Storing Guitars & Cases

harvey49 · Post by **harvey49** » Tue May 23, 2006 3:37 pm

My wife is wanting me to build a storage rack/cupboard for my guitars and cases, storing under the bed is becoming a no-no!

If I use a Rickenbacker case to describe my initial plans I'm wondering if it is better for the guitar to be stored in the case in a horizontal plane, which will mean building shelving to do this. Or, if they would be just as safe storing the cases vertically, beside one another in a racking type cupboard.

Another variation I've seen is similar to the vertical setting of the case. Instead of a the end of the case being set horizontal, the bottom of the guitar case is angled at about 20-30 degrees, which aesthetically is more appealing.

Any suggestions as to the best way to position a guitar for periods when they aren't played?

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Tue May 23, 2006 5:51 pm

Sure, Send them all to me, Ron. I'll take care of the storage problem.

Anytime you're in the States, you can visit them.

harvey49 · Post by **harvey49** » Tue May 23, 2006 6:17 pm

That's a good idea Paul, I'd love to come to America, does that mean if I'm a visitor I'd get to stay food and lodging free? How does a six month stint sound?

No I guess that won't work, I won't have a guitar to play for the other six months while I save up to visit you for the next bout.

But seriously though, if the guitar is in it's case is it better to have it in a particular orientation?

kcole4001 · Post by **kcole4001** » Wed May 24, 2006 4:59 am

I usually keep mine stored vertically if they're in their cases. I don't have enough room to keep them anywhere in the house laying horizontally.
Under a bed doesn't work for me at all. The 4080 case won't fit quite all the way & it's murder on the toes!

doctorwho · Post by **doctorwho** » Wed May 24, 2006 7:55 am

I store them both ways, and it doesn't seem to matter. I have at home a picture and diagram of a rack I built to fit behind a door that worked pretty well; I'll post them later.

alanz · Post by **alanz** » Wed May 24, 2006 8:24 am

I keep mine stored vertically in my music room.

A very well off acquaintance of mine stores his dozens of guitars (electric and acoustic) in their cases on racks that orient them vertically and at an angle of about 45 degrees from horizontal. Makes it relatively easy to grab the handles of the cases.

The rack is designed as a very long and wide shelf (with the 45 degree tilt), wide enough to accommodate the length of a full scale bass case and probably 15 feet (4 or 5 m) long. The shelf is covered with carpet to protect the cases from scuffing.

randyz · Post by **randyz** » Wed May 24, 2006 8:37 am

I've always stored my guitars in the their cases, standing upright, with the headstock on top. This takes up the least room (a consideration when over thirty-five are involved) and it makes them easily accessible. It's easy to pull a case out of a row along a wall. Much easier than fishing around in a closet, pulling them out of a horizontal stack or out from under a bed. Some day I plan to get engraved ID tags made for each case handle to tell me what's inside. That can be a problem with so many similar cases.

cmuk · Post by **cmuk** » Wed May 24, 2006 8:53 am

Randy, you could take a photo of each guitar and put it next to the handle on the outside of the case. An easy way to identify the contents!

I know some girls do this with shoe boxes, although clearly I'm neither suggesting you are a girl nor indeed have a large collection of footwear.

randyz · Post by **randyz** » Wed May 24, 2006 9:05 am

Clive: Who have you been talking to? I've never had any trouble with my wardrobe. A bunch of black t-shirts, cargo shorts, and sneakers. No trouble at all!

harvey49 · Post by **harvey49** » Wed May 24, 2006 12:41 pm

Thanks for the feedback, I didn't think it would be a problem, but some time back there was a thread posted about a similar thing. It related to having foam rubber supports for guitars people wanted to display. It apparently led to disastrous results.

So I've now learn't to ask the wise men,(and women), of the Forum for their opinion before making a final decision. Learning from others mistakes saves grief later on!

So thanks to all who replied and I'm looking forward to seeing the design you came up with Gary. Any other designs would be appreciated too!

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Wed May 24, 2006 12:46 pm

I'll bet Gary's rack is a really elegant solution, too...

Something in plywood and mag lev...

dswp · Post by **dswp** » Wed May 24, 2006 1:55 pm

I found that if I lay them flat, you sure can fit a lot of them under a stair case.

jsm610 · Post by **jsm610** » Wed May 24, 2006 3:53 pm

Just throw them in the kitchen.

harvey49 · Post by **harvey49** » Wed May 24, 2006 4:05 pm

John, I've just shown my wife your storage system, the response - "don't get any bright ideas boy or they're likely to get fried"

No sense of humour some of these women LOL

doctorwho · Post by **doctorwho** » Wed May 24, 2006 8:17 pm

Actually, my rack was very low-tech and not very expensive:

I can't locate my diagram yet, but the parts are (IIRC) simply four 1x12x96" and three 1x10(12?)x48" #2 common pine boards, some outdoor carpet and carpet tacks, and some wood screws (12 per shelf) to put it together. The wood was used as it came from Home Depot, no cutting required. As can be seen, this fit nicely behind the door and could hold up to eight guitars.