Ok I have too many guitars. I would say they all get played but some not extensively. What do you think the longest you can store a guitar unplayed in it's case with full string tension ?

1946 J-45, 1948 J-45, 1949 000-18, 1952 LG-2, 1957 D-21, 1958 0-18, 1961 00-18, 1962 D-18, 1962 0-18, 1979 Gallagher Doc, 1999 D-18 GE, 2003 Collings D-1a

I read somewhere on line.I can't remember where but this guitar Doc fella seemed very knowledgable. He was answering a'lot of guitar questions and he said, losening up the strings for storage is unnecessary.He went on to say that even changing the strings one at a time in order to not alter the neck is a not true. I tend to agree with him because when I was in the Military I left behind a wonderful guitar tuned to pitch and in it's case under my bed. four years later the guitar neck was still in perfect shape. No it was not in tune. I did not know that you were supposed to change guitar strings one at a time until just last year, so I have always taken them all off and have often left the guitar out over night to let the fretboard dry from the lemon oil. I have never had any neck problems and have never needed any set-up. I was a kid when I started playing no one showed me anything, but things seem to have worked out.

No idea on the storage but Flatpickr' do you have a faimily photo? Thanks,

I've talked to a couple of different luthiers about this and have been told that if you know you're going to be storing a guitar for a long time, take the strings off. It just stands to reason, as far as I'm concerned. No strings = no bellying (or comparable) issues = good.

I'm sure that in a huge majority of instances you can get away with storing for a good period of time under full tension. But if you KNOW you're not gonna play it -- particularly if it's vintage stuff -- I personally just wouldn't risk it.

I've always felt strings should be left on a guitar, at pitch, unless it will be stored in a hot attic. Seriously, how does a guitar stored at room temperature under full tension and NOT played differ from a guitar under full tension that is played 4 hours a day? Played or unplayed, it is built to have stings on it. I think temperature/humidity of storage is the key issue.

quote:

Originally posted by Randy Carone:
I've always felt strings should be left on a guitar, at pitch, unless it will be stored in a hot attic. Seriously, how does a guitar stored at room temperature under full tension and NOT played differ from a guitar under full tension that is played 4 hours a day? Played or unplayed, it is built to have stings on it. I think temperature/humidity of storage is the key issue.

I agree with that except let's say a certain model of guitar would on average need a neck reset after fifteen years of use. If you for some reason stopped playing the guitar for several years that fifteen year average would be delayed if the string tension was slack during the time the guitar just sat in the case. On the other hand I have a couple of guitars that sat in the case more like decades with full string tension and the necks are fine.
Rick

I agree with Randy on this one. Guitars are meant to be tuned to pitch. Leave them to pitch and deal with the neck-set issues if they arise. My guess is that leaving a guitar unstrung would cause structural issues, because again guitars are meant to have strings on them.

quote:

Originally posted by JeffM:
I agree with Randy on this one. Guitars are meant to be tuned to pitch. Leave them to pitch and deal with the neck-set issues if they arise. My guess is that leaving a guitar unstrung would cause structural issues, because again guitars are meant to have strings on them.

That was what I had at the back of my mind when I was asking the questions initially, but the luthiers I asked about it said there is absolutely no structural downside to keeping a guitar unstrung ... only the other way around. I think one of them was Steve Kovacik ... can't remember who the other was.

Again, this was in the context of a vintage instrument so it's not exactly apples and apples. But still, I can see the wisdom of it.

My opine:
If I was going to not play it for an extended period of time-- sell it.

That's why I only own 2 guitars at one time.

quote:

1946 J-45, 1948 J-45, 1949 000-18, 1952 LG-2,

OMG!

Those are some amazing guitars you own, I would probably sell off a few but that's just me. Yu must be like a kid in a candy store... I have many guitars... but the acoustic are all out on wall hangers and I play all of them every chance I get. That's what I'd do with all those guitars.. I would not put them in storage.. either sell them or play them! If you are emotionally attached to an instrument, sometimes is is hard to sell them... in which case.. my electrics are all in the basement studio and I haven't the heart to sell them... but they aren't worth nearly what you have in acoustics... Do what you must! Not sure what to tell you though...

Thanks for all of the responses.

I guess I just stopped selling guitars way back. I never sold a guitar that I didnt regret later on. I still haven't gotten over selling that Buddy Holly Style Mustang back in 1976, I think I got an ounce of columbian for that one....Dont it always seem to go you dont know what you got till it's gone...Damn wish I still had that guitar and some of that bag. Sure can't get any columbian in this country since the Reagan years.

Some of these guitars I've owned for years and typically they are always tuned to pitch, unless I am trying to figure out some old Norman Blake tune that is tuned down or if I'm in the mood to play Little Martha I may keep one tuned to open E for an extended period. The only one that ever caused me some concern was the D1a because the bridge lifted very slightly (enough to slip a playing card in the corner). The room is well humidified so it got me to thinking about string tension.

Papi, I didnt mean to give the impression that these guitars are in storage. I don't think many of them go longer than 3 months with no play. The 3rd floor of our house is the music room so none of these guitars is ever more than 15 feet away. But I'm not all that organized about it so every once in a while a guitar may stay in the case longer.

The only one I would sell at this time is the GE. It's a great guitar in pristine condition that I bought a few years ago Jeff Lane on the Flatpick-L list. He got it from Mandolin Bros. He had Dan Lashbrook do everything to it. I've a/b'ed it with several GE's, Lashbrook seems to know what he's doing, this guitar definitely has some power.

Great sounding guitar in great condition but there is something about the 1 3/4 neck on the GE that doesnt suit me, The D1a 1 3/4 seems to fit my hand much better. Strange cause some of the necks on my guitars (especially the Gibsons) are pretty big...there's just something about the shape of the GE I don't like. Seems too flat. That's funny I remember Jeff selling it to me cause he didnt like the 1 3/4 GE neck either.

It would be kind of cool to recruit a picking buddy and put some video's up on this sight pairing the D1a with each of the other guitars.

in japan they detune the guitars after playing them EACH time--sorta of crazy and probably means their strings don't last too long. i asked our local shop about this and frank indicated if you were not playing the guitar for sometime, then dropping the tension down would make some sense. but they had seen guitars that had been at pitch for 30 or more years that didn't show any adverse signs. martin keeps their 1942 d45 in the museum detuned for obvious reasons. with medium strings you are putting 185 pounds of pressure on the guitar, so even dropping it down a full note will relieve lots of tension.