I'm a believer in keeping all my instruments in their hardshell cases when not in use. I might be a paranoid anal trooper but I think the hardshell case adds to the instrument's neck stability and consistency.
I'm a believer in keeping all my instruments in their hardshell cases when not in use. I might be a paranoid anal trooper but I think the hardshell case adds to the instrument's neck stability and consistency.
"I love the smell of my mandolin in the morning. The smell, you know ... that varnish smell. Smells like victory."
I like to use mine to play badminton.
Go Long, Mule
I keep mine hanging on the wall in the shower. This way gravity keeps the neck straight and the mist adds the humidity I need.I'm in one of those moods today.
I don't think it adds to the neck stability at all and I bet you don't either if you think about it. Let's say you took one of those cheap yardsticks that businesses give away, snap it in half and lay the two pieces stacked flat on top of your strings with your mando lying in the hard case. Could you still close the lid? The answer is almost certainly yes, though some cases may fit tight enough that you could only put one piece there before you started stressing it a bit. My point is that there is play; the lining is cushy, not rigid.
Having said that, I do prefer to have mine in the case when I am not playing it, but it is so it can't easily be damaged by someone accidentally knocking it over or knocking something else over onto it. Before I had a hard case, I kept the padded gig bag on the stand and always slipped it in to protect it.
"First you master your instrument, then you master the music, then you forget about all that ... and just play"
Charlie "Bird" Parker
actually, I keep mine in the fireplace. It is the safest palce. The fireplaces have been plugged up for years. I even wound christmas lights around my guitar for christmas, wish i had a picture.
Tom C, are you in NJ?
Go Long, Mule
When not in use, I have made the habbit of keeping ALL my instruments in a case.
Around this time last year I leaned a 1941 D18 against my bedroom wall.(I was just going to the store, back in 5) Well in that short time the wife and dog decided to play a game of fetch.
70 pound bull dog full speed into old martin. I felt sick.
If it makes you feel better then keep it in the case at all times. If its a beater type mandolin then leave it out but not a keeper.
07 KM 1000
i only put 'er in a kenel if we're going for a ride in the truck.
I keep my mando in its case when I am not playing it but the guitar, resonator and banjo hang out, The guitar and reso are pretty sturdy and really who cares if you break a banjo? They would probably sound better anyway!!
Always when I'm not playing them.
Heiden F-5 #110
GMC Terrain VIN 2GTEC13Z871107423
2007 Tempurpedic mattress
$1.35 in assorted change
Cases are for wimps.
I leave mine scattered around the house wherever I happen to be. #But then again, I've earned my moniker.
Dedicated Ovation player
Avid Bose user
I used to leave my guitar on a stand for easy access, but accidentally knocked it off, landing on the nut on a tile floor. The guitar now has a hairline crack all around the top of the neck. It still plays well, but I use very light strings now just in case. Now I leave my instruments in their cases.
Steve Davis
I should really be practicing instead of sitting in front of the computer.
Cases are are easier to stack, so I keep about half or two-thirds of them in their cases. But I usually have several out on stands to grab and play.
Jeff Rohrbough
"Listen louder, play softer"
Yes.Originally Posted by
Jason Anderson
"...while a great mandolin is a wonderful treat, I would venture to say that there is always more each of us can do with the tools we have available at hand. The biggest limiting factors belong to us not the instruments." Paul Glasse
Stumbling Towards Competence
In the winter I keep them all in their cases with humidifiers as needed. In summer the humidifiers come out.
I keep the cases with mandos inside scattered all around the house so there is always one close.
ALL CASES - ALL THE TIME. I HAVE A EARLY 80'S WASHBURN JETHRO BURNS THAT I,VE HAD FOR 10 YEARS AND NOT PUT A SCRATCH ON IT. ALSO A CAPEK A-5 ABOUT 4 YEARS, SAME THING. AND 15 YEAR OLD TAYLOR 810 GUITAR WITHOUT A MARK ON IT. ALL WELL TRAVELED AND WELL PLAYED. I RECENTLY BOUGHT A 120 YEAR OLD FIDDLE AT AN ESTATE SALE (APPRAISED FOR WAY MORE THAN I PAID) AND YOU KNOW I PAID MORE THE NEW HARDSHELL CASE THAN I PAID FOR THE FIDDLE. PLAY 'EM TIL YOUR FINGERS HURT BUT KEEP 'EM IN THE CASE AND THEY'LL LOOK GOOD YEARS
in my "case" ... it's less likely that the dogs (6 of 'em) will piss on it.
I keep all my instruments in their cases with humidifiers. There are two schools of thought here and it has been discussed many times before. I'll note that I haven't had any problems in several years with kids or adults stepping on instruments or them drying out and cracking from a lack of humidity. Either I've gotten real lucky or my system works for me. YMMV.
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
That might create a humidity issue.
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
I keep mine out. But no one is allowed in my house.
my friend bought banjo in saratoga springs and then we went over to frank wakefield's house. My friend was having trouble because of the lock latch on his new banjo case on his new banjo. frank walked over with a hammer and without saying anything ripped the lock out. A great philosophy to live by. He then picked his mandolin up off of the range top on his stove and we played some. just a funny story. i have had a crack in my mandolin and i now have one on my guitar so a case or some humidifying device might be smart but instruments, like rules, are made to be broken there are too many around anyhow.
Go Long, Mule
I hang them on the wall and run lots of humidifiers. If they're out I play more. Plus if I'm not playing I get to look at them... hot-cha!
Jamie
There are two things to aim at in life: first, to get what you want; and, after that, to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second. Logan Pearsall Smith, 1865 - 1946
+ Give Blood, Save a Life +
I keep one within reach next to my bed, one next to the computer, and one in the workshop. The rest are in their cases, but I try to rotate 'em so that they don't feel lonely or left out.
The Mix stays in the workshop because that part of the house isn't connected to the central heat and a/c. The coldest night so far this winter, just a little below freezing outside, dropped the temp in the shop only down to 50F/10C, so it doesn't really get very cold. Summer in south Texas is a different story entirely, but the carbon fiber seems to endure the harsher environment just fine.
Brian T. Walker
Down beside the Alamo
In the Lone Star State
"Ignorance is when you don't know something and somebody finds it out."
-- Kenneth "Jethro" Burns
All of my cases are made of wood and they shrink up in the Winter. I put mandolins inside to keep them from shrinking too much, kinda like those expanding thingys you can put in shoes( you may have to be old to know about them)
Mostly I keep cases in the closet, mandolins at hand, and rotate all sorts of instruments in and out of cases and closets.
If I run into a 10-20 year old instrument in really excellent condition I figure the owner doesn't play it much because it ain't very good. Good old ones have scars.
ooops almost left out the
Be yourself, everyone else is taken.
Favorite Mandolin of the week: 2013 Collings MF Gloss top.
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