Hanging Guitars on Walls - Effects on Neck

In 27+ years of playing, I have never had an issue with neck movement due to storage conditions on any of the 13 guitars I own. They all require an occasional tweak here and there. Temperature and humidity can make the neck move a little. It is wood after all.

I have a saying that most musicians don't like: " Musicians create 90% of their own problems... ". From being neurotic, careless, and self-indulgent to simply not being considerate, are all things that contribute to most all of the issues musicians have. On the stage, in your bedroom, and at your friends' house, you and you alone create your own issues. And that starts with not being willing to know your instrument. Take it apart, put it back together, find out what each thing does, why it does it, and how to fix it. At some point, it will need love beyond changing strings and wiping it down. The tools needed to do all standard maintenance are basic and easy to acquire.

Adjust the neck relief as needed and never look back.
 
OK, the best way to know if hanging it puts any force on the neck. Use a strobe tuner, hang it on the wall and see if the tuning changes any.

I know that the angle that you hold a guitar can affect tuning, like if its on its back lying on a table (or case), vs being held and played.

I would guess that hanging changes tuning less than guitar lying on its back.

Stories about damage from hanging or needing frequent adjustment probably from humidity or temperature changes. Also there is probably less oxygen exchange in a case so it may affect the way a guitar ages. I know that UV can cause guitars to fade or do other nasty things. And hanging on a wall, they do collect dust.

So all in all, a case is probably safest/ best for long term storage. I suspect after 20 years, a guitar hanging on the wall will look older than one that has been cased the whole time.

All mine are on a wall.
 
Mincer said:
Make sure you secure the hanger to the wall properly, or your guitar will certainly go out of tune when it bounces of the floor!
Click to expand...

Find a stud
dont ancor in sheetrock

If you must put in the middle of the wall where no stud exists
Span a one by four across the studs
paint it to match the wall
Then mount hangers to the board
 
Common Sense - How are guitars stored for sale at a store? New guitars come with a warranty. Warranty work has an additional cost to the manufacturer and or retailer. If hanging guitars were a problem, would it be allowed? Why would they leave their pocket open for additional problems? Just think about it...
 
The guitars at the store are hung mostly temporarily. And how else would you expect them to store their guitars? In the backroom and customers may only peruse some kind of a catalogue and point out the guitars they want to check out? Duh...

It's a guitar store; visual is key to attract people. Come on man...
 
Meh, we can argue about guitar stores all day, but there's a clear theme throughout this thread:

Hanging your guitar on the wall is perfectly fine and poses no concern to the guitar's integrity, even long term.

Just make sure your choice of hanger is mounted securely and keep the guitar(s) out of direct sunlight and away from direct sources of cold/heat when possible
 
Masta' C said:
I've hung the majority of my guitars on the wall since I started playing. In fact, my #1 has been hanging since the day I brought her home (2006). I have never experienced an issue with this method of storage and the guitars haven't needed adjustments any more often than my case queens. The biggest downside? They get dusty more quickly.

I get the idea of being more susceptible to humidity and temp changes by being "exposed", but I keep my house temps fairly similar year-round and I do keep the guitars away from windows and direct sun, which probably helps.

When I hear unfounded horror stories about how hanging guitars on walls hurts the instrument, I think about pretty much every guitar store ever to exist and quietly laugh to myself.

Hanging guitars on a wall is only dumb if they are hung low enough that "dumb" people can reach them :D
Click to expand...

It's more than just dust. UV Light will cause many finishes to fade, the hanger itself with absolutely destroy some finishes, then there is the dust in the pots and corrosion of contacts if there is any humidity, plus risk of physical damage if there is any activity in the room. Mine have always stayed in the case and are stacked on the end .
This one is Nitro have owned it and gigged it often for 20+ years so--.
MG 120 4.jpg
 
Ascension said:
Mine have always stayed in the case and are stacked on the end .
Click to expand...

Curious what you mean by stacked on the end.(?)





I keep all but a couple in cases and just rotate them once in awhile.
All my cased guitars are kept on their side(handles up just like you carry them) so that the guitar itself is suspended in it's playing position.
This way I can get to whichever one I want without moving the others at all.
 
dave74 said:
Curious what you mean by stacked on the end.(?)





I keep all but a couple in cases and just rotate them once in awhile.
All my cased guitars are kept on their side(handles up just like you carry them) so that the guitar itself is suspended in it's playing position.
This way I can get to whichever one I want without moving the others at all.
Click to expand...

In a row with the body down cases siting straight up on the end in a closet. Know what is where so just slide the case out and then back in after I play them out. Every guitar is cleaned before its put up every time.
 
Ascension said:
In a row with the body down cases siting straight up on the end in a closet. Know what is where so just slide the case out and then back in after I play them out. Every guitar is cleaned before its put up every time.
Click to expand...

Yeah that's definitely the most space-efficient manner to store, and does just fine for the guitar also.
I have seen people stack them on top of each other before, with the guitars all laying flat on their backs. Not a good idea IMO.
 
I’ve had my guitars hanging on the wall- and in that room I keep a humidifier on in dry weather (winter), temperature controlled, with an air purifier. I regularly check and clean each for dust, check the necks and adjust the truss rod as needed. It’s a bit of maintenance for 12 guitars.

Before doing all of this, they’d get grimy, the necks would bow, etc…

It can be done if you watch over them regularly
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top