Long term storage of basses

[Leigh Semmens]

My Acoustic Guitar is over 40 years old in that 40 years, the only time it has been de-tuned has been when changing strings and getting the soundboard repaired (after it was stolen and damaged). It spent half it's life in the tropics (Darwin) and now lives in the temperate climate of South Australia (Adelaide). Only now has it finally decided to need some minor adjustments. (action and intonation)

At no time would I consider storing the guitar in a plastic bag, the plastic and the finish may well be inert, but...... fingerprints and other "treatments" like fingerboard oil or other "polishes" may not. If the timber is unable to breathe, it may well "perspire" and such "perspiration" (a natural occurrence on all timber products) may well cause the plastic to stick to the instrument and damage the finish. NOT WORTH THE RISK in my book! If you want to store it in plastic. put the case in the placky bag!

 

[tadawson]

Thinking more about this, if you have the instrument in a stable humidity prior to and when packing it for storage, but the storage humidity cannot be controlled, the bag idea may have some value if you can ensure that it is airtight. The only thingn I would do differently, though, is to put the bag *over* the case or gig bag that the bass is in and not in direct cont`act wih theinstrumemt. That way, you protect the bass and it's case, and any chance (no matter how minor) of finish damage is totally eliminated.

 

[BBJBG]

I had children and didn't have enough time to play bass so I go depressed and stopped playing bass all together. Because I didn't plan that, I did exactly nothing for long term storage for my MIM J-Bass 5, it was even exposed to bad temps/humidity and 20 years later I traded it in for $450 value which is as good as any other MIM J-Bass 5 trade in value you'll get.

If you keep it in climate controlled areas, you'll have nothing to worry about in perpetuity. Also, never stop playing bass, that was a mistake (and I love my new Mustang PJ).

 

[totalnoob]

I had children and didn't have enough time to play bass so I go depressed and stopped playing bass all together. Because I didn't plan that, I did exactly nothing for long term storage for my MIM J-Bass 5, it was even exposed to bad temps/humidity and 20 years later I traded it in for $450 value which is as good as any other MIM J-Bass 5 trade in value you'll get.

If you keep it in climate controlled areas, you'll have nothing to worry about in perpetuity. Also, never stop playing bass, that was a mistake (and I love my new Mustang PJ).

I am sorry to hear about your sad circumstances - but is it now over? Have you recovered from depression, did you go back to playing the bass?

I don't intend to stop playing, I just want to store the basses I won't be needing for a while. And I don't have a very good option in terms of temperature and humidity control, so I must do with what's available.

 

[jimmydean]

Don't leave them on the Titanic or with George Santos or a Truck Stop shower . Do not loosen strings, leave in hard case or gig bag .

 

[BBJBG]

I am sorry to hear about your sad circumstances - but is it now over? Have you recovered from depression, did you go back to playing the bass?

I don't intend to stop playing, I just want to store the basses I won't be needing for a while. And I don't have a very good option in terms of temperature and humidity control, so I must do with what's available.

Nah, it's like way worse but I tell you what, playing bass helps a ton. I'm a bass player and I don't know if not having the bass in my life contributed to such things or if having it in my life alleviates its, doesn't matter.

Really just wanted to say the bass will be fine as long as it's climate controlled. Heck man, start lining the ceilings with them, there's always a climate controlled place

 

[Deleted member 271037]

If your location is "up in the north of Europe" I suspect low humidity may be a much bigger problem than high humidity, especially in the winters. It will of course depend on your specific location (how far to the north and inland vs coastal climate) and also the humidity in the exact room where you intend to store the basses (which for all I know could be anything from a damp cellar to an outdoor shed/barn or a climate controlled storage facility).

Generally I would say that low humidity is probably a greater concern than high humidity in your geographic location. The ideal humidity range for a musical instrument is between 40-50% (roughly). The humidity indoors in a typical Northern European home will rarely be much higher than this (or you would risk serious mold issues at typical Northern European temperatures). In the winters it could drop significantly lower indoors though (especially in heated rooms) like far below 20%. In this scenario silica gel is definitely not a good idea.

But like I said, this will depend on the actual humidity throughout the year in the exact room/location you're gonna use for storage. You should probably get a hygrometer to get an idea of what you're dealing with. Until you do this you should take any advice with a grain of salt as we really have no idea what we're dealing with.

Also be aware that the relative humidity will most likely vary a LOT throughout the year. If it drops below 40% you should definitely not use silica gel as it will only make matters worse. In fact, you might instead consider some kind of humidifier (which will obviously need to be refilled regularly). If the relative humidity gets higher than 50-55% you might need a different approach. Silica gel has a limited capacity to soak up humidity though. The silica gel bags you get with new instruments are already used up (although they can be reactivated using heat). Heating + proper ventilation is a better solution for controlling high humidity though.

Still, solid body instruments can usually take a lot more abuse from temperature/humidity than most people seem to think (with the possible exception of some types of finish). I would be far more worried if any acoustic instruments were involved. A typical Northern European winter with no humidifier can potentially cause serious damage to acoustics.

Also, I would never wrap my basses directly in any kind of plastic, no matter how inert it's supposed to be.

 

[Dirk Diggler]

Only loosen the strings if you plan to spend weeks to get it back to playable after storage.

If you do loosen strings, you're giving it the perfect opportunity to twist or bow the neck.

This is one of many of the urban legends like lowering string tension when shipping an instrument.
(You don't want to do that either).

Wood moves over time with heat and humidity, or the lack of each.

If your instrument has a finish like Poly, you've already got it coated in plastic, no more should be needed.
Many coatings can indeed react to plastic like for instance Nitro.

 

[ebo]

Do what they did with Han Solo. Carbonite!

 

[Michael Milner]

I have always just kept my bass in its case.

 

[Ostie]

The "perfect" humidity for human beings is 46%
The "perfect" humidity for wood is ... drumroll, please? ... 46%

I would advise a hard shell case for long-term storage as opposed to a gig bag, though.

This. I wouldn’t put silica gel in the bag or in the case. Far better to monitor and keep the room humidified to the proper range. And no plastic bags. You’re asking advice here, then when you get it, you’re contradicting because you know better? Whatever the benefit of the plastic bags, the risk is far higher.

 

[chris_b]

Since 1996 my 68 Fender Precision has been in the hard case under my bed. It's done 2 gigs since then and last week I took it out of the case for the first time in 10 years.
It's fine. Disclaimer, I live in a temperate climate with very little humidity.

I would leave the strings tuned (the truss rod has to resist something) and remove the battery (if it has one), don't store it next to a radiator or on hot water pipes under the floor but other than that I'd just store it in the house where it doesn't get wide climactic swings.

 

[lamarjones]

The reason I was considering lowering the tension is because I know acoustic guitars do warp a bit during the years, if stored with normal tension on the strings. Maybe I'm being paranoid?

I constantly have to bring back instruments without proper tension that have been stored for a whole back to life. Sometimes they don't come back. Absolutely don't do that.

 

[Plain Old Barry]

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Might be worth a read.

 

[Bass Viking]

I have my basses sitting on stands out in the open in my basement. It’s been like that for years. No issues except maybe some dust on them. I make sure they aren’t kept underneath plumbing that’s in the ceiling. I keep my acoustics in a glass cabinet with some damp sponges in a plastic container providing humidity in the winter. I run a dehumidifier in the summer.

 

[FearNoEvil65]

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Might be worth a read.

Fender says detune a whole step or more, contrary to everyones advice here. I mentioned that article before and was ripped to shreds, everyone stating that's for guitars, not basses. Guitars have shorter necks with much less string tension, I would think a bass neck more likely to warp than a guitar neck.
Interesting when I leave a bass stored for a long time and take them out, they're always slightly sharp when I check tuning, so I drop the tuning just a little, like a 1/4 step down from regular tuning to avoid that.

 

[TyBo]

I constantly have to bring back instruments without proper tension that have been stored for a whole back to life. Sometimes they don't come back. Absolutely don't do that.

Like I said earlier. I've had the opposite experience, bowed necks from storage under tension. So my tack now is just to lower the tension on the strings some, but not all the way down to slack. Let you know in 10 years how that does.

 

[TyBo]

I constantly have to bring back instruments without proper tension that have been stored for a whole back to life. Sometimes they don't come back. Absolutely don't do that.

Like I said earlier, I've had the opposite experience, bowed necks from storage under tension. So my tack now is just to lower the tension on the strings some, but not all the way down to slack. Let you know in 10 years how that does.
Shorter term experience is that this works just fine, leave it slack for a year, comes right back up to speed in very short order. Certainly beats having to max out a truss rod to un-bow a neck.

 

[JazznFunk]

I have a handful of basses that stay in hard cases long-term in my closet when not in use - sometimes up to a year or longer. I have combo hygrometers/thermometers in my studio and in the closet to keep tabs on the humidity and temp. It's essential to do this long-term so you understand how your home/studio environment 'breathes.' As others have mentioned, store instruments where you yourself are comfortable.... generally 60-70 degree range, with moderate humidity. I run a humidifier if it drops below 40-43%, usually just in the winter, and mostly to keep my upright bass in good standing and health. I don't loosen the strings on any basses in hardcase storage, but I DO ensure that I remove batteries from control cavities before they sit for any length of time, for active basses, and I store them in an upright position. I've been able to pull out a bass after a year-plus of storage (or more) and it's still in tune.

 

[alex1fly]

(I was not sure if this should go here or to "Hardware, Setup & Repair". If a moderator thinks that this is the wrong subforum for the question, feel free to move it there.)

I have some old, to-me-collectible basses which I don't play but would like to preserve for the time being, until I figure out/build a solution to have them back in the living room. My idea would be to

• loosen the strings (how much? Half-tension?)
• wrap the bass tightly into a plastic bag with some silica gel inside,
• place this packed-up bass into a gigbag,
• and then store into some less-thermally and humidity-regulated place.

I hope that this idea is OK and not much more is needed, but am very open to suggestions.

Lots arguing and whatever that I don't care about in this thread, but I think your move is:
Hard shell case
At tension
Both of those will go a long ways towards keeping your instruments nice.

Personally I don't use or trust in-case humidifiers. In my experience, they're a solution in search of a problem. I live in Colorado which is bone dry (15-25% RH) and have never had issues beyond a bit of fret sprout here and there. Luckily fret sprout is easily fixable by a good tech/luthier.

You don't mention where you live, where you want to store your basses, or for how long (months? Years?). That information would be helpful towards giving specific advice.