Instrument storage

[bigjimmyc]

Morning.

I'd like to poll the BC brains on preferred storage for our precious instruments.

[pete.young]

[BigRedX]

Depends on what I'm doing with them. The ones I play on a regular basis are on stands. The others are in their cases stored where ever there is room for them (usually horizontally). IME electric guitars and basses are robust things and you have to seriously abuse them before anything bad occurs. I wouldn't worry how you keep them.

[Doctor J]

I don’t see the merit of additional stress on the neck so I would vote “Supported from the derrière up” were it available.

[Richard R]

55 minutes ago, pete.young said:

But my wife would complain 😁

[Dan Dare]

With a solid electric bass, it pretty well doesn't matter as long as you keep it dry.

[chris_b]

A 4 string  bass neck has about 150lbs of pull to manage. They are built to withstand that pressure on any plain, ie flat, vertical, horizontal etc so safe storage, away from knocks and dust,  would be my aim. My basses are kept in their gig bags (vertical) unless I want to play one.

[oldslapper]

All my instruments are out, on stands so I can pick them out and play them. I have terrible self discipline so if they’re in a case I tend not to play them. The stands they’re on vary from neck held to bottom rested.
If I were a rich man (divva divva divva do) I might buy more basses than I need, or have space for. In which case I’d move my son out into the shed and have them out on stands there too.
At least he can keep his sister company. 👍🏻

[Bassfinger]

I don't  think there's  a universally correct answer. In my case with a boisterous dog and an 8 year old, not have a spare room to devote to music, then hanging on the bedroom wall  is the best combination of safety and accessibility for me.  For those with more or less space then different options might be more suitable. 

[Dad3353]

Whatever is most convenient in the allotted space. It makes no difference to the bass or guitar.

[Len_derby]

5 minutes ago, oldslapper said:

All my instruments are out, on stands so I can pick them out and play them. I have terrible self discipline so if they’re in a case I tend not to play them. 

I can sympathise with that. Whenever I’ve been asked by beginners on any tips for learning bass or guitar I always say ‘don’t put your instrument away, leave it out on display’.

[Len_derby]

36 minutes ago, Dan Dare said:

With a solid electric bass, it pretty well doesn't matter as long as you keep it dry.

Do you think there should be a different regime for acoustic instruments ? I’m thinking about acoustic guitars and bass guitars I don’t have a double bass (yet 😎)

[Japhet]

I'm intrigued by the 'relic' market, so I think I'm going to chuck my Precision in the ditch down the end of the garden for a while. I might then leave it in the road outside for a few days.

[Maude]

I've commented with my thoughts in a previous, similar, thread. 

My actual thought is it really doesn't matter, but, on the opinion that hanging basses by the headstock can't be good for them, surely simple physics says it's better if anything. 

My reasoning is simply gravity working in the instruments favour. The string tension constantly wants to pull the head towards the bridge, bowing the neck forwards as there is a slight cantelever action due to the angles. If you stand a bass on it's bum then the weight of everything above the bridge is helping those strings pull the head towards the bridge. If you hang it by the head then the weight of everything below the headstock shoulders is working against the tension of the strings, thus helping to keep the neck straight. 

In reality the gravitation pull is negligible compared to the much higher string tension so whether on a stand, hanging or laying down is all but irrelevant, but hanging cannot be worse. 

🙂

[inthedoghouse]

I've got so many - some are in cases under the bed, some are hanging up and some are standing up in wardrobes but not in cases.  I'd love to have them all out but there just isn't the space.  I've always got one ready to hand for when the mood/need to learn something comes to me.

[Silvia Bluejay]

Since @Happy Jack and I can't play each other's basses - and wouldn't want to even if we could! - we store them separately, mostly for my convenience. He's got his bass guitars hanging from the walls of the music studio downstairs, where he rehearses with his bands. I've got them in my bedroom in the loft, where I can play along my records.

I keep my favourite basses on stands, and those I play less often in gigbags leaning against the wall.

One large acoustic bass guitar and the Hofner violin are missing from these pics, as they are stored in their cases in another room (still handy if I fancy playing them).

The Eminence and the four bass guitars next to it are usually covered by a white sheet to shield them from the sun. The NS Design and the Ibanez are my go-to instruments at the moment, so they're uncovered, but stashed in a not-too-bright corner.

 

[sammybee]

Mine are on stands, so I can play them. I do have an acoustic guitar in a case stored vertically in the corner - never gets played

[ubit]

5 hours ago, Doctor J said:

I don’t see the merit of additional stress on the neck so I would vote “Supported from the derrière up” were it available.

I don't wear the argument that hanging a bass is any strain on the neck. Its not putting any strain at all on the instrument. All my guitars are hung on wall hangers and I have never experienced any neck problems.

[ubit]

5 hours ago, Japhet said:

I'm intrigued by the 'relic' market, so I think I'm going to chuck my Precision in the ditch down the end of the garden for a while. I might then leave it in the road outside for a few days.

Yeah, you should go for this. If you could pm me your address I will help watch it for you just in case someone nicks it.

[walshy]

Yup keep mine all out on stands, I like to see them and choose them as I feel on the day. Eagerly awaiting some Ashdown goodies to keep them company too 😁

[Silvia Bluejay]

Dust is a problem anywhere you have uncovered stands, and especially in a bedroom. I haven't found any type of 'proper' duster (traditional or using static electricity) that actually works without leaving behind unwanted bits and strands; however, a big 'body bronzer'* brush I found at Primark for a few pounds does the job perfectly!

*No, I haven't got the faintest what a body bronzer is - presumably a kind of makeup powder?

[Maude]

42 minutes ago, Silvia Bluejay said:

Dust is a problem anywhere you have uncovered stands, and especially in a bedroom. I haven't found any type of 'proper' duster (traditional or using static electricity) that actually works without leaving behind unwanted bits and strands; however, a big 'body bronzer'* brush I found at Primark for a few pounds does the job perfectly!

*No, I haven't got the faintest what a body bronzer is - presumably a kind of makeup powder?

Yeah yeah yeah, you're not fooling anyone. 

We all know you found it in @Happy Jacks toiletries cupboard. Nothing worse than looking all washed out under stage lights. 

😁

[Silvia Bluejay]

[Maude]

I use a fine bristle 2" paintbrush, gets in around the bridge and pickups nicely. 

[GuyR]

All on stands for me, all over the house at least one in each principal room. Cases all in storage in the loft. I do cover up the pre cbs custom colour ones to protect the finish from sunlight. Apart from making it zero effort to pick one up, I am constantly reminded of any neglected basses and I enjoy looking at them, not as much as playing them of course, but they are still eye-candy.