Storing guitars.

ronnyb

So I've a couple of vintage acoustics that I've had for years and never play. I appreciate someone will add, they're made to be played and what's the point in keeping them. Sentimentality I suppose. Should they be stored with the strings de tensioned or not?   

octatonic

What conditions will they be stored in?

What do you mean by 'vintage' acoustics.

Are we talking pre-war Martins or 1970's Yamahas?

ronnyb

Gibsons, 60's and early 70's. Both in hard cases under the bed in the spare room!

octatonic

Ok, slacken off the strings.

Under the bed isn't a bad place to store guitars but I would check on them from time to time.

GuyBoden

If possible, try for a reasonably constant temp and humidity, obviously avoid putting them too near the Central Heating Radiators. Watch out for very cold winter nights, I put my old guitar in a hiscox case then in a good sleeping bag on these winter nights, the sleeping bag slows the rate of thermal transfer (the cold or the heat reaching the guitar.).

ronnyb

Thanks all.

sillymoustache

Strings ? Guitars are designed to hold tension, but temperature will increase/decrease the tension. De-stringing, or de- tensioning (is that even a word?) won't hurt.

Humidity and gassing off (don't) are the main problems.  Humidity is best at between 40-50%
"Gassing off" is where celluloid or other plastic type stuff slowly loses its constituents and becomes crubly - someinthg to watch on old pick guards and bindings etc. ...and NEVER leave a plastic/nylon guitar strap - actually no guitar straps in case left for years.

"Vintage" actually means nothing unless followed by a year or decade. I know we tend to use the term for "old" or "oldish".  I've got some vintage guitars - one was made in 1934, and another in 2012. (It's a 2012 vintage)  Hope that helps.

ICBM

octatonic said:

Ok, slacken off the strings.

But if you do, you *must* also slacken the truss rods or you will very likely cause a back-bow in the necks.

This is a very common problem with guitars that have been stored for a long time, because a lot of people think you need to slacken the strings, but very few do the truss rod.

If you don't want to do the truss rods, leave the strings tuned. Guitars are built to take the tension and it won't do any harm.

ronnyb

Cheers.

sillymoustache

ICBM said:

octatonic said:

Ok, slacken off the strings.

But if you do, you *must* also slacken the truss rods or you will very likely cause a back-bow in the necks.

This is a very common problem with guitars that have been stored for a long time, because a lot of people think you need to slacken the strings, but very few do the truss rod.

If you don't want to do the truss rods, leave the strings tuned. Guitars are built to take the tension and it won't do any harm.

Good point.

Winny_Pooh

I think without tension or at least less. May help with the bellying on older acoustics and it's a problem on more recent guitars too.