Shipping a guitar

[solspirit]

In tune or down-tuned

[Securb]

I would tune it down to D

[Bogner]

I would say it depends a bit on the guitar. I also assume you are talking shipping a uesd guitar. Food for thought, most new guitars ship in tune. If a guitar is going to be in a plane, always down tune. If a guitar has a Floyd and is not being flown I would always try to keep it in tune for however it is set up to be in. Anything with a massive headstock back angle (like a Les Paul) I would detune so long as it is a fixed bridge just to alleviate string tension and pull on the neck should it be drop kicked across the shipping yard.

[Mincer]

I'd take the tension off of the neck. It only takes a few minutes.

[GuitarDoc]

Tuning down may not always be necessary, but it IS always wise.

[solspirit]

Thanks guys

[JB_From_Hell]

I’ve shipped and received lots of guitars of varying construction types. Pretty sure none have ever been downtuned. I’d be more concerned with packing it securely.

[Ascension]

I’ve shipped and received lots of guitars of varying construction types. Pretty sure none have ever been downtuned. I’d be more concerned with packing it securely.

BINGO! Have sold and shipped guitars al over the world both as an individual and at a couple Pawn Shops and have never downtuned one.The only guitar I would likely down tune or remove the strings on would be a arch top with a floating bridge.Can count on one hand the number of issues I have had over the years because of how I pack. I always ship in a case make sure everything in the case is secure ( had a trem bar get loose one time after the shipper really banged the guitar around and damaged both the case and the guitar) I make sure the guitar is tight in the case and many times will add packing to secure the guitar in the case. Bubble wrap the case before it goes in the box and always pad both ends of the box plus make sure I use a high quality thick guitar shipping box ect. In the winter I will wrap the case and bubble in a large trash bag as a moisture barrier also. Do this every time and you should have no issues unless the shipper gets absolutely crazy with the package and in that case insurance will cover it.

[JB_From_Hell]

The other thing to consider is if you’re going to loosen the strings, you’ll also need to loosen the truss rod.

I did loosen the strings, truss rod, and remove the floating bridge from a mandolin I shipped.

[solspirit]

I will just ask the buyer but if they ask me if I have a recommendation, I'd like to have a quick answer. I'll just tell them that some people do & some people don't, you make the decision.

[solspirit]

The other thing to consider is if you’re going to loosen the strings, you’ll also need to loosen the truss rod.

I did loosen the strings, truss rod, and remove the floating bridge from a mandolin I shipped.

Excellent point or it totally makes it useless

[JB_From_Hell]

Further, a local PRS dealer told me when he gets guitars shipped in, he opens the case, strums a chord, tweaks the tuning if necessary, then hangs them on the wall.

That leads me to believe PRS ships them tuned to pitch and setup.

[Metalman_666]

I've bought only 3 guitars that were shipped to me from outside Canada. One Kramer with a Floyd on it was absolutely perfect when I opened up the case!

The other two fixed bridges were slightly out of tune but rock solid after I broke them in a bit.

If we're talking acoustics then more caution maybe. When I brought a flamenco guitar back from Spain I loosened the strings completely, and wrapped the whole guitar in a towel inside the case. No idea if all of that was necessary but traveling from an Oceanside climate to frigid Canadian winter, it survived

Maybe it has to do with Gremlins from time to time?

Enviado desde mi SM-F926W mediante Tapatalk

[Erlend_G]

I remember my classmate getting his ES.335, that cost him 3000USD, home from shipping with a broken headstock :/

even though it was packed in a hardcase, and the strings loosened.

Good thing is, he got a nice repair, that couild barely be noticed!