Is there any special care or action required if you're going to put a 12 string away for an extended period? I know that with 12 strings instead of 6, it puts an awful lot of stress on the neck. Most recently my 360/12 was under the bed for about 18 years. When I took it out it still played great but I was thinking, perhaps I should have tuned each of the strings down by a step. I suspect I shouldn't have taken the strings off because the neck was designed to take some stress. Any advice on this? How about storing a 6 string for an extended period?
Regards,
Chuck
Special Care for 12 Strings?
Moderators: rickenbrother, ajish4
This is a question that I wish I could get paid to answer ..I get it contantly .
My smart aleck toned answer is this , and this is said with a bit of truth in it ....
" Are you playing your guitar at the moment...No?
Then where is it ? ....in the case? Well it IS in storage."
Now that does need some clarrification and some history .
First of all ....This question has come about due to cheesey guitars (old time catalog guitars --Montgomery Wards Etc made before 1960)
These guitars many times had NO truss rods, were put together with hide glue and had poor workmanship .
Hide glue is an excellant glue ...when you have excellant joint in your wood working .
This is generally NOT the case in these guitars.
Moving forward ... strings have changed over the years , and so have players wants .
Enter the 21st century.
For the last 20 years , almost every commercial guitar is built like a tank to take anything.
Most of the problems lie with acoustics and leaving them in HOT places ...when that is done , the glue under the bridge fails and the bridge comes off.
WHY do that ? This is done so the WHOLE thing does not blow apart ...it is like the pressure release valve on a hot water tank .
Better the bridge come off than everything inside pop loose.
Twelve strings ...........
Many people DO tune their 12 strings down ...BUt for how long are you leaving it?
Why are you leaving it ?
Modern guitars can take it ... however the greatest enemy of a guitar is water and heat is it's deranged cousin ...watch out for both of them.
My smart aleck toned answer is this , and this is said with a bit of truth in it ....
" Are you playing your guitar at the moment...No?
Then where is it ? ....in the case? Well it IS in storage."
Now that does need some clarrification and some history .
First of all ....This question has come about due to cheesey guitars (old time catalog guitars --Montgomery Wards Etc made before 1960)
These guitars many times had NO truss rods, were put together with hide glue and had poor workmanship .
Hide glue is an excellant glue ...when you have excellant joint in your wood working .
This is generally NOT the case in these guitars.
Moving forward ... strings have changed over the years , and so have players wants .
Enter the 21st century.
For the last 20 years , almost every commercial guitar is built like a tank to take anything.
Most of the problems lie with acoustics and leaving them in HOT places ...when that is done , the glue under the bridge fails and the bridge comes off.
WHY do that ? This is done so the WHOLE thing does not blow apart ...it is like the pressure release valve on a hot water tank .
Better the bridge come off than everything inside pop loose.
Twelve strings ...........
Many people DO tune their 12 strings down ...BUt for how long are you leaving it?
Why are you leaving it ?
Modern guitars can take it ... however the greatest enemy of a guitar is water and heat is it's deranged cousin ...watch out for both of them.
So you too want yours "ALAPWOB"?!?!
Last year, I bought an early-90's 360/12 from a guy who said he'd played it 2 or 3 times in the five years he'd owned it (so it must have been "in storage" for at least a couple years at a time). No problems whatsoever with the finish or playability. The neck & action are perfect, despite it being tuned up the whole time. I'm sure it helps that this is in northern California, where there's relatively little temperature & humidity variation.
My basses are Rickenbackers. My synthesizers and recording gear are analog.
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corey