Where you keep your guitars....

thomasross20

... Right now the only place I can keep my guitars is at one side of the bedroom close to the window. Naturally being a Scottish winter it gets pretty cold close to those windows. Should I be worried about keeping my acoustic & (expensive!) electrics close to a cold window, even if they're in hard cases? When I pull one out the neck feels cold and eventually feels better/warmer given a little play. I'd be GUTTED if I found out a neck warped or something similar happened because of this.

I literally have nowhere else to put them and it's not like we can control the temperature in one room (just now, anyway).

One rule I always have, though - always keep them in their cases!

Where do you keep yours and do you worry about them?

EDIT - I'm sure a cold room is ok, as long as there are no major temperature changes, but it'd be good to get your input!

darcym

I found I can control the temperature in one room really well.

I turned the radiator off in the room and use a dyson heater/cooler to keep the temperature the same all the year round, thankfully the English weather doesn't vary that much normally so taking them out of the room is never an extreme shock

Wolfetone

On a stand within reach of the settee.

RaymondLin

Keep them in a place where the temperature is constant, away from radiators. 

With acoustics, humidity is important, get a hygrometer if you don't have one.  They are cheap, like £5, so no reason not to have one when guitars are worth thousands.

thomasross20

Good point on having a heater/cooler in the room to maintain a constant temperature. Does that run your bills up?

I definitely keep them away from radiators, that's for sure!

I keep meaning to get a hygrometer (mentioned it when I got my Larrivee) - I will get one for Crimbo!

Philly_Q

Mine are all over the place - living room, bedroom, bathroom, hallway - in their cases and gig bags.  Anywhere there's space.  But none are near radiators or windows.

Iamnobody

darcym;424025" said:

I found I can control the temperature in one room really well.I turned the radiator off in the room and use a dyson heater/cooler to keep the temperature the same all the year round, thankfully the English weather doesn't vary that much normally so taking them out of the room is never an extreme shock

Are those Dyson's any good?

We have a conservatory and in the winter even with the underfloor heating on it's too cold. In the summer it obviously gets very warm.

I was thinking the Dyson might be an ideal tool for trying to regulate the temperatures (or at least improve them) all year round.

Roland

One of the electrics stands within reach of my desk. The others electrics live in cases, either because they don't get used much, or because they get taken to rehearsals or gigs several times a week. Acoustics always live in their cases. The house has central heating, so I keep them away from radiators, and out of direct sunlight.

CHRISB50

My acoustic is in it's case under the bed, away from the radiator. Temp in the room is around 22 deg all the time. Hygrometers are definitely a good idea (get more than one). I also live next to a massive reservoir, so the air is really damp all the time. It's been up to 75-80% RH in the house in the evenings once a bath has been run and the hob or whatever has been on for dinner. I ended up having to get a dehumidifier too, as I got worried the wood may swell (and I just didn't realise quite how damp my house is). Since getting that the RH is always around 50%.

When I had electrics they were in their cases too, under the bed, but actually closer to the radiator. I never found a problem. Even after leaving them for a few days they were always still in tune etc when they came out the cases.

If you can't control the environment in the room very well it's definitely a better idea to keep them in their cases away from the radiator.

darcym

Iamnobody said:

darcym;424025" said:

I found I can control the temperature in one room really well.I turned the radiator off in the room and use a dyson heater/cooler to keep the temperature the same all the year round, thankfully the English weather doesn't vary that much normally so taking them out of the room is never an extreme shock

Are those Dyson's any good?

We have a conservatory and in the winter even with the underfloor heating on it's too cold. In the summer it obviously gets very warm.

I was thinking the Dyson might be an ideal tool for trying to regulate the temperatures (or at least improve them) all year round.

Yes, they are excellent,

darcym

thomasross20 said:

Good point on having a heater/cooler in the room to maintain a constant temperature. Does that run your bills up?

I definitely keep them away from radiators, that's for sure!

I keep meaning to get a hygrometer (mentioned it when I got my Larrivee) - I will get one for Crimbo!

no it doesn't run up my bills as they are not on 24x7, they are only on when the temperature changes exteme.

if you put a device that displays the temperature clearly in a room, you'll find it doesn't change very much on a day to day basis, I bought one for something like £15 that has an alarm on it that triggers an alarm when it goes bellow a certain temperature or above a different one, in which case at that point I use the dyson to level the room out to it's ball park normal temperature, I really don't need to use the dyson very often, had to use it for a few days in the summer and thats about it so far.

as I understand it (the educated can correct me) it's not just temperature change, it's the variation of temperature that's the problem.

I find a little temperature drift in a room isn't a problem, which is why I don't use the dyson very often in that room, it's when the temperature changes to an extreme, and then changes back to the norm/opposite extreme, which is why I set the alarm to alert me well before so that I can keep the temperature constant.

If this was one/two guitars I'd not bother but as there are a fair few it makes sense to look after the room they are in.

nickp

I don't worry too much.  I've got a really old classical - bought when I was about 16 on a whim from a luthier in Spain on holiday in Granada.  left out in cars in mid winter for weeks, bashed about a bit.

still plays very well.  turns out that the luthier is famous and his "signature" guitars go for 10-15,000 euros which suggests that I ought to get it valued and insured!!

um the electrics dot the house on stands or hanging on the wall.  we have had warm houses and cold houses but try to leave them out of sunlight and away from radiators - just obvious stuff really - and not in a really damp garage or anything

BigMonka

Does anyone use those wall hangers and keep their guitars out? I was thinking of hanging them a bit like artwork in the spare room but I don't know if its good for them?

nickp

lots of people do use the wall hangers.  keeps them handy so they get played.  

The hangers that I've used do mark the guitars though - as they have rubber arms

Philly_Q

Yes, wall hangers seem to be popular, but as with stands you have to be careful they don't mark or react with nitro finishes.

I don't have any because the only available wall space in my flat is directly above radiators.

NPP

my Strat has had to cope with lots of temperature changes over the decades, often left on a stand in a room that goes very cold over night and is heated up again during the day. On occasion, I had to keep it close to the radiator to heat it up or it would be unplayable, making my fingers numb the moment I touched the neck. This mistreatment hasn't done it any harm so far. I wouldn't recommend wilfully abusing your guitars in that manner though ...

impmann

Hercules hangers don't mark the finish - even nitro cellulose.

mike_l

On stands between2 windows, and a radiator. not so close that they got hot from the radiator though. The temp in the room stays fairly constant, and they rarely need any thing doing, even holding tuning pretty well.

littlethoughts

Some under the bed, some under the sofa (there is a gap), one on a stand and a couple just propped up in a corner. I dream of the day I've got the room for a MASSIVE RACK.

usedtobe

I have a 'guitar wardrobe' where I keep mine..

speshul91

Electric is in a hard case in the front room. Acoustic in a box in the bedroom