How to keep the guitars

[FrankLearns]

Apologiew for another question that has certainly been discussed before.

I keep my guitars hanging on the living room wall - not the least reason is that they are so pretty to look at and they are available whenever i feel like playing.

Now recently i bought a higher end Gretsch (a black G6120 - very pretty, BIG sound, not only for jazz) and in the owners manual they advice to keep it in the case all the time it is not played.

Is that really necessary? I live in Europe where the climate is neither very wet nor very dry. The living room doesn't have giant temperature fluctuations, there is no bright sunlight falling on the guitars and we also don't smoke. So i was wondering whether there is anything wrong with hanging the guitars on the wall (i hadn't noticed anything yet but it hasn't been for so long that they are up there)

Thank you very much for your thoughts. I am really appreciating this forum a lot!

[cosmic gumbo]

If the climate is stable, I don't see why it would be any worse than a Guitar Center store that has hundreds of guitars hanging up out of their cases....even guys that keep them in their cases and live in a climate with a summer and winter, tweak their truss rods twice a year.

[Dad3353]

Good afternoon, Frank...
If you're not in fear of some accidental mis-handling, and if you're playing them enough to not let dust gather, then there is no real benefit in the hard case.
I would do the same with my guitars, but it took me over 10 years to be able to repair my Hofner Comittee's busted headstock, caused by bad, exposed storage (nephew knocked into it...). It's now 'all in hard cases', except when playing them, of course. Less pretty, and more hassle, certainly, but I'm not risking another stupid incident. Your circumstances may well be different.
Hope this helps.

[jorgemg1984]

If it's in a accident-free enviorement and in a good stable temeprature leave it outside! You can see the guitar and the wood can "bread"

[bborzell]

Originally Posted by jorgemg1984

If it's in a accident-free enviorement and in a good stable temeprature leave it outside! You can see the guitar and the wood can "bread"

Breaded wood? Is that to be followed by a nice sauté in canola oil?

[jorgemg1984]

I meant breath... sorry about my bad english!

[Dad3353]

Ah, good..! I thought you might mean 'breed', looking to get a couple of cheap mandolines..!

[stevedenver]

it is my opinion that keeping a guitar in its case, aside from impact issues,
acts as a buffer and tempers, ie slows down the changes in temp, and more importantly, humdity

this slower change is easier on the wood

once the wood is fully seasoned and stable-this may be less of a concern

[Eddie Lang]

I have had my guitars on the wall for years without any problem. Nothing wrong with keeping them on wall hangers provided that it is an "accident-free" environment. Make sure it does not get direct sunlight, keep the temperature constant, ideally around 70°F or 21°C, with relative humidity between 40% and 50%. If it gets really cold in the winter, it may be preferable if they are not on an outside wall (yes, yes, I know that they are "inside", I just mean a wall on the other side of which it is outside.) A good room humidifier is mandatory and get yourself an accurate hygrometer (cigar shops usually have them).

If you keep your guitars in their cases, you will still need to control the room temperature and keep the right RH level with case humidifiers. This may mean more maintenance if you have many guitars than just having them outside with a room humidifier. I also find that the risk to over-humidify a guitar is greater if it's in its case...

[Flyin' Brian]

I actually never use hard cases for anything. I use gig bags to travel and wall hangers at home. I like to look at guitars and I like to play them. My wife also insists that a guitar be hanging in our living room because she views them as art as well.

[jorgemg1984]

I use this at home

ROCKSTAND RS 20870B TRIPLE GUITARSTAND - Thomann Cyberstore Português

And for outsie I recently converted to Mono and Reunion Blues bags.

[FrankLearns]

Many thanks for all your insights! So i guess keeping on the wll is fine. It is an accident free environment, with sort of stable temperature. Will look into a proper humidity control though - and i agree - guitars are just too pretty to not look at them on a daily basis :-)

.... Btw, like the idea of guitar breeding. Just imagine all those little L5's and watch them grow up :-)

[stevedenver]

actually they start out as little rug rat F-5s and then loose the curls and points....