Prolonged Non-Playing and Guitars

[Haydon]

Hey guys,

I'll be moving to the UK for a while later this year and I'll probably be gone for about 2 years. In that time, my guitars will probably be sitting in my office going unplayed. Is there anything I should do beforehand or get my partner to do while I'm gone that will keep them in good condition while not being played for that long? Or at least anything I should be aware of?

[Cunamara]

Tune them down rather than leaving them at full tension. Put them in their cases. Maintain steady humidity to the extent you can, just like always.

[cosmic gumbo]

Standing up in their cases.

[fws6]

Standing up in their cases.

Except for guitars that are prone to deterioration of bindings or guards. Those should be taken out and vented regularly as locking them in their cases will enhance the process

[73Fender]

I bet this may apply to many of us with too many guitars and too little time to play them. Good topic. Maybe I should start de tuning when putting them away.

[pingu]

Why detune them ?

[Boston Joe]

Why detune them ?

To reduce the tension on the neck, I assume.

[ptchristopher3]

If any guitars with a relatively new (maybe 2 to 3 years or less) lacquer finish are to be stored, one might do well to get a layer of white cotton cloth between the guitar and a dark dyed color in the (possibly “custom” ) case interior.

I don’t want to hear from the G-brand brigade, so will not specifically consider the rare but notable cases of difficulty.

Get it. “Cases” of difficulty.

Seriously, for long term storage of a somewhat new lacquer-finished guitar, one might consider a layer of white cotton between the guitars and a deeply dyed case interior

In my opinion.

[entresz]

Yes, I've seen many a "G" brand instrument with a distinct pink tinge in the lacquer!

A big +1 on airing out guitars prone to binding problems. Old MIJ guitars, as well as vintage Epis and Gretsches are notorious for this.
My 1958 Hofner Senator has binding cracking/rotting - wasn't too severe. I had it in its case for the last year or so. Anyway, it's much worse now and I'll probably have to seriously think about getting the binding replaced. Very frustrating as the rest of the guitar looks like new.

[grahambop]

Why detune them ?

Although this always sounds logical, I do wonder about it. My guitar has been at full tension for 36 years and will probably remain so for the rest of my life or until the guitar falls to bits (whichever comes first). Can’t really see that 2 years detuned would make much difference.

[pingu]

To reduce the tension on the neck, I assume.

Yeah OK , but what will happen if you don't detune ?

A bowed neck ?

[rpguitar]

I am of the belief that guitars should be kept in stasis, that is, tuned to pitch and with the truss rod properly adjusted for the desired degree of relief. It is essential to maintain consistent and appropriate humidity more than anything else. If you do that, there is no reason to my mind why one should de-tune the instrument. In fact I think it's counter-intuitive. I keep many guitars on hangers and all are setup and tuned to pitch in a humidified space, despite not being played for months in some cases.

[Jazzstdnt]

If any guitars with a relatively new (maybe 2 to 3 years or less) lacquer finish are to be stored, one might do well to get a layer of white cotton cloth between the guitar and a dark dyed color in the (possibly “custom” ) case interior.

I don’t want to hear from the G-brand brigade, so will not specifically consider the rare but notable cases of difficulty.

Get it. “Cases” of difficulty.

Seriously, for long term storage of a somewhat new lacquer-finished guitar, one might consider a layer of white cotton between the guitars and a deeply dyed case interior

In my opinion.

Otherwise they might be up a Creek, with lots of Cedars on the shoreline?

[va3ux]

Yeah OK , but what will happen if you don't detune ?

A bowed neck ?

The guitar was designed to have full string tension on the neck for it's entire life, and retain it's neck shape. Detuning to reduce tension is unnecessary. I could actually see the possibility of a back-bow developing with detuned strings and the truss rod still adjusted to counteract normal string tension. Don't know if would really happen or not.

[john_a]

Keeping it tuned to pitch, and having the correct truss rod adjustment, are of course ideal conditions.
Storing the guitar for prolonged period often means there is no solid way to ascertain when tuning and/or truss rod tension changes become needed.

Maybe you won't need to, but if you have some history with the instrument where seasonal adjustments are the norm, then you may expect those conditions to recur when you are away.

What this means is there's no blanket answer that fits.
IF you knew for sure the neck tension would not INCREASE, then no worries.. but as stated above, if you normally are having to do seasonal truss rod adjustment, you probably want to avoid the case where the neck moves in a way that increases tension beyond normal range, and you are not there to notice/correct.
This is where the advice to "detune slightly" has merit, in my opinion. If you have to detune slightly, also slightly relax that truss rod at the same time to avoid back bow in storage.
And if you have one of those guitar models where tailpiece failures are not uncommon, don't press your luck with tension!
John

[nopedals]

This has been touched on, but it is an old guitar, take off the pickguard and store it separately where it can't outgas and damage something else.

[grahambop]

There's a simple solution to this. You now have a 2-year window of opportunity to buy new guitars in case the old ones back home have had it.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Why detune them ?

To reduce the tension on the neck, I assume.

You leave it at standard while you're playing it, presumably for years (except string changes and servicing). How does it make a difference whether the frets are seeing action? That tension is still there whether or not the guitar is being played. And if it's going to be detuned for a couple of years, you can rest assured there'll be some wood movement.

Detune for shipping.

[ptchristopher3]

One huge exception to all this musing is steel string flat tops.

So if you have a dog named “Cooper” with a bandana on, then you will want to de-tune.

A flat top guitar (meaning a torque-tension bridge per the normal way) slowly deforms the body over time. The need for a neck reset has absolutely nothing to do with the neck.

It has to do with the body slowly deforming under string tension and bridge torque. The neck reset is to compensate for the body deformation.

So I will stay out of the presumed archtop discussion, but definitely suggest de-tuning and loosening the truss rod on a flat top for longer term storage. Just de-tune a good two full stops or more, then loosen the rod to get your relief back to where it was under playing tension.

Doing this for 2 years will forestall the need for a neck reset, by a bit over two years.

In my opinion.

This opinion does not apply to Macaferri type guitars with a flat top and tailpiece, and very little downpressure on the top. Sure, they deform over time as well, but to a very limited extent - much like archtops.

All in my opinion.

[ptchristopher3]

But really, if you have a G-brand case with the “custom” shop interior (a dark claret fake velvet vs. the typical TKL claret fuzzy stuff) then one might well stick a layer of very thin white cotton in there for long term storage.

You might well have zero trouble with this (no really, the brand is perfect beyond words,...), but there have been some unfortunate rosey stains that would be easy to avoid.

I have only seen this with the dark claret velvet-oid stuff inside the “custom shop” cases. There may have been other cases with staining problems but I have never seen one personally.

[deacon Mark]

Some 35 years ago i ask Bill Barker this very question. He said I build my guitars to be tuned at pitch for the life of guitar. Taking tension off it really serves no purpose just to store it in the case for years.

I will add that guitars being wood things happen with tension and without tension. Seasoned and guality wood make a difference even the build of the guitar. I have not changed the action or bridge setting on my 1937 D’angelico in maybe 20 years. Now i play it a maybe 2 hours week but it is one stable guitar. No truss rod of course and perfect amount of relief in neck....very very little.

[ptchristopher3]

Detune for shipping.

Definitely. In my opinion.

Detuning for shipping is a very very good idea, but an entirely different situation. Sudden acceleration (such as from an impact), can result in forces even greater than a Diet-coke and McDonalds fan stepping on your guitar. This assumes the case worked just fine.

If you de-tune, you remove in excess of 150 pounds (depending on your string choice) of pre-load on you guitar, potentially in the same direction as an impact.

[deacon Mark]

Definitely. In my opinion.

Detuning for shipping is a very very good idea, but an entirely different situation. Sudden acceleration (such as from an impact), can result in forces even greater than a Diet-coke and McDonalds fan stepping on your guitar. This assumes the case worked just fine.

If you de-tune, you remove in excess of 150 pounds (depending on your string choice) of pre-load on you guitar, potentially in the same direction as an impact.

Yes detune and best to take bridge off and plenty of padding not allow tailpiece to touch top.

[grahambop]

So I will stay out of the presumed archtop discussion, but definitely suggest de-tuning and loosening the truss rod on a flat top for longer term storage. Just de-tune a good two full stops or more, then loosen the rod to get your relief back to where it was under playing tension.

Doing this for 2 years will forestall the need for a neck reset, by a bit over two years.

Interesting, I’ve never even thought about any of this stuff. I have owned a Suzuki flat-top guitar for 40 years (!), it has been under full tension the whole time, and it still looks and plays the same as when I got it.

[coolvinny]

I am also in the "I never detune" camp. Shipping excepted.