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Long-Term Storage

OriginalKeyster

OriginalKeyster

Jan 1, 2009
458
36
Southwest Michigan
#1
Greetings! A dear friend and mentor of mine passed away a year and a half ago at the age of 52 (far too young, as he was a model of excellent health) from a fall and subsequent head injury. He was a professional musician who had a recording studio and owned a large collection of nice guitars and vintage amps. His wife was gracious enough to allow me custody of his '73 Precision, which many of you have seen me post pics of here and there. The rest of the collection (all guitars, no basses) she intends to keep, although she does not play. I have done some searches on long-term storage, but do any of you have any tips? The guitars reside in southern Michigan, which may affect how these should be stored. Most of the guitars are solid-bodies, but one is a hollow-body Heritage and the another is a hollow-body Telecaster. The Precision gets used often enough and is sent to my tech every 6 months, so that is no factor. Also, I know these are guitars and not basses, but I am a bassist and I thought y'all might be able to help. Thanks!
 
#2
I don't think there is too much to worry about as long as they are stored in a climate-controlled home. For insurance, you might choose to control the humidity during the very dry winters, but even that is not a huge concern with those types of instruments. I have a humidifier in my house on my furnace for personal comfort that keeps the levels high enough to prevent any concerns. I'd guess many in Southern Michigan do as well.

Some might suggest releasing the tension on the strings. If you do that, I would suggest you also release the tension on the truss rods. But, I don't really think it is needed. There are plenty of guitars out there that have seen worse for decades that are just fine.
 
#3
DO NOT reduce the string tension. The neck is designed to have the tension on it, balanced by the truss rod. However, it's a good idea to pull them out about every six months, tune them up and inspect the necks and the bodies.

A good rule of thumb is that if you're comfortable, the guitar is too. Use that to figure out temperature and humidity conditions for storage.

John
 
#4
If there are any acoustics in the mix, I'd recommend detuning them a whole step. Also, if there are any instruments in there with a real tortiseshell pickguard, take that off and put it in a zip lock bag (tortise shrinks and gives off a funky chemical gas overtime, and corrodes hardware pretty nasty-like). Otherwise, put everything in a case and leave it in a climate controlled environment.
 
#5
I know you didnt' ask for this..

Many acoustics need attention and love.. left in boxes they can go wonky... I"d be selling these.. especially if there were loved martins etc.

Do any of the guitars have nitro finish?.. these should not bein in contact with synthetics for extended periods of time.

I always store bodies like this in 100% cotton TShirts.. then place a paper towel between the strings and neck.. then fold it over the strings.. ensures the case doesn't rust. I'd put stainless strings on anything stored --
 

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