keep guitars on wall instead of in a case

Gene LaFleur · Post by **Gene LaFleur** » 29 May 2016 5:22 am

I have heard it is better to keep a guitar hung on the wall rather than to keep it in a case. Suppose to (AGE BETTER. Any comments? I did not know where to post this.
Thanks Gene

Larry Carlson · Post by **Larry Carlson** » 29 May 2016 6:55 am

Well, it makes sense to me that if a guitar is out in the room air it will acclimate/age better than being trapped in a case.
I have always had my guitars on wall hangers but it is because it makes me grab them more often and sit down and play.
The room is humidity controlled however.
If they are hidden in a case I tend to forget about them at times.
Interesting question.

Gene LaFleur · Post by **Gene LaFleur** » 29 May 2016 7:09 am

Thanks Larry
You make lots of sense. Thanks for responding.
All of mine are in cases. I am thinking of hanging them on the wall.
Gene

Rick Barnhart · Post by **Rick Barnhart** » 29 May 2016 7:31 am

I keep my guitars in the case. I think they'd look good on the wall, but the wall doesn't offer the protection that the case does. Buy an expensive guitar...notice it comes with a nice case, not a wall hanger.

Bill Sinclair · Post by **Bill Sinclair** » 29 May 2016 8:19 am

If you do hang an acoustic guitar on the wall, make sure it isn't over a radiator or a heat duct.

Philip Mitrakos · Post by **Philip Mitrakos** » 29 May 2016 7:14 pm

Just my 2 cents...
Got an 18 year old martin D35 ALWAYS park it in the case .was a pure white top when I bought it new ,now its brownish/red...

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 29 May 2016 7:23 pm

http://www.gregcutshaw.com/Slatwall/Slatwall.html

Keep them out and you will play them more often and enjoy looking at them!

Mike Harris · Post by **Mike Harris** » 30 May 2016 5:21 am

The ones I play regularly are out on stands or hangers. The others are in cases in the closets. The "outies" are more likely to suffer problems from high or low humidity.

Larry Jamieson · Post by **Larry Jamieson** » 30 May 2016 5:28 am

Greg, I'll take the Nashville Telly with the pearl pickguard. Thank you very much!

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 30 May 2016 6:36 am

Larry, that's the only one of those I have left. It has dual B&W benders on it!

http://www.gregcutshaw.com/Fender%20Ben ... ender.html

Joseph Napolitano · Post by **Joseph Napolitano** » 30 May 2016 6:42 pm

I have a George Benson Model Ibanez I bought around 1978. The label inside is signed by George . A real beauty. I don't play much jazz anymore, and went long stretches without playing much of anything , due to a busy non-musical career. So, this guitar spent most of it's life in a flight case, under the bed. About 10 years ago I took it out for a spin, and the gold-plated pick-ups were starting to corrode. I took it to a local yokel guitar tech, and he cleaned it up a little, didn't really do much. It went back in the case, only to come out a few years later. The corrosion had returned and was worse! I took it to a great luthier this time. He explained to me that the corrosion was caused by some type of chemical deterioration of the pickguard. He had seen this happen before. He cleaned it up and built a new pickguard. I probably should have sold it a long time ago, but kinda considered it an investment, and I really love the guitar.I guess the lesson is, if it's stored in a case, take it out for a spin every few months.In some ways, I'm a dumb-ass!

Larry Lenhart · Post by **Larry Lenhart** » 1 Jun 2016 1:59 pm

Gene, this is an interesting question. Joseph, I had a similar experience with a 70s Ibanez and its pickguard and was told the same thing by my guitar tech. I like to keep them out so that I play them more often, but I am not sure its the best. When I used to keep them in their cases, I had humidifiers in each case but tended to forget to check on them as I should have. But at the same time, I had a Benedetto guitar that I kept on a guitar stand and the back of the guitar yellowed where it touched the finish...nitro...something or other ?

Gene LaFleur · Post by **Gene LaFleur** » 1 Jun 2016 4:15 pm

I really have enjoyed all the response I have received concerning this question. I really thank each and everyone who responded.
Thanks very much. Gene

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 14 Jun 2016 1:36 am

On the wall allows the owner to not only play each them on a regular basis but to also SEE them and enjoy them.

If we are somehow thinking they are better off in the case, ask all the guitar stores, start with GRUHN, ask why they put them all out and leave them out, even the ones that are 100 years old.

It's not about in the case vs hanging, it's about the controlled room environment either way. Both scenario's need to be in a proper environment. Now obviously if you are afraid of damage then nothing beats a case. If the "hanging room" has lots of activity which could indeed cause a mishap then yep, a case is better.

I play 2 or 3 regularly but the best part is I get to look at all them each day.

Ok, the Hangers, don't assume they are safe, I think overall they are not safe from falling off the wall, but can be.

I use one brand, FRETREST. Basically they are very good, but, they come with really sad anchors which mounts the hanger directly to the wall. Throw them away. Don't do that. I designed and made a wood base which secures to the wall with REAL anchors, then I secure the FRETREST Hanger to the wood base. They are not falling off the wall. I also added a second block for the back bottom of the acoustics with a felt covering just in case they do happen to get bumped. The Hanger mounted to the block moves the guitars another inch off the wall from the standard distance as well.

One thing we do not want is to hang the guitars today then come back tomorrow and they are all on the floor which is really the ONLY danger of guitar hangers, falling off the wall if not secured properly.

I love looking at the guitars, the AC in the photo is the Guild I bought new in 1968, it pretty much lived in the case stored away for the last 25 years. well, not anymore.

For certain if you are going to hang the guitars, PLAN THE HANGING, don't just do it, make sure they are indeed in safe out of the way of traffic locations.

Todd Goad · Post by **Todd Goad** » 14 Jun 2016 8:06 am

I have thought about hanging mine on the wall, but I am scared of the dust that may collect and aging my guitar before its time and I am scared of the falling issue too. Any suggestion for wall hangers? I have thought about Shadow boxes. You can still see it and all you have to do is open the door and start playing. I have thought about adding LED light strips to the inside of the box. I believe it would look great.

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 14 Jun 2016 8:47 am

well, cases are really for transporting instruments safely and are used for storage as well.

Hanging and getting dust on them ? ok, thats a good reason to take it down, clean it and play it now and then.

Hang em I say ! But hang em' safely.

Look at them and enjoy them !

Or are we waiting for someone else to look at them and enjoy them ?

Jerry Overstreet · Post by **Jerry Overstreet** » 14 Jun 2016 9:50 am

When I made up my music room 18 yrs. ago, I went to great pains to build 4 long shelves/hangers from 5" x 1by oak ogee moulding. Beautiful stuff finished w/tung oil. I made the cutouts with a rotary hole saw kit and lined them with crushed velvet. I used dowels fitted with tubing as hangers.

I thought my instruments would be more available for playing as well as viewing. I have a couple of hollow archtops and resos, and after a while, I decided the temp changes etc. was not good for these as I noticed the tuning would change a lot. Not so much concerns with the solid slabs.

I made the decision to put them away except for times when friends come by for a jam or whatever.

A shame, I guess, they don't get much use except for the shelf part. Comes in handy for storing strings, bar holder, awards, certificates etc. and one cheap Harmony I made into a B baritone instrument.

I feel there is less stress and they are more stable in their cases. JMO.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 14 Jun 2016 4:09 pm

They get dirty and fade if they're not in the case, and there's always the chance they'll fall or get bumped.

Of course, some people think dirty and faded is desirable and more valuable (but I'm not one of them).

Don R Brown · Post by **Don R Brown** » 14 Jun 2016 5:05 pm

Greg Cutshaw wrote:

Oh, THAT kind of guitar. I was trying to picture how you'd hang a D-10......

Ian Rae · Post by **Ian Rae** » 15 Jun 2016 2:38 am

I never leave an instrument out of its case longer than necessary. (I even put it away during rehearsal breaks with the result that in 50 years of performing I have never had one damaged.) And however clean your home is, there is dust in the air, and if you leave things on display it collects in places that are impossible to clean without a complete overhaul.

But I speak of guitars and of wind instruments. My PSG appears to be played by a hypocrite who leaves it permanently set up and can't even remember to throw a cloth over it. He would probably say that at least the dust doesn't collect underneath.

Joachim Kettner · Post by **Joachim Kettner** » 15 Jun 2016 10:54 am

Philip Mitrakos wrote:Just my 2 cents...
Got an 18 year old martin D35 ALWAYS park it in the case .was a pure white top when I bought it new ,now its brownish/red...

I always thought this effect comes from the influence of light to the top of the wood. Well, even (un-opened) bookpages turn brown over the years.

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 15 Jun 2016 11:18 am

My Guild D35 that I bought new in 1969, has spent probably 80% of it's journey in the case . The natural top has turned probably 2 shades darker and it sounds better than ever !

Garry Vanderlinde · Post by **Garry Vanderlinde** » 15 Jun 2016 8:46 pm

I hung my D-10 Emmons on the wall and the wall collapsed.

Steve Pawlak · Post by **Steve Pawlak** » 16 Jun 2016 5:53 am

I've heard if you hang guitars the weight of the body can warp or tweak the neck
Anyone have this experience?

Joe Ribaudo · Post by **Joe Ribaudo** » 16 Jun 2016 10:12 am

I think it all depends on where you are - geographically speaking - as well as house and instrument construction. Here in NJ, we go from super humid to super dry and everything in between. I leave my LP out all year and it only needs a minor neck adjustment in spring and fall. But my sitka spruce top Taylor is another animal... that lives in its case and gets a humidifier in the winter. My house also leaks like a siv so that doesn't help.

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