Guitar stand question

[fjeanmur]

Wiley, TGVanessa and Never,

Thanks for the answers. Yeah, I think the response for leaving the guitar out for at least part of the time has been overwhelmingly in favor. In to answer Vanessa's question, it is a Seagull guitar, not a Taylor or a Gibson, but not the piece of crap I bought quickly and cheaply last year so that I could help my daughter out as she started off on her eight week guitar adventure. My mother bought her the Seagull for her birthday and it plays beautifully so I want to take care of it.

So started my re-acquaintance with the guitar after thirty-five years: my mother bought my daughter a guitar, I found her Neil, but she found the instrument more difficult than she expected. So there was the guitar, there was Neil and I've been back playing for eleven months.

Now if only I could spark her interest again, the two of us might be fighting over that Seagull . . . well that would be a fight well worth it! I'll worry about solving that problem if and when it happens. Thanks everyone.

BTW--what problems could be caused with a "cheap stand"? I bought this one from the Guitar Center with rubber, etc. Is it necessary to get something better?

Jean

Sent from my iPad

[willem]

Sometimes my guitar sounds dead,,then I put new strings on it..lol,,,true story is I put it for a while back in his case with wet towels,,,well I have 4 guitars and there's always one or two standing in a stand,,

Willem

[AcousticAl]

I have a solid wood guitar that I keep in the case when not playing it..
But I have a cheaper laminate back & sides guitar (solid top) that I leave out all the time.

I assume it's ok to leave a laminate out, but to be honest, I don't keep guitars long enough for humidity to be a problem yet!
:laugh:

[dennisg]

Al,

Laminated guitars still have a solid wood neck that's susceptible to humidity issues.

Honestly, if it took me five minutes to take a guitar out of its case, then I'd be inclined to leave it in the stand. But it takes me five seconds. That seems like a very small inconvenience to bear in order to protect the guitar and to avoid having to schlep down to my luthier every time the seasons change and the truss rod needs adjusting. When the day comes that five seconds feels like too much effort, I'll know it's time to quit playing the guitar.

[Hydroman52]

fjeanmur wrote:

--what problems could be caused with a "cheap stand"? I bought this one from the Guitar Center with rubber, etc. Is it necessary to get something better?

Problem 1 - The rubber/foam padding may react with nitrocellulose guitar finish and cause it to become gooey or discolored.
Solution - Check to see if your guitar has a nitrocellulose finish. Or you could put cloth (towel, socks, t-shirt) between the padding and guitar. I have read that some people cover the padding with microfiber cloth to prevent scratching.

Problem 2 - The legs are sometimes short and the stands are usually made of light tubing, so they may be susceptible to tipping over.
Solution - I strap ankle/wrist weights (the 2 lb. and 5 lb. variety used for jogging and exercising) to the legs of all my guitar and mic stands in order to stabilize them. I'd probably still do this to an expensive stand.

Problem 3 - The rubber strap used to hold the neck in place sometimes hardens and breaks over time (happened after a year or two with a couple of mine).
Solution - Replace with bungee cord (I use the same stuff that I put on kayak decks to hold gear in place) and a couple of zip-ties when they go bad.

I have about 10 - 15 guitar stands. All are cheap (under $10 US). None have failed to date. If my best guitar was going to live in a stand most of the time, I might spring for one that's heavier duty. The ones I have are perfectly adequate for my lifestyle.

Hope this helps,

Hydroman52

[wiley]

[michelew]

The words "humidity schumidity" are ringing in my head.

I've just finished mopping up the lake that creeps in from outside when it rains. It has made it all the way across the room to the door ... My guitars just stood on their stands watching... They don't seem to mind. It never seems to bother them enough to get on the end of the mop themselves...or run screaming from the room. ... Perhaps because it's not flowing in their direction. Well except for Larrivee who's currently living in the lounge room.

...I'm thinking their "whatever" attitude might become a problem...

... Bum!

.... Humidity...dumbdidilly..... Zzzzzzz.....need to sleeeeeeeeep..... I'll worry about it tomorrow. .... Zzzz ..zzzzzzz....zzzzzzzz

[fjeanmur]

Yeah, Michelle, we have lots of humidity right now. It poured and thundered last night and is threatening again now. I don't want to get crazy, but I tend to be the cautious type. How long have you had your instruments that they look on unconcerned?

Jean

[haoli25]

michelew wrote:

I've just finished mopping up the lake that creeps in from outside when it rains. It has made it all the way across the room to the door ... My guitars just stood on their stands watching... They don't seem to mind. It never seems to bother them enough to get on the end of the mop themselves...or run screaming from the room. ... Perhaps because it's not flowing in their direction. Well except for Larrivee who's currently living in the lounge room.

...I'm thinking their "whatever" attitude might become a problem...

Thanks for the grin, Shel. I'm getting a "Toy Story" image and I can see your guitars wagering on the depth of the water while you are not looking. :laugh:


Bill

[suziko]

I tend to agree with Dennis here. I live in the Midwest where my temperature fluctuates wildly over the course of the year. In the winter it's dry as a bone in our house due to our radiators, and in the summer our humidity is often in the 80% range- though of course we're also running the a/c which probably dries it out in here. I keep my guitar in my case and I don't see that as a deterrent for playing. Like Dennis said- it takes about 5 seconds to open the case and take out the guitar. I also don't really like the idea of my guitar getting knocked over by my exuberant 11 year old and her friends. But to each their own!!

Suzi