eeh1 Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 How long should a person go without playing a guitar before they detune it. I try to play all 7 of my guitars at least once a week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drathbun Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 How long should a person go without playing a guitar before they detune it. I try to play all 7 of my guitars at least once a week. Why would you detune it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeebee Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 no real basis for detuning......completely arbitrary, just makes sense if its several weeks between play. Do you play a different one each day of the week? If so your screwed if you buy another eh? By the way do you like my avatar.....my long since deceased mother was an artist? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guth Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 I don't understand the nature of the question. If anything, playing a guitar adds additional force/stress to the instrument - strings at any position other than perfectly straight are under more stress. Leaving a guitar sitting for days/weeks/months would seem to be less stressful for the instrument than playing it. This would fit nicely with the theory that guitars change or open up as they are "played in". (Now if a guitar is exposed to other variables (low/high humidity, etc.) and left unchecked, that's a different matter.) So, as they were designed to be tuned to pitch, why would one feel the need to de-tune a guitar sitting idle? All the best, Guth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombiewuff Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 I'd detune if I was shipping or traveling long distance with a guitar, but usually leave them tuned at 440 Hz in a controlled environment. On the other hand, I generally keep my J185-12 tuned down a half step. Even though I have read that the Bozeman guitars don't have the same bridge pull/top warp problems of the old B-25's, you can never be too careful. That's a lot of strings! Side note: zeebee, I've admired your avatar for a while now. Interesting to note that a family member was the artist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drathbun Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 I'd detune if I was shipping or traveling long distance with a guitar' date=' but usually leave them tuned at 440 Hz in a controlled environment. On the other hand, I generally keep my J185-12 tuned down a half step. Even though I have read that the Bozeman guitars don't have the same bridge pull/top warp problems of the old B-25's, you can never be too careful. That's a lot of strings! Side note: zeebee, I've admired your avatar for a while now. Interesting to note that a family member was the artist.[/quote'] There are two schools of thought about detuning when shipping. One says detuning takes the stress of the strings off the neck to keep it from breaking while being banged around. The other says keeping the string tuned to pitch balances the neck (countering the backward bend of the truss rod) which will keep the neck from breaking. I tend to agree with keeping the strings tuned... PLUS... supporting the headstock in the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerpopper Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 I have 6 Gibsons, 3 Martins and a Seagull. It seems I need to play a different one in the morning and at night on Mondays through Fridays and then play whichever ones strike my fancy on the weekends. Either that, or buy 4 more guitars so I have to play two a day, seven days a week... Crap, I forgot about the Epiphone. Now that throws everything off... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanC Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 I have a few types of guitars and they represent my different playing interests over the years. So these days I play archtops and acoustics most of the time and hardly ever play my solid bodies. I now have a couple of guitars I almost never play but for sentimental reasons I don't really want to part with them. I leave them tuned at constant pitch but I find that I need to check them every now and again as over time they seem to go well out of tune probably because the temperature varies in the room that I keep them in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyK Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 How long should a person go without playing a guitar ... People actually do that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Towzend Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 You all have tooooooo many guitars... When yer got a Gibson J-200 ya dont need anythin else!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLiveSoundGuy Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 You all have tooooooo many guitars... When yer got a Gibson J-200 ya dont need anythin else!! Well said. Well said indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgwoods Posted April 2, 2009 Share Posted April 2, 2009 The only reason I detune is if the instrument is going sharp while it sits- I don't want the extra tension. It is more common on archtop mandolins but it happens to guitars too as they soak up more humidity in the Spring to Summer season change. I switch between my 2 guitars weekly. If I pull one out and it is a little sharp, I detune the other as i put it away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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