Conference napalm::guitar

    I have kept electronic gear stored in unheated places like garages and
    enclosed porches over many winters and have yet to see a problem.  I
    certainly wouldn't leave my guitars out there, but you said you 
    already brought them inside, so...
    
    						Brian

    Only thing I might think about is letting electronic gadgets 
    warm up to room temp before applying voltage.  Definately
    keep the guits warm though.
    
    jc
    

Thx so-far boyths....

(by the way fwiw.. --- everyone has always said the same thing as
what's in these tow replys...)

    Hmmm.... one thing you *may* want to take into consideration...
    
    I'd bet that room (I've been in it) could get colder than 50 degrees.
    Since that's where you wash and dry your skivvies there's gonna be
    some moisture in the air. I doubt you'll get cold enough to form
    ice though...
    
    My whole house could hit 50 without the thermostat kicking the heat on.
    (I just got home and it was 54 inside. That's where the thermostat was
    set.) Who knows what it would have been if it was unheated?
    
    Probably a minor concern?
    
    Edd
    

    Smart move on the guitars.  One should avoid cold with wood.
    
    Just a quick note if yer amp is tube.  ALWAYS let the amp warm up,
    without a signal, with the amp on standby for about 5 mins before you
    use it after storing it in cold, or moving it in/out of cold
    vans/trucks.
    
    The glass will sometimes crack (EL34s are a BIG problem here).
    
    Jay
    

re:4, 54!! Cote, your gonna freeze your cat you cheap SOB...


re:5, all solid state, good point thou..  



Geesh,


		I've gotta get some heat in there...

>    Smart move on the guitars.  One should avoid cold with wood.
    
    good thing I live in Phoenix ;-)

    
    	It seems like moving from a cold to warm air space could also
    	cause condensation to occur on the electronic components.  I'd
    	find room elsewhere in the house if possible where there is 
    	climate control.  
    
    	fwiw

    Any temperature extreme is bad for wooden instuments. Also, extreme
    dryness is just as dangerous (if not more so) than extreme humidity.
    High humidity will cause wood to swell, and glue joints to fail.
    Extreme dryness will cause cracking, especially in areas under stress
    (ie: the neck heel, and soundboard). That's why they make guitar
    humidifiers which plug into the soundhole, and moisturize the guitar
    to prevent excessive dryness.
    
    Mark

    I'm buying a new bass, and would like to keep my current instrument as
    a backup.  I probably won't play it much any more but I'd like to keep
    it in its case in an almost-ready-to-play state, more or less
    indefinitely.  
    
    It's a 1970 Gibson EB-0: SG-style mahogany body with mahogany glued-in
    neck.  It has always been extremely stable, staying in tune through all
    sorts of temperature and humidity changes.  I figured the best thing 
    would be to keep it at room temperature and humidity, not in the attic 
    or basement.
    
    Should I detune the strings a couple of semitones?  Or all the way?  I
    want to be able to tune it up quickly if I need it, but it will most
    likely stay in this state of limbo until they bury me with it.
    
    Dave

    
>    Should I detune the strings a couple of semitones?  Or all the way?  I
>    want to be able to tune it up quickly if I need it, but it will most
>    likely stay in this state of limbo until they bury me with it.
    


  You don't want to detune the bass all the way. The truss rod and strings 
are counteracting each other. When you loosen the strings, you pull all the 
tension off the neck (in one direction). The truss rod will want to pull the
neck in the other direction and will put a reverse bow on it.

  When you tune it up again, you would have to wait a while for the neck to 
restablize - a day to a week??. Then the truss rod will most likely have to
be re-tensioned. Detuning it a third or so, should keep a moderate amount of 
pull to keep it stable.


/John

My vote is to not detune.  Clean it up - sure.  Put new strings on - if needed.
Put it in its case and put it somewhere with standard house temperature and
humidity (under the bed is OK, in the attic or basement is questionable).
Take it out once every year or two.

Jim

    Guitars (and even basses) are designed to be tuned to pitch. I never
    detune them unless it's for shipping. Long term storage is no different
    from keeping it tuned and playing it every day. 
    
    Danny W.

    Question, Danny, why detune for shipping? Just to lessen the stress on
    the instrument in the event of a water landing or some such other
    mishap?
    --Ron

    Probably the most common shipping damage I hear about is the
    peghead snapping off. Shippers have a tendency to drop packages flat
    when loading or unloading, and when they  put a guitar box upright, it
    often gets knocked over. Either situation puts a great deal of stress
    on the peghead joint. When I ship a guitar, I usually support the
    peghead with balled paper and detune the string a full tone or more to
    reduce the tension on the peghead.
    
    If the guitar is a fine old archtop, I go further by completely
    loosening the strings, stowing the bridge in the case compartment,
    securing the hardware with masking tape and slipping paper between the
    strings and the fretboard. I've never had a guitar suffer shipping
    damage, but then, none of the guitars I've received that were
    factory-packed, tuned to pitch and ready to play have ever been
    damaged, either.
    
    In any case, I never found that it hurt to lower the tension for
    shipping. There is no truth to the story that removing all string
    tension will damage a neck. The neck will straighten or even back-bow
    while the tension is off and then return to its proper shape when the
    strings are tightened. On the other hand, I'd rather keep the neck at
    its normal tension for longer periods.
    
    
    Danny W.

    When I recently shipped a guitar, the counterperson at UPS asked me if
    the strings were detuned before accepting it.  In that particular case,
    the guitar had a Floyd Rose style tremelo, so I "detuned" it by putting
    keepers made from cardboard in the tremelo.  It shipped safely and my
    friend said it popped right into tune when he took them out.
    
    Greg

    Thanks for the advice, folks.  I've decided just to polish it and keep
    it at pitch.  We'll just *see* how long it stays in tune...  %^)
    
    Dave