Storing your Westone

So i decided to leave one of my guitars at my parents house on the other side of the country, thus there is always one to play when i visit. Besides, its alot cheaper to mail one then send it on a plane these days! I've heard several opinions on this, but how would you guys store it? With strings tightened to regular tuning, or loosen them a little, or loosen them alot. It's an acoustic, but i'm also curious about electrics. Thanks!

I suppose there are different schools of thought on the subject, but speaking for myself, I don't think I have ever loosened the tension on any of my guitars while "stored" i.e., not being played.

Assuming you're keeping it in a good quality case for protection I don't see a problem unless the area it's being stored in is subject to wild swings in humidity. That might give me cause for concern for an acoustic.

I think the reasoning is simply that the string tension offsets the truss rod setting (or vice versa) and if you slack off the strings without compensating the neck you're "axing" for trouble.

If you've got a flight case for it then either way of shipping the thing should be safe; if not, then get one!! Even then there's no guarantee that the instrument will get to it's destination undamaged; there are all sorts of horror stories out there about damage being caused to instruments in transit...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo

I'm a believer in leaving the string tension at about concert pitch; as Barry says it counteracts the pressure of the truss rod, and after all, they're built to be at tension 100% of the time anyway!! Given the caveat about swings in humidity, I'd leave mine at tension... in fact, that's exactly what I have done with all of the instruments I left behind in NZ!!

I think various flat top and arch top acoustic guitars benefit from being stored with zero string tension. But I don't think the same applies for solid body electrics.

Engineering logic says, keep them in tune when stored :idea:......

With the law of equal & opposite forces, if your were to loose off the strings you'd need to loose off the truss rod too,
that would be as daft as only slackening the string



_____________________
“try to stay right sized in your playing & that means not less than or better than the people your playing with, try to be conscious of playing with soul” ................... Ronnie Earl.

colt933 wrote:I think various flat top and arch top acoustic guitars benefit from being stored with zero string tension

Because...??? Tension of the strings on the glued on bridge? And/or on the wooden soundboard?

corsair wrote:

colt933 wrote:I think various flat top and arch top acoustic guitars benefit from being stored with zero string tension

Because...??? Tension of the strings on the glued on bridge? And/or on the wooden soundboard?

I think it's because of the internal bracing.

On acoustics I've always slackened the strings off a notch or 2, not completely and left them in S.A. for over 30 odd years. Been back and forth over that time and never had a problem.

Thanks for the opinions guys, i've always felt electrics should be kept in tune for truss rod tension also. However, i've always loosened the acoustics a bit like Colt said, i've had a few belly up behind the bridge and it seems like the right way to go.

My Dynasty was stored since 1984 in a closet at tension, and it's absolutely fine today all these years later.

I was readiung this thread and thinking "yeah that makes sense, store it strung for the tension" When I remembered the Thunder I upstairs in a case.......with no strings on it for the last 3 weeks!

Cue one run up the stairs to string it (dunno why I thought running would make a difference! )!

All better now...

chaypup wrote:
Cue one run up the stairs to string it (dunno why I thought running would make a difference! )!

Run, Forrest!