I played classical and blues guitar for quite a number of years, and ended up selling the Fender Stratocaster that I owned. I still had my accoustic, but didn’t play it much until about 3 months ago when I started playing classical again. (Actually, I’m more into the Baroque than classical, strictly speaking.)
Anyway, I just got a Ibanez “Artcore” model, a hollowbody single-cutaway archtop, hoping to get back into my blues groove, and maybe even learn a little jazz. Ibanez may be a bit of a stepdown from Fender, but it does play beautifully, and I always did want an archtop. First observation is, I can still play after not having an electric for so many years! Second observation is, it’s a beautiful looking instrument, which brings me to a question: is it safe to leave out of the case, on its stand? I like the idea of having it out, because it’s aesthetically pleasing to look at, and having it out would be a further encouragement to practice.
What say the Doper guitarists? Of course I know it’d be safer in the case in the event of an earthquake or similar catastrophe, but barring that, is it really necessary to zip it up in the case when not using it?
Yes, it will be fine out on a stand*. I keep most of my guitars on stands or on wall hooks in my music room. You will see your strings losing that ‘new string sound’ a little sooner, but that’s not a big deal so long as you wipe down your strings with a soft rag (or chamois) after playing.
The minimal loss of string life will be more than offset by the facts that 1) you’ll be playing more 'cause it’s out and 2) archtops are beautiful guitars and look really cool as decorative pieces.
BTW - do not attempt to change the string gauge yourself on an archtop (or any floating bridge instrument) unless you know what you’re doing in terms of adjusting neck relief, saddle height and placement and such. Take it to a good shop.
You will be fine in changing the strings so long as you stay at the same gauge, however.
As long as humidity and temperature are within normal ranges.
Wow, thanks for the input. I never knew it was risky to change the guage of strings. I believe 010s are on there now, so I’ll probably just stick with those; however, I may take it back to have the bridge lowered.
Well, it’s not dangerous, really - it’s just that the odds are very good that it was setup for the particular gauge of string that’s currently on there.
Changing the gauge affects the balance of the variables (string gauge, action, neck relief, bridge length, etc.) that affect the feel of the guitar; changing one requires compensation somewhere else to maintain the same level of playability.
.10’s are pretty darn light for an archtop, in my opinion. I’d recommend at least .11’s simply to bring out the true tones of the guitar.
I leave my acoustic out all the time. Makes for easy access, and I’ve seen no ill effect (though the guitar was pretty beat to start with). I keep my electric guitars in their cases, but only because my wife yells at me if I leave them out.
I checked out a couple of the Ibanez models last time I was at the music store. I don’t think that’s much of a step down at all. I love the action and I think I really like the sound (it’s hard to tell when there’s four other people plugged in). Of course, I’ve never had anything but Peaveys, so take that with grain of salt.
I have an acoustic which has never been in a case because I don’t have a case for it. It’s about 25 years old now and has a few dings on it from being knocked over (and a few dings on it just from me using it and hitting the chair or something else with it), but other than that is fine.
I also personally believe that you can go up or down quite a bit in string gauge and not cause a problem. I also believe it’s safe to completely remove the strings once in a while to clean the guitar. The counter argument is that changing the tension on the neck can cause it to warp. I think if your neck is that fragile that over time it’s going to warp anyways. I have an acoustic, three electrics, and two bass guitars, and I have treated them all this way since day one, and they are all fine so far. I’ll put a little YMMV in here though, because I know some people will definately disagree with me.
One of my electrics is an ibanez. It’s a fairly old one (built in the early 70’s) that I picked up used, and I mean USED. There’s almost no finish left on it, and it just may qualify for the world’s ugliest guitar. I debated refinishing it at some point, but a friend of mine said definately don’t. It’s got “character”. Even though some folks don’t have that high of an opinion of ibanez, I personally think it’s my most playable guitar. I just love the neck on it. I wouldn’t trade it for a brand new fender (no offense to Stratocaster and the other fender fans on the board). Of course, I’ve played some other ibanez guitars that I thought were absolute crap. I’ve played some crap fenders in my time too. I think you have to judge each model individually, not go just by the name of the manufacturer.
If you really want a good blues sound, you’ll eventually want to learn how to play with those big thick .11’s (makes your fingers ache just thinking about it, doesn’t it?), and you’ll want to keep the action a bit high. That’s what that style of guitar was made for (IMHO). It may take you a while to work up to it, but you’ll eventually get to where you can bend .11’s. I personally use really light gauge strings with a very low action, but I don’t play blues.
Not true at all, but especially as regards archtops and floating bridge systems.
You should never jump more than .02 at a time regardless of the type of guitar, and with floating bridge systems ANY change will require adjustments; more adjustment is likely necessary on a cheaper model than a higher end one.
While you’re not necessarily gonna damage the guitar with a small change, it’s NOT good for the guitar and playability and/or intonation will most likely suffer to some degree. Large jumps in gauge CAN damage the guitar, and this has nothing to do with the quality of the construction.
Picker
Professional Guitarist and former Guitar Tech
One thing I have always done is set up my own guitars. When I was young it was out of necessity. I couldn’t afford to take the guitar into the shop. Later, I just got picky about how my guitars were set up and these days I wouldn’t dare let anyone else touch one of them. To me it just seems like if you play a guitar, you should know how to set it up. I tend to forget that most people don’t know what every little adjustment does on the guitar.
Anyway, one of my guitars does happen to have a floating bridge, and inspired by this thread, I did pull it out and played it a bit just a few minutes ago. I was looking down at the bridge, and remembering when I first got this guitar I spent a LOT of time fiddling with the bridge and everything else on the guitar to get it set up right. I think there’s a valid point to be made that if you don’t know how to set up a guitar, you probably should take it to a shop if you change the string gauge, or do anything else like change the action. There are some things that may not be all that obvious, like the fact that you have to consider the pickup height if you change the action, or else you can deaden the strings and ruin the sound of the guitar.
Another thing to keep in mind with a floating bridge is that the tension of the strings holds it in place. If you take off all the strings at once, the bridge lands on your foot. Take the strings off one by one, unless you know how to set it up and have some time to spare. I’ve heard of people using double stick tape to hold the bridge in place or just gluing the thing down. DON’T DO EITHER OF THESE!!! It’s designed to work exactly the way it was made. Don’t fiddle with it.
Regarding damage to the guitar, I’ve heard picker’s argument before, and I still don’t buy it. If you want to weigh our opinions, he’s a former professional guitar tech, and I am now and always have been just an ameteur hack guitar player. You’re probably not going to change my opinion on the subject though.
What *kind * of stand? If it’s one like this, then NO!! The rubber cushion contains chemicals which can wear into the finish wherever it contacts your guitar. I’ve seen where this has happened on old used guitars in shops. Fixing the finish is impossible once this occurs.
Further, even similar stands with (supposedly) harmless velveteen rubber like this are still not a good idea. If you look at the way the guitar sits on the stand, you can see that it’s actually putting a bit of pressure on the neck. You will meet plenty of people who will tell you that they have stored guitars on stands like these for years with no ill effects, but I don’t buy it. Archtops are especially finicky - they need to be treated with love. The change in playability caused by storing your axe on a stand like this may be subtle, but it will still be there.
I have a good friend who is a professional touring jazz musician (and makes quite a bit of money at it, too.) He plays a custom built Andersen archtop, and Steve Andersen personally reccommended something like this. The weight of the guitar is hanging by the neck, like on a wall peg, and the distribution keeps the pressure off the neck nicely. My buddy takes it with him and keeps it on stage - any time he’s not playing, his axe is hanging from this thing. Hanging the guitar by the neck on the wall works well, too. Just make sure you mount far enough out that the back of the guitar isn’t scraping the wall, or put a cushion on the wall to accomodate for this.
Personally, I use one of these - no weight on the neck whatsoever. It does put some stress on the body, though. The body should be able to take it, but not everyone likes the look of this.
Either one of the last two stands I linked to will actually be better for storing the guitar than keeping it in the case. (Assuming the temperature and humidity in the room are right, and no direct sunlight to bleach the finish.) Definitely keep it out - a good looking guitar beats the hell out of any other art you could decorate with.
Anecdotally, keep in mind security. Guitars are pricey, and easily hocked at used stores or pawn shops, and are the first thing that a burglar will go for, and if visible through a window will cause your house to be hit in preference to your neighbors houses. Nearly every guitar owner I know has also been a victim of guitar theft at one time.
Keep it out, just be careful of displaying it too prominently. Make sure it isn’t in line-of-sight to your windows, and tuck the guitars away if having a party or friends over.
As a very, very amateur guitarist, I’m going to throw my lot in with Picker. While removing all your strings once or twice probably isn’t going to damage your guitar, doing it frequently (I used to change my strings about once every two weeks) could. I’ve also heard that you shouldn’t keep it in the case, especially when it’s new, because the plastic components (? I can’t remember exactly what it was) release fumes that can eat into your paint. Or maybe it was the other way around. Either way, I recommend going for the .11s. Much thicker, fuller sound than the .10s.
And hey, who says Ibanez are lower end than Strats? I’ve heard really good things about Ibanez, particularly the ones that came out in the 80’s.
I missed this statement when rereading the thread earlier. What’s “normal” humidity? The East Coast in the summer time? I’m in southern California, about three miles inland. We do get some ocean moisture, but all in all it’s not a region of the country known for humidity. On the other hand, it’s not Nevada, either.
On second thoughts, neither do I. My old Telecaster, bought in the 1980s, will not stay in tune and has problems with the electronics. It was an offshore Fender, made in Japan, actually, and I think back then the offshore factories weren’t up to the American Fender standard. Since then I’ve had the chance once or twice to play a Japanese manufactured Fender and the quality has improved a great deal. At any rate, I paid about the same money for that Telecaster as I did for the Ibanez the other day, around five hundred.
Though perhaps too thin of body to deliver performance level volume unamplified, accoustically, the Ibanez is plenty loud for me to practice on; I can even continue to work on my classical stuff, which I always preferred to play on a steel string anyway. I’m a very basic guitarist in terms of effects; all I want from the amp is the natural sound of the instrument, so I don’t really have to use the amp at all, for practicing.
I think Picker and a few others are doing great with the advice, so I feel no need to chime in other than to say - Congrats and enjoy!!
Oh and one other thing - there is a rule of thumb: the heavier gauge the strings, the better the tone. If you want to bend, pick a gauge that works for you, then go up one more, just to get that much better tone and work on your technique.
I play with .11’s on my electrics, and am debating whether to head up to .12’s and I play Stevie Ray type of stuff. The heavier gauge gives me more tone and are easier to control…
