I don't know if this is possible, but I'll ask this anyway

C

carsoste

New member
Hi:
This is a bit of an odd question and I don't need an immediate answer.
My family has a cottage that's out in the wilderness in Southern Ontario in Canada that I go to every summer and every time I go there I take an acoustic guitar with me. Since, I now have about six acoustics and don't want to have to keep traveling with one each trip I take there, I was wondering if it would be at all possible to leave one there so that the next time I return I'll have a guitar waiting for me. Now, I should say that the cottage is not winterized, has no central heating, and it gets very cold in winter. So, the only acoustic that I would leave there is an old one that plays competently, but that is inexpensive and that I'm not very attached to. Furthermore, I should also say that the guitar would be housed in a closet indoors inside my cottage. If I were to leave that guitar behind this summer do you think it would be damaged during the following Fall and Winter?
If somebody out there could offer some answers to my question I would appreciate it.
Thanks,
carsoste
 
Wrap it in a blanket and it should be playable. I see Ontario has just had a big storm. Welcome to my winter.
 
Keep it in a decent case and you're good. Do you have a cellar there that is reasonably dry or if not for good measure keep it in the room with the least direct sunlight when you are not there. Guitars can cope quite well with extremes but definitely don't like quick changes in extremes. Just remember that the real enemy is excessive moisture.
 
With no heat and lots of cold in the winter, its going to get dry as hell, then if you come along during a humid summer day, the guitar is going to do some changing after coming out of the case.
Also, consider your strings will be 12 months dead/old since the last time you played the guitar. If its an old shitkicker that you are just going to use to 'sing around the campfire', maybe none of that makes a difference.
 
I would absolutely tune the strings slack while you're away. Having the guitar wrapped in a blanket is a good idea. Inside a case that was wrapped itself is another good idea. If the closet doesn't use an outside wall, you might be better off than you'd first imagine.
 
ranjam said:
I would absolutely tune the strings slack while you're away.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't. String tension counteracts truss rod tension. Unless you also want to slack off the truss rod there's a good chance the neck could warp, back bow or develop a rollercoaster shape that's going to be hard to correct. Temperature and humidity changes will make things move around a little but leaving it with no string tension for a long time will give you more issues to deal with.

The blanket idea sounds like a good one.
 
Hi everybody:
Thanks so much for the suggestions that you've given me. I'll definitely keep them in mind this summer.
carsoste
 
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