Guitar Collector Forum

Hi everyone!

I've recently brought a guitar, a bass, and some effects pedals and mics down from my attic (in northern england) where they've been stored for 3 years(ish) - strung up in standard tuning, in cases.

Upon inspection, i noticed that the guitar strings have actually gone slightly rusty in places! These were strings that had been played a good deal... The bass, on the other hand had no rust on the strings (which were flatwound ones that i'd barely played) - the roundwound strings that i took off it that had been played a lot were in the case with it, coiled up, and had also gone rusty.

rusty strings by themselves are not a massive problem to me (they haven't discoloured anything else) but i noticed that a few other parts also had light rust on them! (pickup poles, bridge, possibly frets... but only on the guitar, not on the bass) I've not given the effects or mics a good look yet, but will do now!!

I've now moved them into a converted garage (that still gets quite cold in winter) and i'm worried how much damage has been done, and whether it will continue! I've put a thermometer with humidity on in there to see what it comes back at.. I've looked for ideal storeage conditions, but nobody seems to agree on this!

I've also read that the neck will be affected by adverse conditions.. I've not touched these instruments since i learned about truss rod adjustment, so i'm not sure, but they seem to have a higher action than i remember.. (though it could just be that i'm used to playing well setup instruments now) I've read that this can happen if left in bad conditions - that the action will always be higher than when you left it - how can this be?? what part is changing? and does it change back?? - (from a quick look, the neck seems to be straight - holding 1st and 15thish frets on a string)

i'm sure there's a lesson to be alearned here...

What sort of ranges of temp and humidity will cause damage to the neck and metal parts, and how can i avoid this? Cheers!!

Hi Tommy, welcome to the forum and sorry for a rather belated response...

Keeping guitars or other musical instruments in the attic is asking for trouble! Attics (or lofts) are often damp, suffer from condensation and get very hot in summer and very cold in winter.

The advice often given for guitar storage is that they should be in an environment that the guitarist would find comfortable... you don't need to know specific humidity or temperature readings to get the general idea. It's more critical for acoustic guitars (where humidity is much more important), but basically be kind to your equipment! Even brand new guitar strings in packets will go rusty in damp conditions. This is usually seen forst as rust spots on the high E & B strings (i.e. plain strings) and chrome-plated guitar hardware will also tarnish.

So, be kind to your gear!! The best bet is to try to find space under the bed, in a cupboard etc. Centrally-heated homes can cause their own problems (especially with quality acoustic guitars), but is far far better than anywhere damp and cold!

In terms of setup/action on your guitars, let your guitars stabilise at reasonable temperatures than change the strings and do a setup "from scratch" - I can find some instructions for you if it helps (tell me the details of your guitar model). With an hour or so's careful tweaking of bridge and truss rod you should be able to get them back to their previous condition.

Good luck!
Paul

I agree with what you have said Paul. Well humidity is the single most environmental condition that affect our fragile guitars. The most frustrating problem in maintaining a guitar of high quality is the wood's tendency to either expand or shrink with humidity changes. Damage brought about by humidity changes requires costly repairs because high quality guitars are made from solid wood. These guitars are expensive the sound is superior compared to the lower priced instruments. However, solid woods are very susceptible to changes in humidity because of their propensity to expand or shrink.

Hi folks,

There is a lot of advice around regarding the storage of guitars!
I have played for around 15 years and have stored guitars in different ways over the years.
This is because I was not sure in my early days whitch way was best.
So here goes,you can store guitars with or without strings, in tune or tuned down a step or two.none of these should damage the guitar.what makes a difference is what you do once you take them out of storage that counts.
1. Stored with no strings.
The neck will fall back,so what you need to do is leave the guitar on a stand or wall mount for 48hours at least to allow it to adjust to the climate(winter,summer).
Then string the guitar up and tune,leave for another 24hours then retune bending the strings to insure tuning stability.then set up the guitar to your settings if you do not do this your self then get your local shop to set it up for you.

Note: after a few weeks it will need set up again because the neck will move forward some more.

2. Stored with strings tuned down.
This will stop the guitars neck from moving back so much but you still need to leave out to adjust for the same time.after 48hours take the strings off and string with new ones, leave again then retune and set up.

Note: never tune up the old strings as they will be brittle and will snap(this sharp change in neck tension can cause damage).

3. Stored tuned to pitch.
If storage is for a long time the strings will detune before the neck bends as long as the strings are not old when stored. I have found some times the neck can move to far forward if this is the case leave the strings off for 48 hours and restring,retune. After another 24h retune,set up.

Note: if the neck has moved forward do not adjust the truss rod as the neck will move back when the strings are taken off for 48h.

I have also found that when guitars are stored for long periods that when you start to play them again they can take some time to really sound great again. So if you really love the guitar don't store it keep it out.

Many guitarists have a few guitars and will need to store them at some point.

Always store somewhere without big temperature change or cracks will appear.

Last note : acoustic guitars should always be stored with strings on not because of the neck but because the top,soundboard can sink or raise.

Hope this is of help to someone .

Cheers