I am forced to wall mount my instruments

Shakespeare

Hi guys. It has been a while since I posted on your excellent forum. I am here again to ask for some advice on arranging and creating a music room. I have a two bedroom flat with one room just not being used so I have decided to make it my practice room and also the room where most, if not all, my intruments will live. Here is the first problem. I have A LOT of instruments. A double bass, 25+ ukes, ten guitars and a few other bits and pieces. The room I have is not big. Maybe 12 feet by 12 feet. Two of the walls are outer walls i.e. they back on to outside. I know that this can affect instruments due to temperature fluctuations. Due to the size of the room I am forced to wall mount most of my instruments which is my preference anyway. I have ten Hercules auto-grab wall mounts for my guitars at the moment. I have thought about putting up some floating shelves and having some of the ukes on floor stands on the shelves. Whilst I want the room to house as many of my instruments as possible I don't want it to look cluttered. The room has to look good as well as be a good practice area. Finally, most of my instruments have been in my living room/kitchen for over a year now. I mean that the kitchen is the same room as the living room. When I put the instruments in there I had no idea whether moisture and temperature changes could damage the instruments. Lately I have been worrying whether it might have been a bad idea to put them in this room. I always have the extractor fan on when I cook. I will try to post some pictures to demonstrate what I am trying to say. I am open to any suggestions and advice. I want to plan out exactly what I want to do and where everything will go before I start. Thanks in advance.

Lester

Three thoughts come to mind:

1) Don't mount instruments on the two exterior walls,

2) Don't mount instruments high on the walls as the room heating will dry them out as heat rises, and

3) If you don't already have one, buy yourself a hygrometer* so that you can see what temperature and humidity there is in the room.

* I use this one. There are many to choose between.

Kevin Peat

That you have a dedicated music room is great. The other instruments will make the one you're playing sound good - I'm sure the resonance is what makes guitars sound better in shops than when you get them home. There is also less likelihood of dings so you're already up on what most musicians have for storage at home.

 

If you have no choice but to mount on an exterior wall - which I do and have had no problem with - then why not consider pasting a layer of Wallrock thermal 'paper' beneath the wallpaper. It comes in rolls of thin polystyrene and is widely available in decorating shops. It is used for preventing condensation against cold walls.  

 

 

manofgresley

Acoustic guitars are wood, as i am sure you know, wood breathes, so it is essential to have the right atmosphere. You talk of were to mount your guitars, but you do not mention their environment.

 

Firstly, Central Heating is a killer, but most people cannot avoid it, as extreme cold is not good either, i myself have a combined Temperature & Humidity gauge in what i call my music room (Also the back bedroom)to monitor the environment. I have turned down the heating so that the room remains between 21 degC and 24 degC, the Humidity should be between 40% and 60% (50% is ideal) i control the Humidity by either using my Humidifier to raise the Humidity, or i place my Dehumidifier in the room to remove moisture.

 

I have a Prem-i-air Dehumidifier (E Bay £40.00 approx) and a Dehumidifying crystal kit (£6.00 E Bay) this works extremely well if your space is small, you can of course buy some serious Humidity combined kit for £100.00 + but i'm mean.

 

 

Jocko

If the room is continually heated then the exterior walls should not get that cold. (assuming you are in the UK).

I use one of these.

and I find the humidity in my rooms are normally about 43%.