DIY Guitar Case Rack

dwillis45

Número sesenta nueve
I got tired of case clog, so I built a rack to house some of them.

The design is very basic but repeatable, expandable, and can be constructed to fit most shapes and sizes. I suppose you could stack them and even make them longer, but it might look like a library or a stretch Hummer limo.

The wood is all off the shelf from The Orange Virus (Home Depot) and the cuts are minimal. I have a compound miter saw but a hand saw would work just as well.

The design is based on two sheets of 2x4x3/4 cabinet grade plywood along with 3 pieces of 1x4x8ft finished grade pine. I also used a short piece of scrap 2x2 for extra support on the base. Total cost? I think it was around $80.

The thing is built like a tank and it even rolls. The older I get, the more I love wheels!
 

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The only tricky part is angling the 1x4's at the base and the top so that the cases lean slightly. I was forced to return to 10th grade geometry and I quickly discovered why I don't like math.
 

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The rack is OK...but, you do realize that the rack actually takes up more space than the cases did, and you could just lean the cases into the corner one next to the other, and just added something at the open end to hold the first case.

Are these just the empty cases or do they have guitars inside?
If they have guitars too, I can see the security of the rack...but if it's just for empty case, I'm not sure I would bother.
I got all my guitars hanging on the walls...and the cases...well, about 4-5 are under one bed, 6 in one closet, another 6 in a second closet...and there's a few more, somewhere...plus I have three on the studio floor, but they have guitars in them 'cuz I ran out of wall space to hand the guitars! :p
 
I like it! Looks nice and tidy.
Thinking maybe you could cut those side panels diagonally and get twice the value? Might look a bit less obtrusive too?
 
I like it! Looks nice and tidy.
Thinking maybe you could cut those side panels diagonally and get twice the value? Might look a bit less obtrusive too?

I thought about that but this is just lazy man's power tool fun. I wouldn't want to loose a finger in the process or get sawdust all over my garage studio. And I was trying to avoid the guitar-shaped sides that are used by the main case rack manufacturer:

The Studio™ Deluxe Guitar Case Rack Guitar Storage
 
The rack is OK...but, you do realize that the rack actually takes up more space than the cases did, and you could just lean the cases into the corner one next to the other, and just added something at the open end to hold the first case.

Are these just the empty cases or do they have guitars inside?
If they have guitars too, I can see the security of the rack...but if it's just for empty case, I'm not sure I would bother.
I got all my guitars hanging on the walls...and the cases...well, about 4-5 are under one bed, 6 in one closet, another 6 in a second closet...and there's a few more, somewhere...plus I have three on the studio floor, but they have guitars in them 'cuz I ran out of wall space to hand the guitars! :p

Everything I have basically stays in this case until it's played. I've never been much of a guitar display guy. Too much dust and too many opportunities for my granddaughter to crush herself under the weight of a National NRP. I suppose the downside is case rash. But I'm not too worried. I'll be dead by the time that happens. So it's up to my estate to sort out.

I did have the cases laying on tables in the studio, but things got a little crowded. Plus, in my paranoia I began to worry about unwanted reflections. And let's face it, sometimes working on the studio is more fun that working in it.
 
It's funny to me that on their website they say it's a "space saving" rack...but how does it do that?
The cases take up the same amount of space, plus the rack. :D


I think their business model relies on angry wives and dudes that stack their guitars in the living room. :D
 
Everything I have basically stays in this case until it's played. I've never been much of a guitar display guy.

Part of it is the nice display which is really a byproduct of my own wall-hanging intention...which was/is to maximize space use.
The guitars occupy the little used wall area when hung, and it makes for easy access to any guitar I need...plus it does look great.

In hanging them...the cases became irrelevant, and are only needed if/when I take a guitar out of the studio. So that allowed me to just stash the cases in out of the places, like I mentioned above.
See...when you have the guitars in the cases, you have to keep the cases out and all over the place, so then you end up needing a rack for them.

I don't have any concerns about a guitar falling off the wall. If you hang them high enough, little kids or pets aren't even able to touch them, never mind to lift them up and off the hangers.

What I'm now looking for is a foldable, but nice 3-5 guitar rack for the floor, and one that can be also taken to gigs (hence the foldable requirement).
I find that as I record, I'll often narrow it down to 3-4 guitars I'm going to use for a given bunch of tracks...and while they are easy to get at on the walls, I like the idea of having those three ready to go right there, by the amp I'm using.
Plus, when you first take them down, same as when you take them out of a case, they usually need a tuning check, and then you don't want to mess with them.
If I keep taking them down and hanging them back one at a time, that messes things up a bit...so then I end up with 3-4 guitars on your typical individual guitar stands all around the room.
So it just seemed to make sense to have a single 3-5 guitar rack in one spot...and I can then get rid of the multiple metal stands.

I really like this style from K&M Stands, but it's a pricey bugger...this is their 3+1 stand with room for one acoustic, but they have also 3 and 5 guitar stands that will take either type of guitar.

K&M 17534 Guardian 3+1 Multi-guitar Stand - Black with Translucent Supports | Sweetwater
 
I like the closet and drawers crowd. I guess somebody thinks it's a good idea to record in a closet. So why not keep your guitars there, too.
 

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Ah - now I get the angry wives bit - for all our married life, my 'junk' as she calls it has been relegated to my 'room', which when first married was the spare bedroom, and now in my studio, built at the rear of this house. I come home and find she has cleared up - which means everything she found laying around, is just put inside the door, right in the way, in a pile. She would absolutely think the storage rack for the storage items a good idea. Oddly, when she bought me a double bass for my birthday, this is allowed to stand in our living room - because it's made of wood and looks nice. Guitars, don't! I now have to carry the damn thing into the studio to use it, and then put it back in the house!!!
 
Ah - now I get the angry wives bit - for all our married life, my 'junk' as she calls it has been relegated to my 'room', which when first married was the spare bedroom, and now in my studio, built at the rear of this house. I come home and find she has cleared up - which means everything she found laying around, is just put inside the door, right in the way, in a pile. She would absolutely think the storage rack for the storage items a good idea. Oddly, when she bought me a double bass for my birthday, this is allowed to stand in our living room - because it's made of wood and looks nice. Guitars, don't! I now have to carry the damn thing into the studio to use it, and then put it back in the house!!!

I think you need more acoustic instruments made of wood. Especially, the expensive, vintage, finely-crafted ones that cost way too much money. You can store them neatly in your house near the bass. This will test your wife's patience and determine her limits. And, along the way, you can satisfy any outstanding guitar-related gear lust. :D
 
Now I'm getting on I'm getting worried that when I snuff it, my wife will sell my collection for what I told her I paid for them!

Last year my wife went on Reverb to buy me a "dream" guitar. She wanted to surprise me for my 60th birthday. She was shocked and said, " I had no idea guitars cost so much money." I told her they didn't really and that most of mine cost less than a thousand dollars. :D
 
I like the closet and drawers crowd. I guess somebody thinks it's a good idea to record in a closet. So why not keep your guitars there, too.

I couldn't hang my guitars in the closet. That's where my cases are. But I love the drawer idea!
 
I couldn't hang my guitars in the closet. That's where my cases are. But I love the drawer idea!

I'm waiting for the day when I have to fall back on Home Depot wire shelling for all my guitars. Hard to believe it would ever come to that, though. I seem to sell them all every ten years or so.
 

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I'm waiting for the day when I have to fall back on Home Depot wire shelling for all my guitars. Hard to believe it would ever come to that, though. I seem to sell them all every ten years or so.

I love how this guy has all the square polycarbonate cases on top, all the square tweeds on the side, and all the "real" cases on the left. Very organized indeed. I'm guessing he also has an alphabetized vinyl collection. :D
 
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