Long Term (5 years) Storage

[expat701]

Hi, I've got an opportunity to move overseas for work. I'll be on a long term contract (5 years).

 

I will have to put a lot of my stuff into storage as it won't be practical to move it all with me. This will include 4 of my guitars, I'll be only taking two guitars with me - a Strat and a Tele.

 

The 4 guitars going into storage are 2 x Strats, 1 x Epi Sheraton and a Maton Mastersound MS2000. I don't want to sell them, I want to keep them.

 

The guitars and furniture will be stored in a large warehouse in Sydney Australia... they are going into a self storage unit. The climate conditions are mild and the warehouse is an older building with thick walls and concrete floors.

 

Temperature fluctuation would be 10-40 degrees celsius (50 -100 degree fahrenheit) depending on the month of the year.

 

I'm looking for tips on storing the guitars (up to 5 years).

 

So far I'm thinking:-

 

1) Store them standing up straight (i.e. vertically) in their hard cases. Wrap the hard cases with plastic sheeting and place them within cardboard boxes for extra protection and insulation.

 

2) Have them all serviced by a guitar technician before storing them.

 

3) Give them a good polish and clean before storage.

 

3) I thought of putting coated strings on them (like Ernie Ball Slinky coated strings) to reduce the chance of the strings rusting and/or breaking?

 

4) Should I detune the guitars by a half step (maybe a whole step)?

 

5) Should I put paper under the strings (between the strings and the frets)?

 

Any other tips you can provide for long term storage would be very much appreciated.

 

Thanks Wayne

[poolshark]

I've never had to do it, but I think the best thing you could do is use lots of insulation. It won't keep the guitars at a constant temperature, but insulation should help relieve temperature shock by keeping changes gradual.

 

Also, I don't think I'd detune the guitars. Detuned necks, I would think, would be more susceptible to warping with temp and humidity changes. Keeping tension on them should provide some stability.

[isuck]

Keep them off of the ground.

[isuck]

I'll watch them for you.

[pixelchemist]

i suggest finding a friend or family member to hold on to them for you... if the public storage places there are anything like the ones here... they wont be doing well when you come back...

[Doctor49]

Friends and family by a mile.

No facility will care for them like you would.

[Vintage55]

You can't find a climate-controlled storage facility? There's a number of them around here. There's one not far away that was built post-Katrina and it's designed to withstand 200mph winds (or something close to that).

[mrbrown49]

Temperature fluctuation would be 10-40 degrees celsius (50 -100 degree fahrenheit) depending on the month of the year. I'm looking for tips on storing the guitars (up to 5 years).

 

I wouldn't leave any guitar's I'd care enough to store for five years in a place that fits that description. Humidity will probably be varying a whole bunch too. Especially since one is a semi.

[expat701]

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

Unfortuately I've little family and no friends I could trust with the guitars (or anything of value) and so that's out. Great people but...

 

I've done some more research and they do offer temperature and humidity controlled storage along with ordinary storage. To quote their web site: you can "set temperature and humidity range".

 

So I'll put the guitars into temp/humidity controlled storage and the furniture in normal storage.

 

So what would be the best temperature and humidity range?

 

And regards detuning - I've struggled with that one myself. It makes sense to store with standard tuning (e thru E) but over time the guitars may naturally detune. Everything I've read online around storage seems state it's best to detune a half (even full) step.

 

I'm very excited about moving back overseas and I bet I collect more axes over in Asia (especially Japanese strats!!!!)

[snowaie]

Definitely just take the strings off, dude.

[aclarke]

Been there.

 

I planned to be gone for six months, maybe a year. Several years ago.

 

I left two electrics, a mandolin, and a classical in storage. In my parent's basement. Unlike you, I didn't even think about taking any precautions. I left them tuned and in their cases.

 

When I was home last (two years ago, making it 5 years that they'd been in storage), there was absolutely no change to any of them. No problems at all.

 

Changes in climate and humidity aren't that bad for an instrument, as long as they're gradual and consistent. If you've got the chance to set the temperature and humidity, I'd go for whatever the median is for where you're living.

[diceman1000]

you could ship them to me,i'd store it all for free:thu:

[mrbrown49]

I've done some more research and they do offer temperature and humidity controlled storage along with ordinary storage. To quote their web site: you can "set temperature and humidity range". So I'll put the guitars into temp/humidity controlled storage and the furniture in normal storage. So what would be the best temperature and humidity range?

 

That sounds like a good plan. About 65 to 75 deg F and about 60% humidity will be fine. In my experience it's best to keep tension on the neck and I usually keep them in standard tuning but I've never stored guitars for five years. Longest I've stored a guitar was two years and i left that at standard tuning. Still needed a bit of a setup when i took it out of storage, and new strings of course but everything else was fine. Suprisingly it wasn't that far out of tune either. To fight rust you may want to put a light coat of mineral oil on the strings. Fast fret or mineral oil from the drug store will work.

[soundcreation]

Are your guitars Nitro?

 

I would definitely go with the coated string idea.

[expat701]

Hi,

 

Wow thanks guys, some good advise here.

 

Soundcreation, none of my guitars are nitro... all 4 are poly.

 

I normally wouldn't use coated strings (I use Fender Bullets) but for long term storage this would seem a sensible precaution in that they are meant to be more rust resistant.

 

Do you like the idea of keeping paper under the strings (between the strings and the frets)? I read about this somewhere.... it's meant to stop the frets getting marked.

 

Aclarke, yeah I'm trying to plan well ahead. I want to enjoy my time away without worrying whether my modest guitar collection back home is bending out of shape on me.

 

Any other ideas?

[Doctor49]

Changes in climate and humidity aren't that bad for an instrument, as long as they're gradual and consistent. If you've got the chance to set the temperature and humidity, I'd go for whatever the median is for where you're living.

 

Absolutely.

I would just restring them with new strings at standard tuning and oil them against rust. Fast Fret is only mineral oil anyway so a drop of Johnsons Baby should do the trick.

There is no reason to detune AFAIK- storage actually stresses the neck less than you playing it as it is constant conditions.

Not sure how frets would get marked in storage?

I would save the tech service until you get back.....then you get a good setup from the get go. Clean by all means esp. gunk on the finish from playing hands and arms.

[thenoob]

im in newcastle. i will lovingly store. for free.

[expat701]

Thanks for all the advise and the kind offers to store them for me ;-)

 

Doctor, i don't really know how the frets could get marked, this is just something I read somewhere... a bit like the "detune for storage"... one of those things that someone said sometime - it got around and soon became gospel.

[chemten]

i would be more worried on whether the storage place will still be in business 5 years from now. those places pop-up all over here and a lot of them are gone a few years down the road.

[slashfacepalm]

Thanks for all the advise and the kind offers to store them for me ;-) Doctor, i don't really know how the frets could get marked, this is just something I read somewhere... a bit like the "detune for storage"... one of those things that someone said sometime - it got around and soon became gospel.

 

Just take the strings off. You're not going to use the same strings in 5 years.

[expat701]

Slashfacepalm taking the strings off would leave the neck without tension. I believe that's something that should never happen as it will result in the neck being bowed.

[slashfacepalm]

Slashfacepalm taking the strings off would leave the neck without tension. I believe that's something that should never happen as it will result in the neck being bowed.

 

Hm, right on.

 

This probably rings true for your set-neck guitars especially, but I'd have no problem leaving a Strat this way. But then again, I've never stored something that long.

 

I guess just tune them to D Standard and put some of that thin foam packaging paper between the frets and the strings. The frets do become marked after time if it just sits for a long time. That's one thing I do know.

[expat701]

Slashfacepalm yeah it's two strats and two with set necks - Maton and Epi Sheraton. And so I'll leave them in tune.

 

I've heard about the frets getting marked, I'll add the thin foam packing paper between the strings and frets as an added precaution.

[mc5nrg]

Leave them tuned, don't worry about slight detuning- stretch the strings like you normally would. If the Maton is an acoustic, feel free to drop the tuning a whole step.

 

The climate controlled facility is the way to go.

[expat701]

Mc5nrg - thanks for your input. The Maton is a Mastersound MS2000 (Aussie version of an LP).

 

I'm now going to leave them all standard tuned (Eadgbe)

 

Do you think the Ernie Ball coated strings are a good idea? I'm thinking they should last the 5 years without rusting. I don't use coated strings normally I'm only thinking about them for their corrosion resistance.