tjg1955 Posted April 1, 2016 Share Posted April 1, 2016 I just bought my baby grandson an Epi Casino. I'm not getting any younger but hope to teach him how to play several years from now. For now I plan to leave the guitar in its case and bury it in the back of my closet...maybe take it out once a year to check on it. Should I leave the guitar strung/tuned, or loosen the strings? I've seen varying advice on this. My closet is room temperature and I don't anticipate any big humidity swings. I read somewhere it may be possible the guitar case velvet dye could leach into the guitar paint job? I may be overthinking this, but its possible this guitar will sit in my closet for 10 or 12 years, and I just want to take some basic precautions....thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted April 1, 2016 Share Posted April 1, 2016 The worst thing you can do with a guitar is keep it stored for an extended period of time, especially in the case. A much better plan would be for you to play it for the 10 or 12 years. When it's time to give it to the grandkid, he will then identify with it as "Grandpas Guitar", and it will mean much more to him that way than if it were just a guitar Grandpa bought for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted April 1, 2016 Share Posted April 1, 2016 IMO, what Larry just advised was brilliant! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted April 2, 2016 Share Posted April 2, 2016 I've never stored one for a long length of time but have bought a few that had been stored anywhere from 20 to 50 years I believe the advice given so far is the best. Aside from that if your determined to keep it stored away here are my unproven suggestions to prevent some of the affects of time that I have seen To prevent the string tension from getting too tight and causing damage to the neck and top with the movement of the woods, I would tune down a whole step To fight the humidity problems I would put the Humidipak system in the case To fight the gases from the plastics corroding the metal and causing shrinking I would open the case at least every six months. That would also be a good time to replace the Humidipaks I would keep the guitar upright in the corner of the bedroom away from vents and windows. Do not put it in the garage, closet, attic or under the bed. Good luck and come back in 10 to 12 years and let us know how it worked out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldCowboy Posted April 2, 2016 Share Posted April 2, 2016 All excellent suggestions, the best of a which is to play the instrument. Have the grandson' s name or initials inlaid somewhere on it if you want to take it further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliasphobias Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 Have the grandson' s name or initials inlaid somewhere on it if you want to take it further. Ahem, say what....? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldCowboy Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 Ahem, say what....? Exactly - seems to have made sense upon a time, but today? Attribute it to the 1970s: they tell me I was there.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 Exactly - seems to have made sense upon a time, but today? Attribute it to the 1970s: they tell me I was there.... LOL! I think I was there too,, hard to say for sure.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 I'm no expert, but the way I understand it you shouldn't de-tune it, since the string tension counteracts the truss rod tension, and vice versa. From what I've heard, de-tuning it for storage could screw up the neck if you're unlucky. I could be wrong, but it sounds reasonable to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pesh Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 +1 to Larry's suggestion; play it for him until he can play it himself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjg1955 Posted April 5, 2016 Author Share Posted April 5, 2016 thanks for all the great advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 I would keep the guitar upright in the corner of the bedroom away from vents and widows. Do you think that widows are particularly harmful to guitars? Does it apply outside of bedrooms, too? :unsure: OK, OK, I couldn't resist, it is just a bit of my black humour around a typing error... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted April 6, 2016 Share Posted April 6, 2016 Widows have been known to be cruel to their ex's belongings 😀 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johntrem Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 By the time the baby grandson is old enough he may decide he wants to be a drummer, that way granddad gets to keep the Casino. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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