Sometimes you just want to display your guitar on the wall. It looks so much cooler. But is it safe for a guitar? A lot of guitar players are not sure about this.
Are guitar wall hangers safe?
Yes, they are. They are safe for your guitar, and for your guitar’s neck. If they were not safe for a guitar, they wouldn’t use these in guitar centers. Of course, they have to be mounted on the wall properly.
However, if you’re planning to leave your guitar for a longer period of time, the best place to put it is the case. That’s due to various environmental conditions.
Are Wall Hangers Bad For Guitars? Will My Guitar Be OK?
Your guitar will be perfectly fine when it’s hanged on the wall.
How do we know it? It’s simple.
What’s the reason of one’s concern about hanging a guitar on the wall? It just looks uncomfortable to see a guitar hanging. I know, sometimes we humans are irrational beings.
I remember myself back in the day when I thought that hanging the guitar will damage the neck, due to the guitar’s weight.
Now I know that’s silly. Physics proved me wrong. And if you have similar concerns now, let me prove you wrong.
What’s an average weight of an electric guitar? It ranges from 6 to 12 pounds (3 to 5 kg). It depends on the wood, type of body, electronics ect.
So what’s the force applied on a guitar neck by gravity when it hangs from the wall? It is 45-50 N (newtons) maximum. Usually it’s lower than that.
Now, for a comparison, let’s take string tension into account. Guitar strings are causing a tension to the guitar’s neck. Strings tension is much bigger and stronger for the neck than the weight is.
To put things in the perspective, you can calculate the tension of your guitar here. It is StringJoy String Tension calculator. As you can see, the average total tension of the strings is around 114 lbs. Converted to Newtons (N), it is around 1120 N. For a 12 string guitar, the force on the neck by tension is doubled.
Now compare 50 to 1120. Pretty small, isn’t it? If your guitar is OK (and it is) with that tension, it will be OK when it hangs, too.
Anyway, if you want to know more about how to calculate string tension, check out this scientific paper. Measuring String Tension by Rod Cross, University of Sidney, Australia provides a great in-depth analysis and explanation of the tension in string.
Wall Hangers – PROs And CONs
Now that we know wall hangers are perfectly fine for the guitar, let’s see PROs and CONs. Just like for everything in life, there are some positive and some negative sides.
The PROs of Having A Wall Hanger: Wall Hanger Vs. Floor Stand
Wall hangers are great when you have a space problem in your house. When your guitar hangs from a wall, it don’t occupy any space! I have a small room where I keep my instruments and play, record etc.
There’s a piano synth, one bed, big table for laptop, and so on. I could barely move in there at the time. When I mounted my guitar on a wall, the situation got a bit easier. I got rid of my guitar stand, and now I have a bit more space to move around.
Second, if you have kids or pets running around the house, it’s much safer to have your guitar hanged on the wall. You can only imagine how stressful is to have a guitar on a stand when there are little kids around. Or dogs.
Kids can accidentally throw a guitar off the stand. Pets are even more unreliable. Wall hanger can easily solve all of these potential problems.
Third positive thing about having a wall hanger is of aesthetic nature. Guitar, displayed on the wall, looks so much better and cooler. But, again, that depends on what do you like.
Last, but not the least, advantage of wall hanger is it constantly reminds you to play your guitar more. That can help when you’re a guitar beginner.
When you start to learn a guitar, one of the most important thing is to practice regularly. Having a guitar hanging on the wall can motivate you more to play it more often.
Should I Store My Guitar In Its Case?
Hard case is the best place for every guitar. If you plan to leave your guitar for some longer period of time, put it in a hard case.
Let’s say you’re going on a long trip without your guitar.
It is advisable to left it in a hard case, because of various environmental changes. Changes in temperatures and humidity are factors you have to watch for. Hard case will protect your guitar from sudden temperature and humidity changes.
Electric guitars have to be humidified from time to time. If you want to know more about humidifying your electric guitar, check out the article from this page about it in more details.
That’s especially important if you live in the areas with changing climate. Warm areas, dry areas, places near the coast, and so on.
Also, you’ll never know if the earthquake is going to occur when you’re not around. That’s why it is best to leave your guitar in a case. Just in case. (no pun intended)
How Do I Hang My Guitar On The Wall?
Placing the wall hanger on the wall is easy. If you’re not experienced with it, it is probably better to call for a professional assistance. However, the process of putting a wall hanger is not complicated.
Here’s the cool and short video showing how to properly mount a wall hanger to the wall.
As you can see, it is important to carefully choose the right place to put a wall hanger on. You don’t want to put it too low or too high.
What Is The Best Guitar Wall Hanger?
There are few high quality guitar hangers on the market. Hercules Guitar Wall Hanger is one of the most recognizable hangers for a guitar.
It has specially formulated foam that completely covers the yoke. That’s important, because low quality hangers can scratch neck finish over time. If you’re particularly concerned about it, you can just wrap it with microfiber cloth.
This hanger rotates automatically when you put guitar on it. That makes it suitable for every acoustic and electric guitars, as different guitars have different shapes and headstocks.
Spring loaded system of this wall hanger provides an extra security for a guitar. When the guitar is on the grip, the guitar’s weight pulls it down. That activates the locking mechanism that closes the arms.
That means that even if the earthquake happens, the guitar will not fall off the hanger. While earthquakes are usually unlikely to happen, the small accidental bumps can happen easily. Especially if you have kids that can accidentally bump the guitar. That’s what makes this wall hanger great.
Anyway, if you’re interested in more details about this wall hanger, check out the Amazon page of the product, above.
Final Thoughts On Wall Hangers
As you can see, having a guitar on a wall hanger is perfectly safe. However, it’s advisable to put your guitar in a hard case in certain situations. For example, if you’re plan not to use it for some longer period of time. Or if you’re going to the long trip.
As it’s been stated before, there are a lot of advantages of using a wall hanger. It saves space in the room. It brings you comfort of knowing that it won’t fall of the floor stand. It makes you more motivated to play your guitar more.
Anyway, if you found some valuable information you’ve been interested in, I’m more than happy.
Don’t forget to check out some other interesting articles I wrote on this site!
Cheers, and rock on!