Moving From FL to NJ

Mickster

Mickster

Well-known member
We're moving from Fl to NJ in early January. The wife's sister in NJ had a stroke and...well....family comes first right? We're retired and have lived there before (20 years ago) so it's not that big a deal for us.

I'm going to be making custom shipping boxes for all my guitars. The guitars and cases will go in the boxes. Do I loossen the strings? How much? They'll be going from temps in the 70's and 80's to much lower temps....and the humidity will go from around 50% to much lower as well.

The 2 most valuable guitars will go with us in the car and on the Amtrak Auto train. The other 6 will ship in the truck.

How would you prepare them?

Mick
 
It would depend on the guitar. IF it's a Fender style, you shouldn't need to worry much. Let the guitar sit for a day inside the packing to let things come to temp. If it's a Gibson style, I would loosen the strings, and would brace the headstock to minimize chance of breakage. Maybe cut some styrofoam to match the angle in the case, and wrap some cloth to keep it off the finish. Nitro finishes are more prone to check from quick temp changes so again, let them sit for a day before unpacking. Like making BBQ, low and slow!

As for the humidity, I have a humidifier that sucks up about 2-3 gallons a day through the winter. Keeps things in the 40% range.

humidifier.jpg
 
HeyTalismanRich.......thanks for the advice. I had forgetten about the Gibson headstocks being weaker than the fender styles.

Mick
 
I would loosen the strings on all the shipped guitars.

Don't worry about humidity until you get to NJ and unpack. Then either dedicate a room for the guitars that you can keep humidified (45-55%) or humidify the whole place (whole house humidity should not be kept much above 40% in the winter as you can get moisture buildup on windows -and the sills - and walls leading to rot and mold issues in the long term), and use in-case humidifiers - I use the Daddario ones with a little sponge that slip between the strings PLUS soap carriers with holes drilled in them and larger sponges either in the headstock area or the cutaway area of the case. Need to use these during the whole heating season. I've watched the humidity in my studio room drop from the 50% range (since early summer) to 37% as of last night.
Even electric guitars need humidification (not not as much as acoustics) - I've noticed the fret ends feeling sharp on my Tele at its driest.
 
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