Who else does not pamper their guitars

[waterboy]

I try to take care of them, but I don’t think they are pampered.
My carbon fiber Emerald X30 lives out on a stand all year round, everything else lives in the cupboard under the stairs with humidity control - we are in New England so 90’s in the summer, very dry in the winter.
The weather doesn’t stop me taking any of the instruments out of the house if the need arises, and sometimes it does. The odd ding is inevitable, but not desirable.

[j3ffr0]

I don't pamper. I'm not a wiper or much of a string changer. My studio is temperature and humidity controlled.

If I got the urge, I could do a string change and a wipe down (even polishing) and most of them would look as good as anyone's who constantly pampers theirs maybe notwithstanding the couple that have the French polish.

[kirkham13]

I treat them with regards to their replacement value!

[614ce]

Originally Posted by Mike4mus6

Yikes! I feel almost weird about how I care for my guitars.

All guitars in cases, and yes I could leave them out, but would be concerned about humidity. No humidity controlled room in house, but searching for dehumidifier to keep them happier (my Taylor 12 came with a soft case and while it’s nice, I haven’t been able to get humidity below 66-70 even with humid paks)

Wipe down after each play including strings and tuners.
Wear long sleeve shirts, no buttons, so don’t mess with finish.

I am guilty of not playing all my guitars, but blame that on my J-45 I got 10 months ago. My Taylor’s and Martin are not liking it!

Be careful with the Humidipac. There is a misconception with how they work.
The "maintenance" packs do not remove humidity like your typical music store description states. If you consult Boveda [the people who make the product] they will tell you that the 49% RH maintainance packs will start off at 55% and as they age [dry out] they will drop to 45% and eventually lower. This may be a contributing factor to your high humidity issues.

They make a "high absorbency" pack for when you can't get the humidity to lower.

On a side note, I emailed D'Addadrio suggesting they edit their description of the product functionality. They said they would look into doing so.

[614ce]

So this tread was handy as I am trying to decide how much to pamper my new Taylor 614ce.

I traded my 114e in for the 614ce and my problem is it is far too beautiful to keep it a prisoner in its case. Normally my one and only acoustic had lived in its case but now I would love to keep it out and on display, where I can see it. It also makes things easier to grab when the mood strikes.

My 2 Les Pauls and ES335 are always on stands in my temperature and humidity controlled studio/music room and I have no issues there.

So if my room is always around 48%-50%RH I am thinking to buy one of those beautiful Taylor wall hangers and just go for it. After all, when cased I see a RH of 56% anyway.

Would you all agree that this would be a safe practice?

And yes, I do lean towards the pampering side of this question. When playing, no jewelry and a sleeve on my right arm because of the nitro finish on the Gibsons. I had a Les Paul Studio years ago which developed an ugly dull patch from my arm. You can't polish that out! Not going to let that happen with my R8 or other Gibsons. I work to hard for my money.

[Dave Hicks]

I changed strings the other day, and pampered the guitar with some polish - made the scratches all shiny!

D.H.

[Silly Moustache]

Pamper: "to give someone (something???) special treatment, making that person as comfortable as possible and giving them whatever they want.

Not sure that this verb applies to inanimate items.
Used in this way implies a negative aspect of looking after expensive instruments.

In 1975 I bought a two year old Martin D35. I played it, mostly in the rough and tumble of bluegrass bands but in other settings, solo, small combos etc., until1996 when I foolishly sold it to a friend who still plays it.

It was in good condition when he took ownership and now it looks like a heap.
Whilst it still has a tonality way above what one might expect from a D35, it looks like its been mistreated ... which offends me somewhat, but it isn't my guitar any more.

The instruments I own now are pretty expensive and my "performance guitars live mostly in the cases but the ones I teach with and use for home noodling live on stands in the house.

When I change strings (about every three months), I wipe 'em down with a damp cloth then polish them.
Is that "pampering?

I think that caring for the condition of an item that will some day need to be sold on - is nothing more than a sensible.

Do you get your car serviced regularly ? Do you clean it when it gets dirty?
Is that "pampering" ?
I don't think so.