Okay, hands up if you’ve ever opened a guitar case after a few months in a garage or attic and felt your heart sink. Yeah, me too. That faint smell of mildew, the weird sticky feeling on the strings, the suspicion that the neck isn’t quite straight anymore… it’s the worst.
Maybe you’re moving, downsizing, your band just broke up, or your family has officially declared your “music room” is now a nursery. Life happens. And suddenly, you’re faced with boxing up a chunk of your soul—or at least, a very expensive and fragile hobby.
Storing instruments isn’t like storing old jeans or books. Those things don’t get emotionally wrecking-ball sadness if they warp. Your gear does. So let’s talk turkey, from one music person to another.
First, the big enemy: It’s not dust
Think about your own comfort. You’re miserable in a damp, freezing, or sweltering room, right? Your guitar feels the same way. Wood breathes. It expands with humidity and contracts when it’s dry. Do that dance too many times and crack—you’ve got a costly repair bill.
I learned this after storing a beautiful vintage acoustic in my parents’ non-climate-controlled shed for a summer. The top cracked. My dad said, “It’s just wood, son.” I almost cried. It wasn’t “just wood.”
So, rule #1: If you care about it, it needs climate control. Period. This isn’t an upsell; it’s a funeral prevention strategy. A steady, moderate, dehumidified environment is the difference between your Les Paul being ready to rock in six months and it needing a neck reset.
Let’s get specific, because your sax is not your drum set
- For Guitars & Basses (my world): Loosen the strings. Not all the way to spaghetti, just a full turn or two on the tuning pegs to take the massive tension off the neck. Wipe it down with a clean cloth—get your fingerprints off. For the love of all that is holy, use a HARD case. That gig bag is for taking the subway to a jam, not for a six-month snooze. If you have a bolt-on neck, some folks say to detach it. I never have, but I’m also paranoid about losing screws.
- For Woodwinds & Brass (my sax-player friend’s wisdom): “CLEAN IT, YOU ANIMAL.” His words, not mine. Any moisture left inside is going to turn into a science experiment. Swab it out. For brass, pull the slides, empty the spit valves, and give it a chance to air out before casing it. A dry instrument is a happy instrument. Stick a small silica gel packet (the “do not eat” kind) in the case to fight moisture. It’s a cheap trick that works.
- For Drums: You can loosen the drum heads a bit to prevent them from stretching or going dead, but honestly, my drummer just makes sure his nice kits are in cases and the hardware is in a box. His real tip? “Take your cymbals off the stands and put them in cymbal bags. Don’t let them rattle around or sit on concrete.” Stands get folded up and bundled with Velcro straps. Chaos managed.
- For Pianos/Keyboards: This is big-league stuff. For an actual acoustic piano, you might want a pro to look at it before storage. For keyboards, REMOVE THE BATTERIES. I can’t stress this enough. Battery leakage is a corrosive nightmare. Pack the pedal and power supply in the same box.
Packing the Locker: Think Tetris, Not Dumpster
When you get to your storage unit—and I mean a proper, clean, climate-controlled one like the ones we offer at Plaza Mini Storage—don’t just chuck stuff in. You’ll hate yourself later.
- Get it off the floor. Even in a great unit, a concrete floor is the coldest spot. Use a wooden pallet, some shelves, or even just a layer of cardboard. Elevate your gear.
- Give it a little breathing room. Don’t shove cases right up against the wall. Let the air from the climate control system do its job around them.
- Heavy stuff low, light stuff high. Amps and speaker cabs on the bottom. Your flute case can go on a shelf. Make sure the shelves are sturdy—nothing worse than the sound of a cymbal bag hitting the ground from three feet up.
- Make a “might need” zone. Put the stuff you think you might want to grab (like a practice amp or your main guitar) last, so it’s right by the door. Everything else (that third snare drum, the spare PA speakers) can go in the back.
Lastly, the boring adult stuff: paperwork and insurance
Take pictures of your gear before you store it. Serial numbers, any existing dings, the whole deal. Check your insurance policy. Sometimes homeowner’s insurance has limits for stored items, especially high-value ones. A quick call can save you a world of hurt.
Look, we started this because we needed a place for our own stuff.
That’s the truth. We got tired of seeing people ruin perfectly good instruments because they had no good options at home. So we made a space that works. Our units are secure, yes, but more importantly, they’re stable. It’s the kind of place where you can tuck your Stratocaster away for the winter and know it’ll come out singing in the spring, not sighing.
Because that’s the goal, right? You’re not putting this stuff away forever. You’re just hitting pause. And when you hit play again, everything should sound just as good as the day you left it.
Now go pack up. And maybe play one more song before you zip up the case.
0 Comments