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up vote 11 down vote favorite

I like to leave my guitars out, otherwise I don't play them. I have a couple of wall hangings and stands all over the place too. Will hanging a guitar from the wall damage it at all? Warp the neck? etc.

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9  
A guitar that's left in its case and is in excellent shape is a far worse problem than a guitar that's played and loved, but is a little worse for wear because it's left out. You can always rotate which guitars are on the wall and which are in their cases in the closet. – neilfein Mar 5 '11 at 17:17
Electric or acoustic guitar? I've recently become aware that this makes a huge difference. "Acoustic guitar rooms" in guitar shops are often humidified. – neilfein Mar 29 '12 at 15:11

5 Answers

up vote 8 down vote accepted

I doubt it. Every single music store I have ever been in hangs instruments from the headstock. If it caused damage I don't think use of them would be so widespread.

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up vote 13 down vote

It won't warp the neck. The force of gravity on the neck is much less than the force asserted on the neck by those strings under tension.

I would still not advise long term storage of guitars by hanging them on the wall.

The safest place for your guitar is in its hard shell case.

While hanging on the wall your guitar is far more susceptible to changes in humidity and temperature. And these changes can definitely have an adverse effect on the wood your guitar is made from.

You can also experience finish issues with some nitrocellulose-based finishes when they're left in contact with rubber and foam, such as you might find covering the guitar hanger's hooks, for any period of time. It can discolour the finish and even rub it off the guitar with little effort.

And then there's the accident factor: a guitar hanging on the wall is far more likely to be bumped, banged, knocked, touched, dropped, sneezed on, puked over, drooled on, viewed by potential theives...you get the idea. It's just not wrapped in the layers of protective foam and plywood that a case provides.

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+1 for the issues with nitrocellulose finishes. I've hung my archtop on the wall for ten years, and over time it's gradually pushed the finish up from the neck/headstock joint, so that the finish has pooled a bit at the base of the headstock, and the top of the neck is a bit bare. I still leave the guitar hanging, though, for exactly the reason Neil mentions above: it's an incentive to play it. – Alex Basson Mar 6 '11 at 15:16
up vote 2 down vote

It won't except for the effect of weather. But no matter what you do, don't let it lay flat on a surface without supporting the neck.

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up vote 2 down vote

It'll do less damage than your kid running into the guitar on its floorstand and knocking it over, then falling on your precious instrument.

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I suspect this comment comes from personal experience? :P – Jasarien Sep 8 '11 at 15:37
up vote 1 down vote

I'm doing it for many years now, without any problem... except the kids issue mentioned before of course :-)

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