keeping a guitar tuned differently

[mrjones]

i wanna tune my old guitar down a whole step. i never play this guitar anymore. the last time i used it was at christmas with all of my family home. i was wondering, if i tune it down, i could 'accidentaly' leave it tuned that way for a while. will that hurt it in the long run? i still want to be able to use it and tune it back to normal.

[Lbacker]

good question..always wondered about that. anyone??

[Stick]

It depends on how well the guitar is made I think. It wont matter too much if it's only a half step, but if you were to tune them down a whole lot, or tune them up a lot, the neck could possibly warp. Its like leaving the strings off a guitar for too long. The neck could warp.

I think its fine to do, a half step is really not that much, and its nice to have an extra guitar for that purpose because there are many songs tuned that way.

[sfmartins]

In the Martin "Care&Feeding" booklet or online:

http://www.mguitar.com/guitars/technical/humidity.html

you can read

"We recommend storing your guitar in its case when not in use. Humidity is easier to control in a smaller space. Don’t bother loosening the strings when putting your guitar away unless it won’t be used again for several months."

Of course this easily applies to a Martin Guitar. Like stick said:

It depends on how well the guitar is made I think.

If you are not sure about your guitar, I suggest you do not loose your strings too much (half a step would be enough).

Hope this helps.

[Speenis]

tuning down a half step rocks my face off

[czech]

it will be fine.