The Guitar Gallery Forums - The Guitar Legacy of Matsumoku

Currently there are 14 guitars hanging in the studio, and two hanging in the stairway of the main house (Guild D4M and Vantage Entertainer..."the pretty ones" as my wife says). Most of the cases are in a HUGE wooden closet-thing that the previous owner of my house built, some are on top of the closet, and some are in attics (flight cases & rejects). Now my biggest hassle is guest cases when folks come over to jam or record.

My usual solution has been mentioned- under the bed(s). Keep the cases clean (dust & mildew & beer & puke smells are not kind to the beds' occupants) and nobody notices...until you marry someone with an Imelda Marcos shoe collection, and the cases get "booted" for boot storage. Ask me how I know.

je

_________________
...doing bad things to good Vantages since 1985...

1981 AV-320
1981 AV-320
1981 AV-325
1982 AV-320
1982 VS-695-12
1982 VSH-445
1983 AV-330
1995 VST 33 CE TBK

Just find yourself another bride with large feet. She will be able to wear the cases instead of shoes problem solved

So far, I see no solutions, but I do see a common thread emerging...an understanding wife!
You're extremely fortunate to have someone who indulges your passion for old Japanese wood and wire, eh?

There are lots of things you can do with the guitars: rack 'em, hang 'em, stack 'em...but I don't know if there is ever going to be a solution to the case storage problem. There's just so much ya can stuff under a bed..and then I have nightmares about the bed collapsing on my vintage Gibson

Right now, it looks like the only place left to toss these things is the garage--empty of course! But, we'll keep thinking about it, eh?

Meantime for those who use a closet to store their guitars, have a look at this:
http://www.theguitarhanger.com/
It's one of those head slapping, Why-didn't-I-think-of-this? inventions!

'Little pricey though for we who are afflicted with so many guitars!

_________________
"A little song, a little dance. A little seltzer down your pants." -Chuckles the Clown
Guitars: https://legend.barryeames.com
Music/Pix/Videos: https://getback.barryeames.com

1] 95% of my guitars have been with me longer than my wife has. She's also aware that buying & selling guitars & gear is pretty much what bought us a stunningly beautiful house in paradise.

2] I got at least 6-8 cases under each bed. Usually they were empty, but my '52, '56 Custom, '56 Special Les Pauls lived under beds for many years & never were trampled upon, despite the exuberant gymnastics above.


3] Beware of temp/humidity changes in garages making for a happy place for mildew to grow.

4] I like the guitar hangers, and will have to build a few for myself.

je

_________________
...doing bad things to good Vantages since 1985...

1981 AV-320
1981 AV-320
1981 AV-325
1982 AV-320
1982 VS-695-12
1982 VSH-445
1983 AV-330
1995 VST 33 CE TBK

Now yer just braggin'!
Kinda figured some of the mechanically inclined folk in here might want to make a home grown version! Thinking 'bout the same thing since I first saw it.

_________________
"A little song, a little dance. A little seltzer down your pants." -Chuckles the Clown
Guitars: https://legend.barryeames.com
Music/Pix/Videos: https://getback.barryeames.com

I do think that the garage is going to be your answer. If you either buy or build a cabinet, you can put a cheap de-humidifier in it to take care of the mold problem. You may be able to rig a up a rack to keep the cases from touching. If you have airspace between them you are less likely to have problems.

I do not have any original cases so my solution is to keep most of the guitars out on a few racks and keep the few non-original cases I have in a storage space. I have to raise a voice in defense of padded gig bags. If you have ever tried to cary a bass amp (strapped to a lugage carrier) and HSC on the subway, you will quickly convert to a padded gig bag that you can put on your back. With a bass you do have to watch the hight of doorways and the ends of some subway cars though. When I lived in Manhattan I used to bike to rehersal too. Try that with a HSC.

Thanks for the thoughts. There may be something in that--more work for me mostly!
Yeah, me too. When I was gigging there was no debate. You definitely don't want to be throwing instruments in and out of vehicles, rattling around with other equipment, in bad weather, and at the end of a long sweaty session, at night...in a padded bag! Yer just asking fer trouble now aren't you?

But these days? For what amounts to casual and recreational playing, I'm finding the gig bags are just great! Easy to handle, take up less space, weigh less, and most important, protect the guitar from damage (um, unless you sit on it or sumpthin'!). In fact, I just bought a new one for the Vantage X77 Avenger that got recently. It came with a very well used and tattered bag which was too flimsy to provide IMO adequate protection, especially when piled up in the herd...more of a dust bag really. I picked up a new really well made 10mm padded bag for $24.95 and I'm happy with it. It even has a separate padded neck cradle with a velcro tie down strap for extra shock protection.

_________________
"A little song, a little dance. A little seltzer down your pants." -Chuckles the Clown
Guitars: https://legend.barryeames.com
Music/Pix/Videos: https://getback.barryeames.com

All very true and as an extra, if you think that the OEM hard cases are bad, try flight cases; they're a true pain in the arse to cart around! (Which is why we have roadies, of course!! It's not advancing age, and a decrepit body; oh no...) The pay off with flight cases, though, is that they are darn near indestructable for all intents and purposes, and anyone who's gigged on tour with a favourite guitar knows the conniptions involved when your gear travels in a different vehicle....

Flight case? Hell, I can barely make it up and down the flippin' stairs with a guitar now without spillin' me drink!

_________________
"A little song, a little dance. A little seltzer down your pants." -Chuckles the Clown
Guitars: https://legend.barryeames.com
Music/Pix/Videos: https://getback.barryeames.com

Oh god - yes; that's the feeling...