Uke Storage - Hanging?

I’m having trouble with Winter sunlight streaming into my music room too. I had all my instruments on floor stands before, but now I’ve had to put most of them into gig bags or cases.

Too bad — I like to look at ‘em. :eek:ld:
 
So what's wrong with a little sunlight - are they vampires, or something? Actually, I think my spruce topped uke coould stand a bit of a tan, it's so pasty white looking...
:)

bratsche
 
So what's wrong with a little sunlight - are they vampires, or something? Actually, I think my spruce topped uke coould stand a bit of a tan, it's so pasty white looking...
:)

bratsche

Some woods change color pretty quickly when subjected to direct light. If that light falls day after day, unevenly across the instrument, for several weeks, it could tan on one side noticeably more than the other and the effect is seldom pleasant. This might happen to newer wooden instruments especially.

I bought a brand new mahogany guitar that had been hung in a humidified wood panelled room in the store. Within a week of buying it I removed the pickguard, thinking there wouldn't be a tan line... nope, there was already a difference in color. I wondered how this had happened until I noticed there was a less distinct tan line below the bridge as well. The mahogany had darkened because of the ceiling lights in the humidor room.
 
So what's wrong with a little sunlight - are they vampires, or something? Actually, I think my spruce topped uke coould stand a bit of a tan, it's so pasty white looking...
:)

bratsche

I think I read that direct sunlight on wooden instruments can help to dry them out. So, with the winter humidity already workin’ on ‘em, it seems prudent to cover them, and it also keeps the dust off of them.

Better safe than sorry. :eek:ld:
 
Unless I missed something, I think I am the only one who hangs my ukuleles on the wall in their hard case. And I have to laugh at Downup's winter precautions in California. I remember those solstitial evenings in Irvine when it grew so cold at night that I almost had to close the window.
 
Unless I missed something, I think I am the only one who hangs my ukuleles on the wall in their hard case. And I have to laugh at Downup's winter precautions in California. I remember those solstitial evenings in Irvine when it grew so cold at night that I almost had to close the window.

Are you kiddin’? We’re havin’ Winter this year! It’s really cold lately — even in the 50s some mornings! And we’re using our heater almost every morning. Why, I hafta wear a sweater just about every day — brrrrrr . . .

It’s really a rough one. We even had rain a coupla weeks ago! It’s been a struggle to get through. :eek:ld:
 
... of the temperament where it it's out of sight it's out of mind, and if it's out of mind it doesn't get played.

I feel the same way... but have put off putting hangers on the walls because I find drilling into plaster & lath pretty annoying... Even bought the hangers.
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I got all mine hanging from hooks on a ceiling beam close to a wall, the hooks were already there when we moved in last year. Only thing I hang them while in their canvas bags. My Mainland pineapple and Eleuke Pineapple both sit flat on a closet shelf in their hard cases. Oh yes, and I have my 100% plastic Bugsgear Aquqlele hanging in my truck for easy access.
 
I had previously purchased a curio cabinet to store my ukes. I had them laying on the glass shelves. I recently added hangers for better display. This is really for humidity control for the vintage Oscar-Schmidt's, but I put in hangers for multiple instruments so I have some of my less expensive pieces there too.

Hanging.jpg
 
When they are in cases I find I'm less likely to play them.
In my den I mounted a piece of mounting about a foot off the ceiling and put coats hook about a foot apart to hang my 15 favorite home made ukes.
I think of them as functional art.
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Reviving a slightly older thread as I'm thinking about ordering yet another uke stand for the tenor I just bought this week. Like several others in this conversation, our humidity is pretty stable year round and the only time the humidifier kicks on is when temps drop down to near freezing. I really do love to see my ukuleles so they're all on stands sitting on tabletops...never on the floor. When I'm wearing my readers, it would be too easy to step or kick one of them moving around my tight playing space.

I'm wondering what people think about wood being exposed to air, light, acoustic vibrations from other instruments nearby....and also the lack of those things. In the long term lifespan of the instrument, what the exposure to those elements might do to the aging of the wood. It's easy for me to romanticize that something made from a natural material OUGHT to exist in the environment it came from and in a dark velvet lined box.

Then there is the very real fact that an instrument is more likely to be played when it's seen. Heck, even just the convenience factor that some songs/music I play on specific instruments and having to pull one of the ukuleles out of a case would be a barrier to do so, however small. I'm to the point that I can put more hooks on the walls and hang things, now that the kids are both out of the house but I'm also really drawn to the curio cabinet idea. That seems to be the best of both worlds. On display as well as insulated from drastic temp/moisture changes and minimized dust exposure.

Thanks for reading, all :)

=Steve
 
I rotate the instruments on my ‘tar wall to what I’m interested in playing at the time…
And I do like looking at them…1809F665-5D0F-4ABA-B9EB-D12693505E62.jpeg39711713-3452-4BAC-8ED4-E3F8E821F85D.jpeg
 
Reviving a slightly older thread as I'm thinking about ordering yet another uke stand for the tenor I just bought this week. Like several others in this conversation, our humidity is pretty stable year round and the only time the humidifier kicks on is when temps drop down to near freezing. I really do love to see my ukuleles so they're all on stands sitting on tabletops...never on the floor. When I'm wearing my readers, it would be too easy to step or kick one of them moving around my tight playing space.

I'm wondering what people think about wood being exposed to air, light, acoustic vibrations from other instruments nearby....and also the lack of those things. In the long term lifespan of the instrument, what the exposure to those elements might do to the aging of the wood. It's easy for me to romanticize that something made from a natural material OUGHT to exist in the environment it came from and in a dark velvet lined box.

Then there is the very real fact that an instrument is more likely to be played when it's seen. Heck, even just the convenience factor that some songs/music I play on specific instruments and having to pull one of the ukuleles out of a case would be a barrier to do so, however small. I'm to the point that I can put more hooks on the walls and hang things, now that the kids are both out of the house but I'm also really drawn to the curio cabinet idea. That seems to be the best of both worlds. On display as well as insulated from drastic temp/moisture changes and minimized dust exposure.

Thanks for reading, all :)

=Steve
I am a new player and just purchased a Makaio laminate so I am not too concerned about humidity but I do aspire to one day be worthy of a solid wood more premium ukulele. I too like to keep the instruments out and handy. I keep my two beginner ukuleles hanging on the wall because I grab them all of the time. If I walk by I often grab one to work on a particular chord progression etc. I live in the midwest and have a whole house humidifier. I checked this morning and the house is at 40% humidity. I'm going to crank it up to 45%. I wonder if a whole house humidifier is sufficient to protect solid wood instruments from damage over time. My second concern is where I have chosen to hang my ukulele. There is a heat register quite close and I wonder if I might need to either relocate the ukuleles or get a diverter to insure warm air is not blowing directly on them. Again, not too concerned because I have one plastic and once laminate but I want to develop good habits for when I get something of greater value.
 
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