in the house and my dog is very well behaved...So is my wife.
-But again, I don't have a lot of guitars, and I don't plan on having a lot of guitars...I just don't work that way.
-But again again, we're due to be first-time grandparents this summer so...

I decided to put a lock on my man cave door and leave the guitars on stands there when little ones come to visit. Most of them are in there anyway except for whichever one is currently in the living room right next to my recliner. I like easy access to a guitar at all times.
The lock would be a good idea anyway. After 25 years as a professional martial artist, I have stuff in there that even most adults shouldn't have access to.

Given that, I've had no problems leaving my guitars out on stands.

[Bob from Brooklyn]

My personal take is that if something happens to any of my guitars while they are out it's my fault. Anything that happens while they're in their cases is god's business.

[phavriluk]

I think maintaining humidity where a guitar is stored at 40%, more or less, has been presented as holy writ. But why? Perhaps the optimum humidity level where a guitar is stored is more appropriately the humidity level at which it was made, which may well be different than 40%. Are guitars always made at 40% with wood acclimated to 40%? Always 40%? Am I missing something? Have any guitar makers commented on shop and materials storage humidity?

Just wondering...

[jseth]

I have all my acoustic guitars out on stands all the time... unless the humidity gets REALLY stupid-low (like in the 20's for weeks at a time), in which case, I case 'em all and keep both soundhole humidifers and "water beads" in containers by the headstock...

Rarely gets that low in Central/West Oregon, and I love having all my guitars out, in front of me...

Full disclosure: I live alone with a small Boston Terrier who has learned to be "good" with my musical equipment... no kids to deal with, few visitors, tiny home. I have 5 guitars (2 electrics, 3 acoustics) and I generally have 4 out on stands. I'd have the 5th out there if I had just a bit more space!

[DesertTwang]

Originally Posted by Chipotle

Many people leave their guitars out. It's just fine. Just make sure you dust them occasionally!

Aside from protection (do you have rambunctious animals or children in the house?), another reason people leave guitars cased is for humidification. I imagine London is in general a bit damper than many other locations. As long as the relative humidity (inside--not always the same as out, especially in winter!) doesn't drop below, say 40% for extended periods, you don't need to worry about that either.

Many people who leave guitars out have room, or even whole house, humidifiers to keep appropriate humidity levels for the guitars.

This post sums up everything there is to say on this topic, exhaustively.

[maxtheaxe]

As I'm sure others have pointed out, it's fine to leave your acoustics out as long as you monitor the ambient RH in the room. I've been leaving mine out on a rack for years with nary a problem.

I also have both a humidifier and a de-humidifier set up, ready for use as indicated by the reading on my hygrometer, which is mounted on the side of the rack. I check these every day without fail, even if I'm not playing, and maintain the RH between 45 and 55% RH, preferably on the lower end of that range for best tone.

It is even OK to exceed the "safe" range for short periods of time, and guitars are unlikely to show the effects of excessive dryness or wetness unless one allows this to persist for a long time.

Yes, they do get a little dusty after a while...another excuse to putter around in my studio, detailing guitars, which inevitably leads to playing same.

[Robin, Wales]

London's humidity seasonally varies between 60% and 80%. Unless you have a draft free house and run dehumidifiers you don't need a humidifier. In the last 15 years or so we've only had one cold snap of a couple of days in length that was dry enough to pop the pegs of a violin hanging on the wall. In the UK we need to be more concerned about guitars going mouldy if left in cases!