Guitars 'are' meant to be played aren't they

[rosemary]

Hi
I have two Strats - a secondhand Mexican Strat and a USA Strat I bought new. Usually the Mexican Strat lives on a guitar stand and the USA Strat in its case. This means that I play the Mexican Strat more than the USA Strat as the Mexican Strat is much quicker to pick up and put down. Anyway today I decided to swap them around and will take the risk of the USA Strat (in perfect condition) getting the occasional bump or scratch and getting a bit dusty so that I'll play it more. Hopefully this is the right thing to do
Best wishes and a very happy new year to everyone
Rosemary

[somebodyelseuk]

Rosemary.
You paid your hard earned money for it, so it's up to you. Don't ever let anyone else tell you otherwise.
I have a mate who's always bleating on about people who own historic racing cars or vintage guitars and then lock them away from the world. By his kind of reasoning, if you aren't doing it for a living then you shouldn't be doing it.
The only little bit of advice I would throw into this one, is maybe get a second guitar stand. There has been some 'semi-scientific study' in a guitar mag a few years back that claims that a musical instrument (presumably wooden one) does improve it's tone quality over the years through use - something to do with exposure to vibrations - and there was supposedly a noticeable difference between a 61 Strat that had been gigged regularly over the years and one that had spent all that time hidden away under a bed. Having said that, it may just have been hidden away because it didn't sound that good? They weren't as consistent then as they are now.
As long as you keep 'em away from excessive heat/cold, direct sunlight through a window and extremes of humidity (bone dry/damp) they should be fine.
Cheers, Julian

[Gerhard]

Hi Rosemary !

Of course they are !

I recently have read an article in a guitar magazine that there is some electronic stuff out there which helps to give "guitars in the case" back their "life". The theory behind is that a guitar which is't played regularly becomes dull, especially the wood. This device is electro-magnetic, ist has to be put on the guitar and switched on which causes a kind of vibrations which freshes up the guitar. At least thats the way it's promoted. You may think about it whatever you want . . .

Concerning scratch 'n' bump . . .
"Road worn" guitars . . .
Some people were eager for one . . .

Cheers
Gerhard

[bobe]

Hi Rosemary, I agree with all the above. To keep dust and stuff off it just throw a cotton cover over it. My Burns was kept in it's case and hence never got used very much. You pay a lot of money for them so why not enjoy them. Cheers from SA and a very happy new year. Bob.

[rosemary]

Thanks Julian, Gerhard and Bob
I wish there were space in here for another guitar to be on a stand but one has to be packed away in a case so I'll just rotate them.
Have a very happy New Year and to Charlie and all the members here too!
Best wishes
Rosemary

[Roger...]

Hi Rosemary,

I have the same dilemma.

I have:-

1) 1979 US Strat which I purchased new and is mint, never gigged and only played two or three times a year for about 15 minutes a time.

2) 2011 Squier 'Simon Neil' which I've modified and plays like a dream. This has been played extensively at home since purchase.

3) 2012 US Fender Standard Strat which looks and plays superbly.

I too only have room for one guitar on a stand and I am obviously inclined to play the Squier for the same reasons as you indicate above. Recently I have decided to change to the new 2012 Strat on the grounds of 'if it looks nice, plays nice, and sounds nice' then why not use it. What spurred me on was when I thought about artists who painted very valuable masterpieces for the world to see, only for their paintings be locked away in a vault somewhere where no eyes can see them. The same could be said of famous expensive jewels. Our guitars seem to fall in the same category. We lock our best ones away and play the not-so-good ones because we will not mind so much if they get dinged. So, I've decided to play my best one and enjoy it, then bring my others out occasionally (every two or three weeks) for a full repertoire workout.

That's my twopennuth anyway.........

May I wish you and your husband a very Happy New Year.

Kind regards
Roger

[noelford]

Rosemary, I've never seen the point of buying a guitar and leaving it in its case! Mine are mainly kept on wall hangers with a few on normal stands. They range from vintage to new, from Gibson and Fender Custom Shops down to a very cheap but excellent player. And they ALL get played regularly, because I like the variety and they are immediately accessible. The only time any of them see the inside of a case is for going out and playing, whether it's one of my charity gigs or the guitar club which I co-run. For both gigs and the club I make a point of taking different guitars. Like you say, they're for playing.

Happy New Year! (You'll be there before us, won't you?!)

[rosemary]

Hi Roger and Noel
That's what I think now too so I'll rotate them so they both get played equally. I've taken my Mexican Strat to the last couple of club meetings too and it's the USA Strat's turn again next.
A very happy New Year to you both and to your families. We're about 4 hours away from 2013 now so I'll be logging off soon to see the New Year in
Best wishes
Rosemary

[kipper]

Rosemary i brought myself a mint condition time machine fender custom shop strat a few years back if i remember it cost appox £1200. which was a great deal of money for me. it was fiesta red just like hanks but i noticed that i was always tense when playing it, which i then relized ment i wasnt enjoying playing it, i enjoyed looking at it ok but not playing it. so i sold it and got my money back because it was still mint condition.
what i did then was buy a really nice nitro finished body lightly reliced from usa, a nice made in mexico fender neck, some really nice pickups and put together a stratocaster. it plays really good i tinker with it changing pickups or whatever as i want and its the guitar i always play first.
i think my mind set with it is!! it cost about £400.00 to buy parts and put them together but i know i wont get that money back if i sold it as a whole guitar so no pressure with reguards to putting the odd dent and ding on it because as its already reliced so i am always relaxed when i play it. thats my theory anyway. peter

[somebodyelseuk]

I agee with Peter, I was going to make that point yesterday. I always felt a little tense when my guitars were new and immaculate. I was always devastated the first time I dinged or scratched one, but once that initial blemish is there, I relax and enjoy it a lot more.
I'm no fan of artificially aged guitars, but in this case, they do make a lot of sense.
I only have one guitar that is immaculate. It is 25 years old and I have never played it in public, only recorded with it, which is a shame, because it is a devastating instrument, a work of art. It's the one that fits like an old pair of slippers.

[noelford]

I understand but could never think that way. Guitars should be played and enjoyed, especially the expensive ones, and if you ding 'em, so what? I won't be selling them, anyway!

[frankmarvin]

I once worked with a guy who bought a new car, when ever it rained, he came to work on the bus and subsequently got soaked, but his car was snug and dry in the garage, never made any sense to me, I should imagine its the same syndrome - of course look after your guitar but there is a difference in enjoying it and enjoying the ownership of it: It is doing no good locked away in a case except building up stresses: Happy new year: Frank:

[somebodyelseuk]

Don't get me wrong, they get played and I've recorded with all of them, it's just there's that one that I couldn't bring myself to gig.
At the end of the day, like I said up top, it's nobody else's business how you choose to spend your hard earned.
Now, cars were my first love, I was involved in rallying before my eyesight went, but I've never understood garaging a car for any reason other than to work on it. If you think casing a guitar is bad for it, you'd be horrified at the damage caused by keeping a car in a 'run of the mill' garage.
Julian

[kipper]

noel i do think if you have played and used guitars most of your life they do become tools like in any trade. in my case i started late in life and when i brought the custom shop strat i was in awe of it if you like, frightened of it as well to some point . now all my tools for my work i spend sometimes £1200 for a mower and think nothing of useing it every day and putting it on my van surrounded by loads of other gear. thinking about it i am reliefed when it gets marked up a bit the thieves seem to only steel my new stuff . funny old world. peter

[rosemary]

Hi Peter, Noel, Julian and Frank
I'm really enjoying playing my USA Strat every day now and will swap the Mexican Strat after our next meeting so it doesn't get neglected. Also I enjoy looking at the USA Strat on its stand. Hopefully it won't get any damage but it should still play well regardless. The Mexican Strat sounds nicer with the little practice amp but I've been adding a lot of reverb with that amp and the USA Strat and it sounds really nice though a bit different but I have to turn off the reverb with some of the Shads tunes or the echoes aren't pronounced enough.
Best wishes
Rosemary

[frankmarvin]

Hi Rosemary, your doing the right thing, give them both a whirl, keep in mind that the Mex strat has ceramic pickups and the US one most probably has alnico ones , so they will never sound the same, that said, dont be fooled by a price tag, A good Mex is a Darn good Guitar :
Keep bashing on little Aussie lady
Frank:

[carl c]

Hi Rosemary,
I would not worry about storing a guitar in a case for a time,some of the guitars in storage have been there years.
Back in August when I return to music I found my old 1957 Gibson SG still in its case in the attic, it had been there for 30 years, strings were rusty and toneless but after a restring and polish it as good as new.
If you have a favourite guitar Id play it all the time and use the other when restringing and polishing the us strat.
I have two strats one is a 84 reissue of a 64 its got good tone but it spends most of its time in its case, I mostly use my us strat as its a flatter neck and easier to play.
So long as the cases are good I would worry about leaving one of your strats in its case.
Still its only my opinion.
Carl

[somebodyelseuk]

Carl,
A 57 SG? That's a rare beastie .
I'd agree, but the atmosphere they're left in can kill 'em - a damp, cold basement is definitely going to end in tears if the truss rod goes rusty - neck replacement on a Fender, seriously expensive surgery on a fixed neck.
Use 'em, don't use 'em. That's your choice, but take care where you store 'em.
Cheers, Julian

[carl c]

Hi Julian,
The SG is the only guitar I kept because its from the Gibson Epiphone era, Its been kept in a good flight case I got from 1980 when I packed in, together with the watkins copicat, and much later someone gave me a ese echomatic 4. There was a lot of old groups finishing in the early eighties, some I knew from the skiffle groups from the late fifties.But luckly my old guitar came through.
That why I mentioned to Rosemarie not to worry too much about putting her guitar away short time In my opinion.All my units have survived in my attic after all these years
Carl

[somebodyelseuk]

Carl, that's a seriously rare guitar if it's what I think it is - the (briefly) re-badged Les Paul Junior/Special - one/two P90, either yellow or cherry - as opposed to the later ('61-on) Les Paul SG that became the SG - with the pointy horns.
I think you'll find it's a late 59, but nevertheless, they only labelled them that way for a couple of months. There were less than 2000 Specials made that year in total, so SG labelled models probably account for less than 300 of those... and that's assuming they all survived.
Okay, you're not talking the hundreds of thousands that a sunburst Les Paul from the same era fetches, but you might want to look into getting it insured and perhaps find the old girl a more comfortable spot in the house.
Cheers, Julian

[bazmusicman]

Theres an' old saying that you should never store/leave your guitar where you wouldn't want to be yourself.
If its cold and uncomfitable for you, then thats not the place to store your guitar.

[pitts]

Hi Rosemary..
I had this issue like many others.
The answer for me was a slip over cover made of an old sheet. ( kindly sewn up by my good lady)
Just cut to the shape of a pointed hat ( bit like a Klu Klux Clan hat or a wizard hat )

Its covers the guitar and stand and takes like two seconds to flick off and recover.
Guitar stays dust free and its cheap. Guitar is always at the ready.

Cheers

Ray
NZ

[rosemary]

Hi Frank, Carl, Julian, Bazmusicman and Ray
Thanks for all your advice. My only solution other than if we moved to a bigger house is to rotate the guitars so one is on the stand and the other in its case. I know many people hang them on walls so perhaps that would be another option at some stage.
Ray: Thanks for that tip. At present it's being played so much it isn't gathering dust but I will try that.
Best wishes
Rosemary

[carl c]

Hi rosemary,
Millions of guitars all over the world are hung up in shops in different climates,damp and hot survive ok so rotating guitars over long periods should not be a problem.
I guess they are worth our extra care because they cost so much.
Carl

[carl c]

Hi JUlian,
The sg I bought in 62/63 was secondhand,I was told at the time it was one of the first sharp horns before the Junior.
It was a cheap model as it was made from a mixture of gibson and epiphone parts, which gibson had just bought.The body and neck is gibson and the pickups are epiphone with slider switch for each pickup which are covered in a black case it has a small D shaped pickguard.
When I packed in Id lost track of it till I was looking for echo units last August found it again.
I will some time in the future strip it down and do a project on it to check out some part numbers.
Carl

[noelford]

Carl! Do a project on it?!!!

Despite what you say about the components, if that guitar is original it's worth a large amount of money, which will not be the case if you strip it down.

[carl c]

Hi Noel,
When I say Project. I meant next time I restring it Ill take off the pickguard and pickups to try to get some part numbers to find more about it, 50 years ago is a long time, I wont be taking the neck off as it is bonded with with glue. It will give me a better chance to clean it and polish it up. I forgot how light in weight it was, A real pensioners guitar
Carl

[noelford]

PHEW!

[peterbower]

Julian

I worked in the motor trade for 35 years and we used to get a load of facts and figures thrown at us from the industry. One particular one was from GM of America where they had conducted a 5 year survey on how quickly a car rusts from new. It became established that those vehicles that were put in a garage on a regular bases rusted quicker. This was mainly due to no air flow going in and around the vehicle to dry it out. Cars parked in the street went rusty more slowly.

Do guitars need to be out in a moving air environment as its possible they absorb some moisture into the wood making the wood less resonant and 'dull' if left in a confined space for long periods.

Just a thought,
Pete

[carl c]

Back when we where busy playing, Christmas time was best time for money and bookings.
We where always loading and unloading our equipment out of cold vans into hot clubs the condensation was bad in winter, and the equipment stood the test,we had to leave the guitars till they warmed up before tuning
. We used to use a hairdrier on the echo heads to get the tape running smoothly.
All the abuse we gave the gear, nobody complained it was part of being a group.
Now in our homes we worry.
Just another thought Surprising after all this time I remember the best bits.
Carl