Conference napalm::guitar

    
    Hey! I'll be the new owner of a Martin J-40MC at the end of this
    week (it's been on order for 6 weeks). Fine instruments. I definitley
    store all my guitars (acoustic or otherwise) in their cases. To
    be honest, I don't think there is a lot you have to do with your
    guitars to keep them in good condition. Just treat them nice. I
    have a 76' Gibson L-5 that is still in almost mint condition, probably
    because I never took it to gigs. 
    
    I think that any guitar used as a "working" guitar will get occasional
    nicks. It's expected. 
    
    Won't treat my new Martin any different than the others...

    Phil 

    I store mine in its' case and humidify with an old plastic butter
    tub with holes punched in the top and a wet sponge inside.  Humidifying
    the house can be a hassel.  The lacquer finishI keep up with 'Martin
    Guitar polish'.  There is one thing I noticed on mine though and
    I am going to check out with the Music Emporium: The glue at the
    nut has apparently oozed out and has softened the lacquer on the
    neck.  I had several unkind words upon discovering this and am hoping
    to get it repaired under warranty.
    
    While storing it in the case is hassel from a playing standpoint,
    I usually take it out and keep it out if I'm going to be home and
    in the mood to play for a while. While at work and when asleep (which
    for me is most of the day :^), I keep it in the case.  I have a
    permanent place set up in the house for playing so just getting
    it out of the case once for a session is not too bad.  
    
    Mine is an OM-28 custom and has developed cracks in the finish at
    the parting lines between the top and the rossette, the top and
    the herringbone trim and the side and the edge banding.  These are
    slight and are only really noticeable when the instrument is held
    under bright reflected light, but I still find them discouraging.
    I guess its just like buying a new car, its not really yours until
    its scratched  or, in this case, cracked.  happy pickin. jt

    KEEP IT IN THE CASE!!! It's the ONLY way to keep a guitar(or any other
    delicate instrument)safe.Even the sturdiest instrument stand will get
    knocked over(& I don't mean CAN,I mean WILL) sooner or later!
    	I have a lot of instruments,and a few have been damaged just coz
    I couldn't be bothered putting them away every time--usually by
    dropping something small,but heavy & sharp on them.Apart from that,have
    you ever read Martin Guitars'repairs dept.horror stories?Like the guy
    who left his Martin leaning against a Naugahyde sofa.The Naugahyde &
    the guitar laquer chemically bonded and tore a strip off the sofa,no to
    mention a refinish job on the guitar.
    	Then there was the guy who left his Martin on the floor,and his
    German Shepherd bounded across the room,stepping with full force right
    on the strings across the soundhole:-Vet's bill,refinish job,pi**ed off
    dog & sorry owner!
    	Then there are kids with toy cars.......Na,'nuff said!!
    							Big Jim.
    

    
    
    I know from experience that if a guitar's in a case it gets played
    less. The number of times I pick my instrument up on a whim and
    sit there for an hour. I would never do this if it was in a case.
    
    So with three kids how did I overcome the problem of kids versus
    case (they broke my 12 string a year or so ago!). Simple, I set
    myself a budget for a guitar that would mean IF it did suffer damage
    it would not be the end of the world. Secondly, and this is the
    point I'd like feedback on, I bought a purpose built wall hook for
    the guitar and I hang it up out of harms way and yet within easy
    reach for me. My wife even thinks its looks attractive on the wall!!
    
    Assuming you don't hang an instrument over a radiator or in sunlight
    etc is there anything wrong with long term hanging of guitars? I
    hope not as this seems to be what most shops do. Any views? What
    about electrics? I'd like to hang up my Fender but the body seems
    to be too heavy to be hung up by the neck.
    
    Richard
    Basingstoke, UK.

First of all, what is a HD28-H?  I have a D-28 so I know what that is.  A HD-28
is a herringbone D-28 with scalloped braces.  What is a HD28-H?

I bought my D-28 new in 1973.  It is back at the factory now having the bridge
reglued, worn frets replaced, the neck reset and some minor aging cracks near
the pickguard repaired.  It is nice that most of this is covered under warranty.
Needless to say, I have played this guitar quite a bit.

I would recommend one of the guitar humidifiers.  They have ones that are long
tubes that you put in the soundhole of the guitar that don't cost much (~$10).
I think this is something that you only need to watch in the winter when the 
humidity indoors drops way down.  I think humidifying the room is not really
necessary.

I use Martin polish very sparingly - less than once a year.  A clean cloth does 
wonders.  A very slightly damped cloth will take off most dirt.  The finish on
these guitars is pretty tough.  I don't think they require much maintenance.
Keeping the guitar out of extreme changes in weather conditions is important to 
keep from checking the finish.  I think this is more important than polishing.

I have struggled with the where to store it issue for years.  It is a fact that
if my guitar is in the case I play it less.  I stored mine in the case for 
years after I bought it.  I then kept in on a stand for a few years.  It went
back into the case when my childern were born.  My kids are now 3 and 4 and the
guitars are now back out on stands.  I think you need some special conditions
in order to keep a guitar out on a stand.  First you need a truly out of the
way place for the stand - a quiet corner is not good enough.  It has to be a 
place that you don't even walk by.  If you have pets that are not kept in cages
or in tanks, then store the guitar in the case.  Leaning it against a wall or
something else is no good either.  Having a guitar ever sit for very long in 
direct sunlight is no good either.  Children are a tossup.  My kids are sent
to their room for an hour if they strum a string.  I have never had an instance 
of them trying to pick up an instrument.  Having the guitars in an out of the 
way place helps greatly.

I guess most importantly, how do you feel about this guitar.  The only minor 
ding I have in my guitar is from letting an ex-girl friend use it.  While that
one ding in sixteen years really bothers me, I am willing to risk having it out
because I play it more when it is out.

As for the future, I have a quote from Martin for a custom HD-28 with Brazilian 
rosewood, advanced high performance scalloped bracing with lots of snowflake and
other abalone inlay work.  I suspect that this guitar will be stored in its case
in my out of the way place laid flat with only one buckle of the case fastened.
This is my best compromise for safety and easy accessibility.  I suspect this
guitar will find its way out onto a stand when the kids are older and I've 
forgotten how much it cost me.

    �   If you have pets that are not kept in cages or in tanks, then 
    �   store the guitar in the case.
        
    Amen to that.  I learned this lesson at about 3:00 in the morning
    a few months back when Vincent, who at the time was only a 2� month
    old kitten, sent my Gibson Stereo crashing strings down from a stand
    onto a hardwood floor.  Miraculously, there was not even a scratch
    (perhaps it bounced off the strings???).  Now I do the only practical
    thing... I store Vincent in a tank.
    
    								Marc 

    RE .5
    
    What is an HD28-H??  You hit it right, it has scalloped bracing with
    herringbone ad I believe the last H stands for low profile neck???
    
    I have humidified my home for the past three years so I think I will
    move the unit to the music room and continue that.  I also have no 
    children or animals running around so I am thinking of buying a hanging 
    guitar stand or find a secure way to mount it on an interior wall away 
    from sunlight and trafic.  Any recommendation on how to hang it???
    I think it will get maximum play this way and from what I hear, thats
    important for the first year.
    
    Bruce
    

    
    
    On hanging (guitars that is!)...
    
    The bracket I referred to earlier was purchased as a purpose built
    device in a high class classical guitar shop in London. Presumably,
    they wouldn't sell them if it was harmful to hang guitars by the
    headstock.
    
    This device is chromed with a rubber coating over the parts that
    the guitar comes into contact with. Also, and this is important,
    the device holds the guitar far enough off the wall to prevent
    the back of the guitar touching the wall and thus causing scratches.
    I guess you could make one easily enough.
    
    Richard

I was also wondering whether hanging a guitar on the wall is a good idea.
Since the electric guitar and the bass I own are far from priceless instruments, 
I decided to go for it.  We have a three-year-old and hanging it makes it
accessible for me and out of his reach.

The points mentioned in the previous reply are well-taken--I think the three
important things are:

	- first that the hook be strong enough to maintain the weight of the 
	  guitar.  I spent some time finding the studs in the wall and used
	  long enough screws to keep things secure.

	- second, that the hook or hooks be coated with rubber or something 
	  cushioning.  At one of the large hardware stores here in New 
	  Hampshire (Builder's Square), I found some rubber coated tool
	  hangars that were pretty heavy duty.  They came in several shapes
	  sizes and I was able to find one the right size for the guitar.
	  Price:  about $.75 each.

	- third, that the guitar hangs far enough from the wall.  This wasn't
	  a problem with the bass guitar I own, since the body is relatively
	  thin.  I installed the hook directly into the stud and it hangs
	  nicely.

	  My electric guitar, however, brushed against the wall when I used
	  only the hook, so I cut a piece of 2x4 and stained it brown to match
	  the woodwork in our house.  Then I screwed the 2x4 into the stud
	  and installed the hooks into that.  The guitar now hangs with about
	  � inch clearance between the guitar and the wall.  Looks nice, too.
	  As another noter mentioned, my wife also said it looked good--that's
	  the final test in my mind.. :)

As for whether it's a good idea to hang quality guitars, I still haven't heard
anything either way from anyone.  Like someone else said, I assume that if 
music stores do it, it can't be all that bad.  

Any other opinions?

Peter

	For the past 20 years, I've always kept my acoustic guitars
	face down (horizontal) on a sofa or a bed.  I'm single, have
	no kids or pets and keep my guitar out of sight when I have
	visitors.  The only I time I case my acoustic is when I gig.

	I find keeping the axe flat and face down minimizes its
	natural tendency to warp.  Also, having it close to me at
	all times lets me play anytime (which is pretty much all the
	time!).

	My VOX VG2 electric lies in its hard shell case almost all the
	time, since I only use it ocassionally.

	/ravi

    I have seen numerous guitars with damage from improper storage. A very
    common example is finish damage under the ears of the peghead caused by
    wall hanging on a pair of prongs. Even if the prongs are well-padded,
    the small bearing surface can cause the finish to crack or wear. This
    is especially common on lacquer-finished guitars. While you might be
    okay with a lightweight classical guitar, I'd never do this to a
    vintage electric or dreadnaught.
    
    Another problem can be caused by hanging the guitar from a wire around
    the tuners. The weight of the guitar can cause the tuners to pull
    loose, bend or crack the headstock. No guitar designer ever intended
    the tuners to support the full weight of a guitar for extended periods.
    Many vintage dealers use this method, since it's cheap and easy, but it
    is a bad idea for long-term storage.
    
    The most serious damage I've seen comes from placing the guitar on
    stands or hooks that are padded with certain types of vinyl or rubber.
    Some of these materials can severely oxidize the finish or even fuse
    with it in just a few minutes. This type of damage is irreversible and
    will require a complete refinish to repair. Use stands that are padded
    with surgical rubber, leather or cloth only .
    
    I feel that the safest place for a guitar when it is not being played
    is in a hard case. If you must keep a guitar hanging on the wall, use a
    cheap, easily replaceable one. Don't use any type of stand but a
    sturdy, tubular one with the proper padding materials, and never put a
    guitar unguarded on a chair or the floor even for a minute. 
    
    Danny W.
    

O.K.  I bite.  How does having a guitar lie face down minimize its natural 
tendence to warp?  I can see how this might keep the fingerboard and top 
cleaner.  A previous note gave an example of the danger of sitting a guitar on 
a naugahide (sp?) sofa.  I would not recommend this as a general practice.  I 
use my bed and sofas daily.  They do not fit my requirements for an out of the 
way place.

    A major enemy of acoustic guitars (most guitars, for that matter)
    is heat; dry heat!
    
    It's almost guaranteed to warp necks and split paint.
    
    cheers/mike

         After reading Danny W's reply on possible lacquer damage from the
    coating from the prongs of a hanger style stand, I decided to check
    out my 'oozing glue' theory (from a previous note, .2 I think).  
    
         Back when I bought my classical, I also bought one of these stands,
    the chrome tripod style with the black foam rubber coated hanger
    and bottom supports.  After a period of time, I discovered excessive
    wear and and dents in the finish at the peghead just as Danny
    described.  The foam rubber had worn through at the edge of the
    metal prong and was digging into the finish. Yuck.  I solved this 
    problem by replacing the foam rubber on the prongs with a clear tubing 
    (trade name Tygon) and this eliminated further damage.
         
         Then I bought the Martin.  I usually keep it in the case but
    on occaisional weekends, keep it hanging on this stand.  When I 
    matched up the softened areas on the finish with the prongs of the 
    stand, it was apparent that this was the culprit.  Soooooo, questions:
    
         I always thought there was only on kind of lacquer, ie , the
    nitrocellulose variety.  Whyizzit the finish on my Hirade #7 (the 
    classical) which I am fairly certain is lacquer was not affected and
    the finish on the Martin was.  Are there different grades of
    lacquers?  If the finish on the Hirade is not lacquer, what could it 
    be?  BTW, I have also hung a ES335 on this stand with no detrimental 
    effects!!! What does Gibson finish their instruments with? 
    
                                    Help!!  jt
    
    PS. Thanks to Mr. Weber for always being informative.

    There are probably a number of different lacquer formulae. Some
    lacquers are harder than others, some more susceptible to chemical
    damage. The only finishes I know that are reasonably immune to these
    problems are polyurethanes, which are completely unsuitable for
    acoustic guitars (except Ovations) and make solidbodies look like they
    were dipped in plastic :-) .Many of the guitars companies have varied
    their formulas over the years, so some vintages may be more prone to
    damage than others.
    
    I use tubular stands with surgical rubber padding and have not had any
     finish damage from them. I think the folding stands made of sheet metal can
    cause damage just from the small contact area, even when padded with
    safe materials.  My '61 florentine L-5CES is pretty well eaten away
    under the peghead--the stands available in the '60's were dismal, and I
    used to leave this guitar out alot--and it shows. I rarely leave a
    guitar on a stand for longer than a weekend these days.
    
    I tend to get passionate over storage damage because so much of it is
    unnecessary, as opposed to playing wear, which is both inevitable and a
    sign that the guitar has served its intended purpose. Of course, much
    of the playing wear I've seen on guitars could be avoided if players
    would just wipe the guitar (and hardware) with a chamois or flannelette
    cloth after playing it--but that's a different topic.
    
    Danny W