expat701

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to assist me with this. I will feel happier moving countries knowing my guitars are safe in storage.

And when I'm in Asia, I'll just have a buy a couple more.... let's see.... Edwards LP... MIJ Strat... lots of options.

FlipFlopFly, I've done this before and although it costs a bit to store your stuff, it's comforting to be able to come back to things you own.

Besides what I pay in storage I make up by renting a smaller place when I am in Asia. I save on rent where I live, it covers the monthly cost of the storage back home... at least that's what my twisted logic is telling me.

I've an update on the Temp/Humidity controlled storage units. They are designed to store wine and maintain an average temperature of 15 degrees celsius (59 degree Fahrenheit) and what they term "moderate" humidity levels of 55%-75%.

How does that sound for guitar storage?

Thanks guys... lots of great advise and discussion here back and forth.

In summary the things everyone agrees on is:

1) Store the guitars in a temp/humidity controlled environment if at all possible (as excess of temp and/or humidity will do damage).

2) Store in hard case standing upright

Going the extra mile:

1) Put thin coat of oil on the hardware

2) Spray the electrics with contact cleaner

3) Put some unbleached/acid free artists paper between the strings and the frets

4) Use coated (rust resistant strings) stretched as per for normal playing

The area of contention is around neck tension:

1) Tune to standard tuning in storage

v.s

2) Detune a step before placing in storage

v.s

3) Take the strings off all together (either leave it as it is or losen the truss rod)

Oh and there's the issue of me taking my Tele with me when I have other guitar options to choose from... LOL !!! :-)

PlectrumPete... leave the Tele??!!! I couldn't leave my Tele - it's my number one player.

I will admit though the Maton is nice guitar. I bought it in 2004, so it's got the shorter 24.5 inch scale. I'm now more comfortable with 25.5 inch, which is why I don't play it as much these days.

However the Maton sounds great (came with SD pickups) and looks fantastic. I think the Mastersound caved top shape would have to be one of the nicest guitar shapes going... and the big headstock really sets it off beautifully. One sexy geetarrr!

I think taking the strings off completely would be dangerous as there'd be no tension on the neck. I'm not game to go that route.

aclarke, good point re foam. I might just use a 100% pure cotton polishing cloth or unbleached paper under the strings. Either is cheap and easy to do.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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!!!!)

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