Hanging guitars: a bad idea?

lukedlb

I have 3 amazing strat type guitars that always stay in tune, however long they sit in their floor stands. When I took my Framus off the neck wall hang for a repair, I let one of my strats take its place. After a month I took it down for a play to find it completely out of tune. The hung guitar is above the floor guitars so it isn’t a case of temperature changes or humidity. 
It’s returned to the floor and remains in tune. 
Does hanging a guitar by its headstock put stress on the wood?

DB1

I was going to ask a similar question - I've bought a few Hercules 2, 3 and 6 guitar stands where the guitar hangs. I know that Hercules have a good reputation, but wondered about the physics of the situation, whereby you've effectively got the guitar pulling the headstock down by way of the weight of the body and neck.

I wonder, @lukedlb - is your wall an outside wall? It's possible that the the air is a bit cooler just inside the wall if so, although any guitar of mine will go out of tune in a month. 

stimpsonslostson

If it is EVERY guitar shop I've ever been to has some serious remodeling to do. 
FWIW, My guitars all live on the walls & hold tune just fine. 

ICBM

The weight of the guitar pulling downwards on the headstock is in the order of 7 or 8 lbs.

The string tension pulling down on the headstock is in the order of 70 or 80 lbs.

Think about it.

lukedlb

@DB1 it’s an internal wall and the guitar itself isn’t touching the wall. No temperature changes other than seasonal.  
My mate who built my guitars gets uppity when I leave them in a case, convinced that the cases are choking the guitars as the wood needs to breathe. Probably got more to do with the raised pressure on the neck inside the case as mine is pretty poorly made. However, the tuning was never as far out as when hung on the wall. 
Most guitar shops hang by the headstock so I just assumed it wasn’t a problem. Whether you’d hang a vintage strat is another matter. 

ICBM

lukedlb said:

My mate who built my guitars gets uppity when I leave them in a case, convinced that the cases are choking the guitars as the wood needs to breathe. Probably got more to do with the raised pressure on the neck inside the case as mine is pretty poorly made.

I think it's more to do with the natural sounds in the room keeping the strings vibrating slightly when it's on a stand or hanger.

lukedlb said:

Whether you’d hang a vintage strat is another matter. 

I'd hang a vintage Strat without the slightest thought.

A modern Les Paul maybe not...

RandallFlagg

I have been hanging guitars on walls for 30+ years, no issues.

Sporky

lukedlb said:

My mate who built my guitars gets uppity when I leave them in a case, convinced that the cases are choking the guitars as the wood needs to breathe. 

Through the finish? The case is a lot more breathable. 

camf

It's a very hard line to take... I tend to go easier on them if they're just guilty of a few shit riffs. 

Fishboy7

Maybe... if the hanger is screwed to some crappy plaster board.....

darthed1981

Aren't you supposed to tune them when you pick them up anyway?

Please tell me if no, I fucking hate sitting tuning.

gibby

NO problems hanging guitars (on solidly mounted hooks )..BUT make sure if the finish is Nitro-cellulose that it doesn't react with the rubber on the hanger. Your strat guitars are probably poly coated, so no issues. As for tuning stability, that's due to temperature change in the room..most guitars need daily tuning, depending how fussy your ear is to small changes, so if it's been left for a month( on floor or wall) it'll be seriously out of tune, IN MOST CASES

octatonic

ICBM said:

The weight of the guitar pulling downwards on the headstock is in the order of 7 or 8 lbs.

The string tension pulling down on the headstock is in the order of 70 or 80 lbs.

Think about it.

It's mass is 7-8lbs which equates to roughly to a weight of 31-35 Newtons.

Yeah, I am THAT GUY!

octatonic

The main issue I find with hanging guitars is some nitro finishes (ahem, Gibson, ahem) seem to react with the plastic.
I know that String Swing don't, my 335 hangs from it and I have no issues.
Haven't tried Hercules.

Henrytwang

I have around 30 guitars on hangers, ( most of them Hercules) , and haven’t noticed any difference in tuning stability between them and those in floor racks or on stands.

DB1

I seem to remember that there was a thread on here a few weeks ago, extolling the virtues of Hercules and particularly with regard to their non-reaction with nitro finishes. I changed all of my stands to Hercules for that reason. I was using Quiklox 7-guitar racks and a few single stands before that, and there was always the possibility of giving the archtops a ding in getting them out of the racks, particularly as I am not the most graceful (think love-child of Mr Bean and Frank Spencer, and that's close)

meltedbuzzbox

darthed1981 said:

Aren't you supposed to tune them when you pick them up anyway?

Please tell me if no, I fucking hate sitting tuning.

It depends on the guitar.
I find split post tuners and locking tuners generally behave really well

ESBlonde

Is this as simple as the temp variation caused by the difference in height. Does the hung guitar sit over a heat source, or catch more direct sunlight, or even just experience a higher temp because hot air rises?

jonnygreentrees

lukedlb said:

@DB1 it’s an internal wall and the guitar itself isn’t touching the wall. No temperature changes other than seasonal.  
My mate who built my guitars gets uppity when I leave them in a case, convinced that the cases are choking the guitars as the wood needs to breathe. Probably got more to do with the raised pressure on the neck inside the case as mine is pretty poorly made. However, the tuning was never as far out as when hung on the wall. 
Most guitar shops hang by the headstock so I just assumed it wasn’t a problem. Whether you’d hang a vintage strat is another matter. 

WTF!? The guitars choke in a case!?

Bollocks

ICBM

ESBlonde said:

Is this as simple as the temp variation caused by the difference in height. Does the hung guitar sit over a heat source, or catch more direct sunlight, or even just experience a higher temp because hot air rises?

Walls are much more subject to circulating convection currents, even in a room which appears to be at a consistent temperature. If you don't think so, get a step ladder and see how warm it is up next to the ceiling.

guitars4you

ESBlonde said:

Is this as simple as the temp variation caused by the difference in height. Does the hung guitar sit over a heat source, or catch more direct sunlight, or even just experience a higher temp because hot air rises?

interesting as I have 3 tiers of display of guitars on the wall hangers - Top, middle, lower - I go round the showroom wall to check guitars are in tune and do so many guitars each day, religiously - There is a often a difference between guitars barely needing tuning and those that are 1/4 or 1/2 tone out, subject to which row they are from

Takes me about 4/5 weeks to get back to the start point in the show room to start the tune up process again - Painting the Forth Road bridge syndrome