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A friend of mine has one of her late father's guitars and wants to have it hung in his honor. What would be the best way to hang the guitar without damaging it?

Around her neck, strung, strummed and plucked. It's an instrument for christ's sake. She should play the thing if she cares so much about honoring him.

*grumpy*

I couldn't agree more with JB! Take a lesson and strum it time to time to let the spirits free.
Always hang it by the head. After typing this, it sounds horrible. So let's just say, if you don't keep it in a case and you want to display it, two soft posts at the narrow points at the bottom of the guitar head is best, for example. Never sideways on the wall, they warp horribly.

From a tree branch with a noose if her dad was Eric Clapton.

Apparently, Eric Clapton is Denyer's Dad.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ ... sku=450241

I've got 12 of them in my room right now.

She would play it but she has carpal tunnel syndrome from work in medical transcription. She would play it but she just literally can't.

I would get one of those hangy things that Sober owns a hundred of and pull the hook part off the block of wood. Take the hook to a local woodcrafting artist and you can get something custom made which would be appropriate to the father. Some kind of carving/engraving/burning design, maybe. Dig up a photograph of him sitting in his favorite rocking chair, plucking away at that guitar, and get that etched into the plaque; maybe his name and dates underneath. Folks that actually knew him would have better ideas than I.

Depending on the guitar you might consider a hanger plaque that matches the wood of the guitar. There are a bunch of luthiery supply places online that could help here. You wouldn't need much (barely more than scrap) and you wouldn't need bookmatching or anything. Finishing it might be harder but there are a lot of custom guitar shops that could do that for you.

Finally, if the guitar's value is primarily sentimental and it's not going to get played then you don't necessarily have to be too concerned about keeping it in perfect shape. Mount it sideways over a fireplace if it looks nice and makes your friend happy. (You should warn her that this is not the best way to make it last a long time, though.) Keep it strung, because it will look funny if you don't.

bzl wrote:Take the hook to a local woodcrafting artist and you can get something custom made which would be appropriate to the father. Some kind of carving/engraving/burning design, maybe. Dig up a photograph of him sitting in his favorite rocking chair, plucking away at that guitar, and get that etched into the plaque; maybe his name and dates underneath. Folks that actually knew him would have better ideas than I.

Hmmm, I like the sound of this.

bzl wrote:Keep it strung, because it will look funny if you don't.

Do this, but also tune it way way down. Full-tune tension is a lot of force on a guitar's neck, and it can show if the guitar is stored/hung for several years.

Many people also modify those fancy glass gun cases to hold a guitar. That way you also have a lock on it. One of my roommates has an old Alvarez in a case, with a light in it he turns on when we have parties. Pretty cool, just don't keep a light on it for long periods of time.

If the guitar has any sentimental or especially monetary value, I would recommend it be in something like this. I'm not endorsing this particular brand, although if cost is a concern this might be the cheapest I've ever seen. Perhaps for a reason. Plenty of room for photo's and other items of importance though. There are plenty of other examples out there in various price ranges if you just Google "Guitar display case".

Ooo, I like that too Dan-o. It's much easier to dust a Plexiglas case than between strings. Perfect, that's what I'd do if I never planed on strumming it.

You could probably pick up and easily modify a used guncase a hell of a lot cheaper. I'll post a pic of my buddy's case sometime soon.

I'm gonna display mine in an old phone booth.

no gear heads/snobs in this thread, no way..no sir.

Koaji has some cool stuff, but it's still basically a guncase with a stringswing hanger in it.

Dan-O from Five-O wrote:I would recommend it be in something like this.

I'll bet Dan-O keeps his kids in there sometimes, too. I might even venture to say he's got a few of them around, "just in case".

I also have a few of those wood string swings that Sober Irishman mentions, above. The "clip" part of it is adjustable, can be made wider or thinner depending on the guitar you're hanging. And with the 50-lb-test drywall screw sets provided, the guitars should be rather "well-hung" anywhere on your wall (aka, you don't need to find a stud to be well-hung...)

And I'd say, also keep the guitar strung and occasionally tuned so that it won't end up with issues related to lack of tension, etc. So that it would still play if someone could play it, and no cracks develop in the neck or around the bridge.

Niveous wrote:She has carpal tunnel syndrome from work in medical transcription.

Is this sad, or what?