The way you see most often for killing a guitar is hanging it on a wall like it's a trophy animal head or a cheap black velvet painting.
The reason that's a problem is it will dry out the fingerboard because your nasty little fingers carry oils and and that sounds ugly but it's not a bad thing and much better than letting it get dry.
Another problem is the neck is usually at some odd angle which means unnatural stresses on it.
The bigger stress on the neck comes from the strings rusting and changing tension with the temperature. This will put a continually varying strain on the neck. If you're not even going to tune the guitar, why would you keep it.
Another problem is a badly-designed case. The body of the guitar should always be flush with the bottom of the case and the neck guide mustn't lift the neck such that it lifts the body at all. The only purpose of the neck guide is to ensure the head of the guitar does not touch the bottom of the case.
Yet another is leaning a guitar against a wall such that the only contact with the wall is at the head. The problem is the weight of the guitar is putting stress on the neck the entire time. Eventually it's going to bend, just as it will in a poorly-designed case.
The deadliest of all is to let the guitar get cold as the string contraction can easily pull the screws loose for guitars with a replaceable neck and, for guitars with a non-replaceable neck, it may well bend it more than a guitar tech can adjust back out of it by screwing with the truss rod. For a gut-string guitar, nothing can fix it after that bend has come. Maybe you could find a Master Luthier who could do it but those kinds of woodsmen are exceedingly rare.
Getting cold in an aircraft when the external air temperature is -80F is inevitable and this is why it's crucial to take the tension off the strings before flying as the strings will otherwise contract and can easily destroy the guitar.
The above is obvious but what got me the last time with that was a cold flat. The flat in Edinburgh could not be heated because I didn't have the money for it. Thus it was exceptionally cold all the time. I figured the Galaxy Guitar would be safe as I kept her in the case for her protection. I did play her a little bit but the vibe was so bad there music could not have helped.
There's no question the strings were so loose they were practically falling off it before I flew back to the U.S. after that yet the neck had a significant bow by the time I got back here. That couldn't have happened in the aircraft hold as it was prepared for that so it must have happened from the cold in the flat.
And here's one final as guitar stands vary tremendously in how they work. A good many work by leaning the body against the base and the neck is supported by some type of U-shaped device. This way sucks, don't do it. A stand which will prevent that kind of stress is one designed entirely to support the base and that's all the guitar needs because there isn't enough weight in the neck to topple the guitar. Another advantage of these kinds of stands is they are usually cheaper.
Guitars are the closest you will come to finding life in an inanimate object but do treat them right as they really can die. If you take the right care of them, there's not much to stop them from living longer than you. Stradivarius violins were made centuries ago and yet still sing with such purity it bring tears to the violinists who play them. The Galaxy Guitar has suffered some egregious insults but I always looked for the best doctor I could find to get her back to health and she plays as well or better than she ever did.
Collectors seem to regard guitars as property but, in my world, that's just about as sacrilegious as anyone could ever get. I question whether a great many humans have souls but I've never known a guitar without one.
The reason that's a problem is it will dry out the fingerboard because your nasty little fingers carry oils and and that sounds ugly but it's not a bad thing and much better than letting it get dry.
Another problem is the neck is usually at some odd angle which means unnatural stresses on it.
The bigger stress on the neck comes from the strings rusting and changing tension with the temperature. This will put a continually varying strain on the neck. If you're not even going to tune the guitar, why would you keep it.
Another problem is a badly-designed case. The body of the guitar should always be flush with the bottom of the case and the neck guide mustn't lift the neck such that it lifts the body at all. The only purpose of the neck guide is to ensure the head of the guitar does not touch the bottom of the case.
Yet another is leaning a guitar against a wall such that the only contact with the wall is at the head. The problem is the weight of the guitar is putting stress on the neck the entire time. Eventually it's going to bend, just as it will in a poorly-designed case.
The deadliest of all is to let the guitar get cold as the string contraction can easily pull the screws loose for guitars with a replaceable neck and, for guitars with a non-replaceable neck, it may well bend it more than a guitar tech can adjust back out of it by screwing with the truss rod. For a gut-string guitar, nothing can fix it after that bend has come. Maybe you could find a Master Luthier who could do it but those kinds of woodsmen are exceedingly rare.
Getting cold in an aircraft when the external air temperature is -80F is inevitable and this is why it's crucial to take the tension off the strings before flying as the strings will otherwise contract and can easily destroy the guitar.
The above is obvious but what got me the last time with that was a cold flat. The flat in Edinburgh could not be heated because I didn't have the money for it. Thus it was exceptionally cold all the time. I figured the Galaxy Guitar would be safe as I kept her in the case for her protection. I did play her a little bit but the vibe was so bad there music could not have helped.
There's no question the strings were so loose they were practically falling off it before I flew back to the U.S. after that yet the neck had a significant bow by the time I got back here. That couldn't have happened in the aircraft hold as it was prepared for that so it must have happened from the cold in the flat.
And here's one final as guitar stands vary tremendously in how they work. A good many work by leaning the body against the base and the neck is supported by some type of U-shaped device. This way sucks, don't do it. A stand which will prevent that kind of stress is one designed entirely to support the base and that's all the guitar needs because there isn't enough weight in the neck to topple the guitar. Another advantage of these kinds of stands is they are usually cheaper.
Guitars are the closest you will come to finding life in an inanimate object but do treat them right as they really can die. If you take the right care of them, there's not much to stop them from living longer than you. Stradivarius violins were made centuries ago and yet still sing with such purity it bring tears to the violinists who play them. The Galaxy Guitar has suffered some egregious insults but I always looked for the best doctor I could find to get her back to health and she plays as well or better than she ever did.
Collectors seem to regard guitars as property but, in my world, that's just about as sacrilegious as anyone could ever get. I question whether a great many humans have souls but I've never known a guitar without one.
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