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Your Instrument
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Subject: your instrument From: GUEST,mike putt@work Date: 19 Feb 01 - 09:00 AM What do you do with your instrument when you are not using it, I have been toying with the idea of hanging my guitar and bodran on the wall as I am too lazy to put them in their cases and take them out again, playing is a spontaneous thing wiyh me, like I see the instrument pick it up and play, problem is I have a tidy wife and daughters who insist that my guitar cannot stay in the sitting room etc. so if I mount them on the wall they will be an ornament except when I am playing and I always know where to find them. What do you think |
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Subject: RE: you're instrument From: Uncle_DaveO Date: 19 Feb 01 - 09:18 AM No, I'm not. Dave Oesterreich |
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Subject: RE: you're instrument From: wysiwyg Date: 19 Feb 01 - 09:38 AM Mike, In our recent housefire, there was a tremendous amount of smoke damage, even though the flames were confined to a somewhat separate addition to the house we'd used for storage. I was very grateful that the smoke that had gotten into my kitchen cabinets and computer housings had not gotten inside our instruments. They were in their cases, and luckily right next to the frint door, where the firemen would have taken them out oif the fire had not been contained-- people know we are players in the community. But I do keep my second autoharp in a flip-top desk that I play it on, for many of the same reasons you note. Perhaps you might try putting something on the case that will attract your eye and heart to play, and find a place to keep it that everyone can agree upon. Or put something near your chair that reminds you that you are a musician... Does your family have any idea how important your music is to you, and what it costs you to yield to them in this matter? Do they not realize that you can add so much to family life when you can pick up your guitar and play for them, and for yourself? ~Susan |
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Subject: RE: you're instrument From: GUEST,Russ Date: 19 Feb 01 - 10:12 AM Our living room is a forest of music stands. Walk in, grab an instrument, flop into a comfy chair, and play. We know about all the potential problems with "exposed" instruments, but we've been doing it for years and haven't lost an instrument yet. |
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Subject: RE: you're instrument From: Jeri Date: 19 Feb 01 - 10:24 AM A stand would be a good idea, as would hanging up instruments. We have hooks (not originally intended for instruments) on the wall at our session. A couple of people have adapted the heads of their instruments so they can use the hooks. It seems to work very well. Now if I can invent a "cradle" for my fiddle with a big magnet on the back so I can slap it on the air duct, I'd be happy. |
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Subject: RE: you're instrument From: KingBrilliant Date: 19 Feb 01 - 10:32 AM I have a bracket on the wall from which I hang my main guitar - and it does make it much easier to just pick it up and play for the odd five minutes (that's how come I burn so many dinners). I have a backpacker guitar stuffed down the side of a bookcase within easy reach of the sofa in the front-room. Definitely its worth having things to hand so that they are easily picked up & put away. They look nice hung on the wall, and are tidily out of the way. That should please everyone, so go for it! Mark bought me a special wall bracket from the music shop, but you can probably make your own just as good. Kris |
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Subject: RE: you're instrument From: LR Mole Date: 19 Feb 01 - 10:37 AM Same problem. Does anyone have a list of goods and bads for all this?Colder rooms OK down to x degrees? For the luvva mike, not in the same room with the woodstove: too dry? I share a complaint with Mr Putt: it's like burgling the cases to get the blessed things out. And hooking up the electric always makes me feel like Mr Inept, besides leaving cable snaking and twining all over. ZZZT. |
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Subject: RE: you're instrument From: Rick Fielding Date: 19 Feb 01 - 11:17 AM Hi Mike. Every place I've lived for many years has had it's "instrument wall". No it isn't the best place for them, but the fun of picking a dulcimer or dobro or squeezebox off the wall for a quick run-through seems to outweigh the dangers for me. I've had very little in the way of temperature or dryness problems, but maybe I've been lucky. 'Course I do regular set-ups on everything as well, so that helps. Couldn't be without my "buddies" close at hand. Rick |
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Subject: RE: you're instrument From: campfire Date: 19 Feb 01 - 11:33 AM My "good" guitar stays in its case - too often, for the above reasons. My "camp" guitar is on a stand in the den, where I can grab and play when the mood strikes. The keyboard was also set up in the den, but I wasn't playing it anyway, so it's back in the case, too. Instruments can be arranged so they look like they "belong" there, instead of looking like they just got left there. Of course, I'm living alone right now, so I don't have to consider what anybody else thinks. campfire |
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Subject: RE: you're instrument From: Amergin Date: 19 Feb 01 - 12:14 PM I put my instrument back in my pants when I'm done with it.... |
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Subject: RE: you're instrument From: Uncle_DaveO Date: 19 Feb 01 - 12:17 PM My good banjo and my guitar reside in the living room, on instrument stands. If my Beautiful Wife ever commanded their removal from the living room, in the name of equity I'd insist that she remove her grand piano, too! Uno problemo, though: I may be standing there playing the banjo, and along the B.W. comes and tells me to go elsewhere, because she needs to practice. I can't use that witty rejoinder in that case, can I? So I tuck my tail between my legs and move to the kitchen or office. Dave Oesterreich |
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Subject: RE: you're instrument From: Bill D Date: 19 Feb 01 - 12:56 PM *smiling at Dave O's first response*...I'm not either |
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Subject: My instrument From: Clinton Hammond Date: 19 Feb 01 - 01:00 PM Ummm... my gig instruments go back into the cases with humidifiers and such for safe keeping...
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Subject: RE: you're instrument From: mousethief Date: 19 Feb 01 - 01:01 PM Sits on its stand in my bedroom. |
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Subject: RE: you're instrument From: Morticia Date: 19 Feb 01 - 01:02 PM If you are hanging your bodrhan on the wall, it's a good idea not to hang it over a radiator.....our stuff gets left out so it can be picked up at anytime.....'course, I suspect they all watch t.v ,tease the cats and raid the fridge when we're not home but, hey, they live here too. |
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Subject: RE: you're instrument From: Amos Date: 19 Feb 01 - 01:49 PM Both my Martins and my 12 string hang on the wall. I had a carpenter friend craft the hangers so they look folky andf appropriate -- the commercial ones I could find were rubber-covered rod Y-brackets. Yewgly. ANd mikeputt, it's "YOUR", the possessive. To say "you're instrument" is to twist a whole new meaning out of the word 'instrument'. I guess in a sense we are all 'instrument'. but I am sure that isn't what you meant. A |
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Subject: RE: you're instrument From: Jeri Date: 19 Feb 01 - 01:58 PM Well, he knew it was there, because he fixed the first message title and probably thought it would fix the thread. I could do something about it, but it would drive Joe Offer nuts. I never even answered the question the first time I posted. I'm single and a slob, so I never put anything away if there's a chance I'll want it in the next couple of years. The fiddle is lying on some books in front of me. Pennywhistles are on the coffee table with the dulcimer, banjo's in the corner... |
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Subject: RE: you're instrument From: jeepman (inactive) Date: 19 Feb 01 - 02:21 PM In CF Martins, "Care and Feeding", booklet which comes with each new Martin, they don't object to hanging a Martin, just not on an outside wall. (Temperature and humidity changes). Jeepman |
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Subject: RE: you're instrument From: Matt_R Date: 19 Feb 01 - 02:22 PM When I'm not playing them? What is this strange thing you speak of? |
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Subject: you're instrument - no I'm not!! From: Bernard Date: 19 Feb 01 - 02:28 PM They stay in their cases when I'm not on a gig - and, as I'm not doing many gigs these days, that's most of the time... |
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Subject: RE: you're instrument From: Lonesome EJ Date: 19 Feb 01 - 02:39 PM Just put my 2 guitars on the wall. They look nice next to VanGogh's Starry Night. I goyt the yewgly rubber-covered y-brackets Amos was dissing. When you hang the guitars, you can't see them. |
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Subject: RE: you're instrument From: pict Date: 19 Feb 01 - 03:15 PM I'd be afraid they'd fall off of the wall and get damaged.Stands are the best way to go if you don't want to keep them in their cases I've got 12 instruments all on stands at the moment. |
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Subject: RE: you're instrument From: Little Hawk Date: 19 Feb 01 - 03:30 PM I'm human. My guitars are instruments. I suggest hanging them on the wall or placing them neatly in guitar stands. Either way looks good and is handy. They are, of course, safest in the case and not hanging on an outside wall. Everyone's covered all of this above anyway, so that's just my 2 cents to add to the list... - LH |
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Subject: RE: your instrument From: Ruthie A Date: 19 Feb 01 - 03:32 PM My fiddle stays in its case - it's over 200 years old, and, even though it's in great condition, I still feel uneasy with it sitting in the fiddle stand. My silver flute lives on a stand in my room, even though I have to get the pads replaced every year due to the moisture buildup that ruins them. I just can't go for that long without playing! My wooden flute lives in its case too, as it disagrees with changes in temperature. My dad keeps his guitars on stands - thus the inability to walk from a to b in our household without doing odd dances to avoid oncoming Guilds and Taylors. Ruthie |
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Subject: RE: you're instrument From: Justa Picker Date: 19 Feb 01 - 03:40 PM I have several guitars. To try and give each one equal time, I play 1 exclusively for a week or two (unless I'm working on a recording project.) The one I'm currently playing sits on a floor stand readily accessible, and in a humidifed environment. The others remain in their cases, safe and tucked away from children and animals until as such time it is summoned. (Sorry but I can't handle dings and scratches that are totally avoidable and for this reason I only keep one out at a time and in a private room in a my house where the critters and rugrats have restricted and supervised access.) |
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Subject: RE: Your Instrument From: Gypsy Date: 19 Feb 01 - 05:43 PM Well, our living space is heated entirely by wood. Tell you anything? The hammer dulcimer is out, always, and is a very sturdy beast. The guitars, Mandolins, Octaves, live in their cases. Too fragile for such a dry heat. The bodhran lives high on a cool wall in the kitchen. The dumbek/aka turkish firehydrant, really needs a case. Have split the head once already, and not looking forward to having to redo it again any time soon. All cased beings live in a school by the piano (who has no case) |
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Subject: RE: Your Instrument From: catspaw49 Date: 19 Feb 01 - 05:53 PM I just take mine out for the usual things and the occasional shower. Spaw |
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Subject: RE: Your Instrument From: Davie K Date: 19 Feb 01 - 05:55 PM Cupboards, cases, wall hangers. Too many instruments and too few walls. Use the rubber covered things which seem fine. Keep two guitars in the room I use to practice in, rotate them between various guitars. |
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Subject: RE: Your Instrument From: GUEST,CraigS Date: 19 Feb 01 - 10:22 PM I think it depends on where you live and how you keep warm in winter. Here in England I've only seen two guitars that have been split by climatic change in over thirty years of looking at the damn things. On the other hand, I've seen so many US guitars with climatic damage from split tops to surface checking (almost unknown over here) that it's no wonder the best repairmen are all Americans (so there IS something to be said for all that rain). |
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Subject: RE: Your Instrument From: Rich(bodhránai gan ciall) Date: 19 Feb 01 - 10:23 PM I like Matt R's answer. Rich |
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Subject: RE: Your Instrument From: DonMeixner Date: 19 Feb 01 - 10:38 PM Wall hanging? Stands? I thot thats why God give us chairs. for guitars and banjos and Autoharps. |
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Subject: RE: Your Instrument From: Les from Hull Date: 20 Feb 01 - 06:37 AM My fretted instruments are on stands in the living room. They need to be handy. On a slight thread creep, I have a useful gadget, marketed in the UK as a 'Pub Prop', that allows you to convert a pub table into a safe holder for a guitar or similar. It's certainly useful for pub sessions. Les |
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Subject: RE: Your Instrument From: Ella who is Sooze Date: 20 Feb 01 - 07:00 AM Les... where did you get your pub prop from> Some friends of mine are after one. Also, me and the rest of the people in our band have been looking for pint pot holders that attach to your microphone stand... Anyone seen them and back to the thread... mine live on a shelf, in a cupboard, in it's case, against a wall, on a stand and on another shelf.... I think my instruments will be forcing me to move soon, got to get more space. |
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Subject: RE: Your Instrument From: Naemanson Date: 20 Feb 01 - 07:43 AM I have a corner of my living room where my guitars sit waiting for me to pick them up. There is also a small bookshelf and a rocking chair. Everything one needs to be perfectly happy. Bit of thread creep. If the instrument is too delicate for humidity and temperature changes is it the right thing for playing traditional folk music? The old timers didn't play on delicate instuments. |
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Subject: RE: Your Instrument From: Les from Hull Date: 20 Feb 01 - 07:45 AM Ella - I bought mine mail order from the chap in Lancashire who makes them. I'll try and get his address but that might be a struggle. If anyone else knows it I'm sure they'll post it here. Les |
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Subject: RE: Your Instrument From: Les from Hull Date: 20 Feb 01 - 07:49 AM |
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Subject: RE: Your Instrument From: Les from Hull Date: 20 Feb 01 - 07:51 AM Well that didn't work so well. Try http://www.fyldefolk.freeserve.co.uk/fatf/pete/pads.htm |
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Subject: RE: Your Instrument From: RichM Date: 20 Feb 01 - 08:03 AM Jeri asked: "Now if I can invent a "cradle" for my fiddle with a big magnet on the back so I can slap it on the air duct, I'd be happy."
Is this air duct warm? cold? the temp change might not be good for your instrument. If temp is not a problem, then you COULD use a magnet from:
The problem with magnets is their rated strength is reached only by pulling at a right angle, ie, perpendicular to the attached duct. At any other angle the force is much less.
An alternative for you might be construction grade adhesive. This is sold at hardware stores, lumber yards etc. It comes in a tube suitable for use in a caulking gun- also available at the same places, for a couple of bucks.
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Subject: RE: Your Instrument From: kendall Date: 20 Feb 01 - 08:45 AM Back when I was married, I was not allowed to have my guitar either "taking up room" on the floor or furniture, and God forfend on the wall! When I bought my own house, the first thing I did after moving in was to drive 10 p nails into the wall and hang my two guitars and a banjo. Now the Taylor rests comfortably across the arms of an otherwise empty arm chair. The 12 string and the banjo lie about wherever they land. My house is not a shrine, I bought it to live in, and having instruments handy is part of living. This place has hot air heat, so, I bought a big humidifier. |
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Subject: RE: Your Instrument From: RichM Date: 20 Feb 01 - 09:03 AM Like Kendall and some other respondents here, I like to hang a couple of my guitars on the wall. One is next to the computer as I sit here. The computer chair is comfortable, and its handy to read my songs,tunes or tabs from the computer as I practice-or as the muse inspires me. I have a couple of instrument cases hanging around the living room, and a music stand and a shelf full of music books. There are also a couple of pennywhistles in my pencil stand next to the monitor. My wife doesn't mind : she keeps her upright bass on the landing of the stairs to the second floor, casually leaning into the corner and ready for playing at any time. Rich |
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Subject: RE: Your Instrument From: Mooh Date: 20 Feb 01 - 11:11 AM Mine hang on the wall where I can can reach them quickly, easily, and conveniently. They're up pretty high though, so a chair can sit below them, and they're equiped with soundhole mounted humidifiers. (I also hang my damp laundry nearby to help humidify the room.) I make my own hangers. I also have a home-made instrument tree which will hold two guitars and a mandolin, but I never use it at home anymore because of the dog. I figure I play more if they're accessible. Mooh. |
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Subject: RE: Your Instrument From: RichM Date: 20 Feb 01 - 11:20 AM I prefer wall hangers. And like Mooh, I hang 'em high so chairs and visiting smallkids won't bump 'em. I have several floor stands, that I use only on gigs. With several cats around, I would get nervous about leaving guitars on stands at home--what with the daily high speed chases that my felines do. |
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Subject: RE: Your Instrument From: Mr Red Date: 20 Feb 01 - 11:59 AM I am a bodhran player and never practice. Consequently can never remember whether I left it in the cold damp car or in the Red closet (no it is wood colour but the contents are of one persuasion) or in the kitchen or ......... damn..... where is it this time? I'm glad this isn't about musical instruments per se. |
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Subject: RE: Your Instrument From: Dave Wynn Date: 20 Feb 01 - 12:01 PM I am the most untidy person you can imagine but I break with this tradition with my instruments. My Guitar and Melodeons go into cases (after a decidedly obsessive / compulsive wipedown with a soft cloth). They are the only thing I am tidy and obsessive about. Dogs sure are strange critturs. Spot |
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Subject: RE: Your Instrument From: Grab Date: 20 Feb 01 - 01:46 PM Got an "instrument corner" in the sitting room containing the 3 guitars and violin. Walls on 2 sides, and a sofa and table on the 3rd side, so they're not in the way and they're not going to fall over. And I never buy anything that's so precious it can't stand a bit of use - an instrument's for using, not for locking away in a cupboard, and if it's locked away then you'll rarely play it which defeats the whole point of having it. Although in the UK, nearly all houses have central heating, so sudden changes in temperature aren't a big deal. Is this rare in the US? Do some ppl still have a fireplace in every room to heat the house? Grab. |
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