Guitar Collector Forum

All this talk of guitar cabinets, hangers, safes etc brings me back to a question I've brought up before on other forums: is it a good idea to store un-played guitars without strings?

There seem to be two schools of thought on this
1) YES: It means that you don't have the risk of tarnished strings marking nuts and bridges etc (or even snapping in storage and marking the body)
2) NO: Removing the string tension causes necks to bend (or even twist) as the wood relaxes

I've always tended towards 2), but wonder what others think?

Some guitars I like to get out and play at least a few times a year, but there are some that I know I probably won't even look at for a couple of years, they just stay safe in their cases. For these it would be easier to leave unstrung, but I wonder about damage to the neck - either while in storage or when eventually restrung.

Be very careful, my friend, for a guitar that's used to having full tension from a set of six strings will pull back under the tension of its truss rod if you leave it unstrung for a long time.

I would always leave strings on a guitar, even if it's not going to be played. Leave them at standard tuning or half a tone down and it should be fine, although ideally you should just check the tuning is roughly Ok every few months (and hey, what a great excuse to fondle every guitar you own ).

Also, consider Stainless Steel guitar strings - even if you don't like the sound so much, they will last better, longer and there's no chance of rust marks on your nut.

I've been playing bass guitar for about 30 years and I would never store a guitar of mine with the strings off. If you are going to leave your guitar stored for any length of time, just back off on your strings about a half of a turn. This will leave the tension on the neck and prevent it from twisting or warping

I agree Nikon, the standard advice seems to be to leave your 'spare' guitars strung but slightly detuned, which makes a lot of sense.

If you really were going to leave the guitar for, say, 10 years without touching it, I wonder whether there would be a case for taking the strings off but slightly slackenning the truss rod to compensate?

But personally I'd rather risk leaving the strings on. Bluesman's suggestion of Stainless Steel strings seems like a good idea.

All my Verithins, including the bass are hung up and left in tune. I was told many years ago, by a luthier friend that strung and in tune is the best way to store a guitar. The only exception I make, is when I ship overseas, by air, I slacken the strings a little as I'm never sure what the temps are going to be like in the aircraft hold. V cold I daresay.

I guess as a precaution, keep them strung, I do.

However, i'm sceptical about this - especially if the truss rod nut is relaxed.

What about all those NOS Gibson necks on ebay that came from the Kalamazoo factory? They have sat unstrung for 30 years, and I know people who have used them, no probs. I have two here, and the truss rod nuts are not especially loose either.

I tend to just loosen the strings, that way if I get a wild hair and want to play it, I just need to tune it up!

How about , tuned up to pitch but fitted with coated strings to avoid corrosion issues and therefore ready to go if the mood takes you ?

Coated strings is a good idea... I wonder how long they'd last on an occasionally played guitar?

I think I'll try this on a couple of mine. Got a lovely '87 Les paul Custom that's too heavy to gig and too nice to sell. That's the first one I think......

Here she is with another little treasure...