guitars and the beach

[jmg55]

im going to the beech for a week. i want to take a guitar but i know the heat and moisture could be really bad for the wood. do you all think that its a bad idea to take any guitar to the beach? Im not planning on playing it anywhere but the hotel room. since an american made paul is probably out of the question, what do you all think about a korean made guitar?

[HeeBGB]

If you're leaving it in the hotel, what's the problem? The room has AC no? If you're leaving it in the room with AC the heat and moisture should be of no consequence. I still wouldn't bring a Gibson though! I have a beater strat for such occasions AND if I wanted to bring something ON a beach I have an Applause acoustic. It's INDESTRUCTABLE! Aluminum/polymer neck, plastic round back ala Ovation and doesn't sound all that bad considering what it is! I'm certainly not taking my Taylor!

[jrfisher]

I took a Les Paul Studio to Hilton Head Island last year. It was played in and out of the condo with no problems (it took the heat better than I did). It rode in it's case in the back of the van, the case was always standing on it's edge, not laying flat.

We were in a condo with no cleaning service, so we were the only ones there. I don't think I would take an expensive guitar to a place where strangers came into the room each day. I also wouldn't leave the guitar in a closed vehicle.

If I were forced to do that, I'd take a less expensive guitar like the Mexi-Strat.

[garywright]

I always just take my '57 ri strat and like you only play in the hotel room ..to make it less obvious I usually store it in a gig bag and lay it down flat up above the coat rack and set our pillows on it when we're gone ...I'm going to the beach in a couple days ...maybe see you there ?

[clayville]

My Baby Taylor is my beach/camping/travel guitar.

[les strat]

I have brought my Martin and occasionally my Historics to the beach several times and sat on the deck and played them with no problems. I like it better in a condo where there is not daily maid service like in hotels.

[Bob Womack]

I live at the beach on the East Coast. Well, okay, ten miles inland, but I have played there and the climate here is consistant with that of the beach.

Note the Les Paul tilt angle.

That's me rehearsing for my son's and daughter-in-law's wedding on the beach in August, three years ago. It was as hot as blazes and as humid as it could be. If I'm going to be outdoors right down on the beach, I typically take guitars that have a polyurethane finish like the one above. I've got a Carvin electric that is my Swiss Army electric. It has a poly finish and is perfect for outdoor work. Gibson's nitro just seems to gum up in the humidity. Unless it is a beater, keep your guitar out of the sand because it is abrasive. Many forms of bug spray will eat a guitar finish alive, so avoid wearing it when playing.

But frankly, in an air conditioned hotel room, theft is the bigger threat. Hey, have FUN!

Bob

[led zep fan]

Originally Posted by jrfisher

I took a Les Paul Studio to Hilton Head Island last year.

Nice! I was there the first week of July last year! (But guitarless....)

[sflem1039]

I take my Martin acoustic (1989 HD-28) to the beach alot and play on a lounge chair right at the ocean.

I've been doing it for years with no problem at all. I just always clean the finish when I am done.

[kharrison]

Past couple of years I have taken a SG classic. This year I took a Mexicaster.

[DVos]

I take my Goldtop to the Jersey Shore every weekend in the summer months. I wouldn't leave it outside! But, I'll sit out on the balcony and play for hours. It was said before, so long as you've got AC you've got nothing to be concerned about.

[C-4]

Several years ago, I played at the beach here in Florida and took the following guitars with me (one at a time) and played them there for almost two years three afternoons and evenings a week, and some days as well right out on the beach where there was a bandstand.
Les Paul R9 1999
Les Paul R9 2004
Les Paul Cloud9 R9
Les Paul Cloud9 R8
Les Paul Cloud9 R4
Duesenberg Ronnie Wood Ltd. T.V. Starplayer
Gibson CS 356F-59 blonde
Gibson CS 356F-59 cherry,
Fender Strat 50 th Anny w/gold hardware
Nothing at all happened to any of them. No warping necks, no sandblasted finishes, and no problems from heat, as we played year round and it gets very hot in Florida on the beach in all but the months of January and February.

I got tired of "wanting" to play out with my best gear, but then only using the lesser grade stuff. The way I see it, the cheaper stuff should not hold up as well as the better stuff does, and I found no problem with any of the gear I used. I used the LP's the most and they all stayed in tune as well.
If you are careful, there should be no problems playing your guitars anywhere.
Look at the pros who travel around the world playing their original LP's.
Why save it for someone else to enjoy after you are dead, or worse...after you decide to sell it for something else to save hidden in the closet!

[garywright]

jmg55 ...my wife and daughter and I are now in Rehoboth Beach yesterday we saw a Toyota Corolla with jmg55 on the license plate ...appears we are in the same area ?

[Dave Lehr]

I played a show near the beach and just took my sg with me even on the beach.

[symon]

I perform every Wednesday outside on the beach here in southwest Florida (have for the past 7 years). I always bring my '02 R8, '82 Ibanez roadstar, '05 Breedlove and once in awhile my '99 teigen custom.

No problems.

[Heritage 80]

I just spent the week at a house on the beach on Lake Michigan and brought my Martin. No issues with the guitar, but I'd advise anyone to be very careful with digital cameras!

[phil47uk]

Well if it's any consolation, I live about 8 miles inland from the beach on the south coast of the UK. It's been pissing down with rain ever since the begining of July and my R0 sits in an armchair in an old cottage. He seems none the worse for wear over the years. The only thing that has ever happened guitar wise is that DesertDawg sent me a Gibson electro acoustic over a year or so back from Vegas. Boy! It didn't like the English weather and checking cracks appeared on the top bout, about 5 inches long. Also the nitro lifted in a couple of places round the heel giving it a milky cloudy appearance. Bugger all I can do though. Idealy the humidity should be around 50-60, but the Hygrometer I keep in the case, even with two silca gel bags rarely goes under 70.
It's a shit, but as long as the guitar plays well, I can live with it though...
I haven't got much bloody choice really.

Phil

[Rafael]

If playing on the shore was an issue, the Beach Boys would never have existed. Let alone Dick Dale....