Storage and display of vintage Ricks

[sashua]

I have amassed quite the collection over the years and recently, on a tour of my somewhat neglected basement, I found myself staring at all the vintage cases stacked neatly against a wall.

I realized that they have been sitting there for years and many never get played or even admired. It seems to me a real waste that such beauty should be locked away from sight and not appreciated so I decided that maybe it was time to display them. Maybe if they were in plain sight and in easy reach I would find myself enjoying them as "living investments" (though I use the word "investment" in the loosest possible sense given today's vintage instrument market).

Now to my question. If I were to take all of these valuable treasures from their tombs and put them on my walls in a room with *reasonable* temperature and humidity control - would they be equally comfortable and withstand the onslaught of years just as well? Can I expect crazing and lacquer issues or intonation problems or ????

I really want to start enjoying them again but not at the cost of slowly ruining them for our future Rickenbacker generations. It is our responsibility to pass them on to future caretakers in decent condition. Sure we play the hell out of our favorites...but they can't ALL be our favorites, can they? (speaking of course to those of us with larg(ish) collections.

I would love to hear your opinions here. Especially those who have done just what I am proposing. Dave Pascoe - I think I remember you being one of them...you out there?

[FretlessOnly]

I would think (I'm no expert, so grains of salt all around!) that with proper temperature, humidity control (for wood, finish and intonation) and air filtering (for electronics) (I have all three) you shouldn't expect too much in the way of problems. One could argue that leaving instruments in their case, never to be adjusted or even played might be worse than displaying them. They need to breathe and be adjusted every so often. I have some higher-end instruments, but likely not much that approaches your collection. I leave mine on display and play them all.

One word about wall hangars - many of them will transfer rubbery gunk and/or stain some finishes at the contact areas. To prevent this, I bought two pairs of cotton gloves and cut the fingers off of them. These fit snugly over the bracket arms and effectively prevent finish problems. And always install into wall studs - the wallboard screw adaptors are not recommended. I bought 2" #8 wood screws to replace those that came with the hangars as well and got a good 1.25" into studs. You could hang anvils from mine. My '76 Precision might just qualify.

But hopefully some others will chime in on the effect of displaying on truly vintage instruments and risks to finish, etc. I don't see an issue with proper controls, but as I said, I'm not an expert.

[beatlefreak]

One word about wall hangars - many of them will transfer rubbery gunk and/or stain some finishes at the contact areas. To prevent this, I bought two pairs of cotton gloves and cut the fingers off of them. These fit snugly over the bracket arms and effectively prevent finish problems.

Keep in mind that some guitar stands and hangers have padding that outgasses and reacts with the RIC CV finish. Covering these with cotton or other cloth will not prevent finish damage. Be sure to use quality hangers that have feen tested and are known not to react with urethane finishes.

[jingle_jangle]

I've had much of my Rick, Gretsch, and surf guitar collection, along with some of my amps, on display in my special-built room in my basement, for about 20 months now, with no ill-effects. The room is built into the hillside, with concrete floor and three frame walls and one concrete retaining wall. The temperature, year-round, runs between 60 and 65 F, and humidity is constant at 50%. Good sealing and no windows mean little dust.

Theoretically, the most delicate of my guitars are the spruce-topped archtops (especially the Jazz-Bo), but they stay in tune and there are no corrosion or finish deterioration issues, not even of strings, so I think this storage/display convention will be well-suited to long-term application.

Narrow (mild) temp range + consistent near-ideal humidification + dim light or darkness = good conditions.

To my way of thinking, the worst possible storage for any instrument made of wood (including amplifiers and vintage keyboards) would be an uncontrolled basement or garage in an area that sees temperature extremes between summer and winter.

[jingle_jangle]

One word about wall hangars - many of them will transfer rubbery gunk and/or stain some finishes at the contact areas. To prevent this, I bought two pairs of cotton gloves and cut the fingers off of them. These fit snugly over the bracket arms and effectively prevent finish problems.

Keep in mind that some guitar stands and hangers have padding that outgasses and reacts with the RIC CV finish. Covering these with cotton or other cloth will not prevent finish damage. Be sure to use quality hangers that have feen tested and are known not to react with urethane finishes.

In situations where outgassing is feared, the fingers cut from some polyethylene disposable gloves are much more effective that cotton fingers when placed over the hangar padding where it contacts the neck/headstock area.

[FretlessOnly]

Good points. I've read about some stands that off-gas and can damage nitrocellulose finishes (even included as a disclaimer in the ad), but no mention of damage to CV. My understanding is that it is certain types of foam padding that cause this.

In any case, the brand I bought has hard rubber "padding" and "O rings" which left a noticeable rubbery residue on the finish of some of my basses. Being paranoid (justifiably so), I checked structural and contact issues for several days after installing and haging the guitars. The rubbery residue came right off with a spit shine after I noticed it on day 2, but perhaps some polyethylene fingers under the cotton fingers is in order, just to be on the safe side.

[FretlessOnly]

Good points. I've read about some stands that off-gas and can damage nitrocellulose finishes (even included as a disclaimer in the ad), but no mention of damage to CV. My understanding is that it is certain types of foam padding that cause this.

In any case, the brand I bought has hard rubber "padding" and "O rings" which left a noticeable rubbery residue on the finish of some of my basses. Being paranoid (justifiably so), I checked structural and contact issues for several days after installing and hanging the guitars. The rubbery residue came right off with a spit shine after I noticed it on day 2, but perhaps some polyethylene fingers under the cotton fingers is in order, just to be on the safe side.