Storing guitars with loosened strings?

[DeArmond Hammer]

From what I gather, string tension is the force that ages guitars. Trying to preserve my guitars' neck angles, I have started loosening a guitar's strings if I don't know when I'll play it again. I don't fully loosen the strings, so that a floating bridge would fall off, but I tune them down a couple notes.

Does anyone else do this? I don't recall seeing downtuning recommended, so I wonder if there are negative consequences I don't know about. I don't know much about guitar construction so I don't know if I'm somehow harming the truss rod or neck by relaxing the string tension.

 

[Rocky]

It's not so much that string tension ages a guitar. It's that if something happens to the guitar - brace lets go, etc. and you are unaware of it happening, the tension can cause considerable additional damage over time that you are unaware of because you're not checking on it regularly.

 

[walrus]

I have heard this, too, but have never done it. It's not a an issue for me, since I only have 2 guitars now. I know when I'll play them next - very soon!

walrus

 

[GAD]

Depends on the guitar. Acoustics yes, electrics no.

 

[BradHK]

Depends on the guitar. Acoustics yes, electrics no.

Thoughts on hollow-body electrics vs semi-hollow or solid?

 

[Canard]

Off on a tangent ... my favourite luthier told me that I should loosen the strings on my guitars when travelling. A guitar under tension does a lot of damage to itself when hit with the impact of external forces. The salvage pieces tend to be bigger and less splintered when a guitar is damaged with no tension from the strings.

She also said that if I am stupid enough (she was more polite) to lean a guitar up against a wall, I should lean it facing the wall. Damage incurred in this orientation tends to be more repairable.

Another luthier said that guitars put into long-term storage should have the strings loosened. His rationale was that under tension all guitars drift slowly towards sharp intonation and neck reset. If you are not using a guitar for 10 years, why not forestall the inevitable by taking the tension off?

 

[The Guilds of Grot]

I try to store everything tuned down to "D". This way when you pull it out of the case you can still play a tune. There are a few things still in "photo" tuning.

 

[Westerly Wood]

I think if it's light gauges we are dealing with here, loosening the strings while storing the guitar is not super relevant.
If mediums, well, yes. I might tune down a 1/2 step.

Of course, flying with your acoustic is a different story

 

[F312]

For a dozen years now I prefer tuning to D, so, I think it's good for me and my guitars.

 

[GAD]

Thoughts on hollow-body electrics vs semi-hollow or solid?

Good point, and yes I tend to detune the hollowbodies - especially the thinlines.

I don't have any science to back anything up - it just feels like the right thing to do.

 

[GGJaguar]

Yup, all guitars detuned 1 or 2 steps. Basses, too.

 

[Guildedagain]

Guy sends me a killer gorgeous vintage slimline hollow body electric with Bigsby, loosens the strings, the sharp saddles Hagstrom bridge came off, duh... floated around inside the case all the way here, scratches, chips all over the top.

DO NOT SEND/or receive Bigsby equipped guitars out with excessively loose strings or if you feel you must, remove the bridge or ask your sender to, it will save you a lot of agony, and dealing with a po'd seller who "doesn't need help with shipping".