I have a couple of those. I'm not sold on the grabbing mechanism, as it often makes removing the guitar more difficult. For me, the main advantage is the Herc hangers hold the guitar further out from the wall than other hangers. That's allowed me to put framed posters behind the guitars. My reviews of the more popular wall hangers (I use all of them):
Off-the-Wall:
Pro: Most secure with easy in/out. holds difficult guitars (Tele) very well. very good, finish-safe materials. simple, modern styling. very obvious if guitar is properly hung or not.
Con: Not adjustable, so comes in two sizes to accommodate normal and wide (classical, >4 string bass, 12-string), requires three screws for mounting
Bottom line: my fave -- worth the price
Hercules Wall model:
Pro: moderately secure, as one-size accommodates most guitars and basses, good quality, finish-safe materials.
Con: there may be some instruments -- mando, possibly some Teles that require some finessing to ensure they are secured. Finessing also req for ultra-light instruments. finicky mechanism. req three mounting screws.
Bottom line: my second choice
String Swing:
Pro: Will be secure if properly sized (by bending) for particular guitar ... that makes this one the most secure "one size fits all" solution IF adjusted properly. Only two mounting screws. lowest cost and often on sale.
Con: Materials are less impressive. IMNSHO looks cheap. A bit more difficult to get instrument in/out -- would never let my kid use it, because hanging instrument is more complicated than it looks. Have seen instrument fall out of similar (but unadjusted) versions of these in stores.
Bottom line: will work for the conscientious, but klutzes beware.
-=tension & release=-
Dali, I'm so sorry. That's some bad luck there, bud. I hope you can get over the pains of the dings and accept it's playability and still be able to use it lovelingly sometime soon.
My MIM Tele has a gouge. The one I leave in "G". It's how I got it so cheap. I am all about the function over beauty thing, so it fits me just fine. I do realize that beauty of the instrument is part of the enjoyment for most sane people, so I feel bad for you.
Are you up to posting a couple of pics for the non-weak-of-stomach can see?
Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin
Has anyone used these before?
Not personally, but almost* every guitar store here uses them for their display instruments, so I guess they trust 'em.
* of the stores that don't, one has made locks for their fork-shaped wall hangers (using a couple of pieces of wood and bolts with wing-nuts), and the other keeps all instruments behind the counter where customers can't get within arms reach.
I wrapped a newspaper ’round my head
So I looked like I was deep
A tip I learned in high school band--when we were often carrying around rented multi-thousand dollar instruments in beat-up old cases with flaky latches--that has stuck with me: always carry the case with the non-handled side facing you, so that if/when the latches fail, it will bump up against your leg, and not roll out into the street under that passing bus.
I also learned that lesson.. The hard way.(though, fortunately, not expensively)
I was carrying my tool case when the latches let go. About 40 pounds of tools, parts, screws, and other stuff spread itself across the parking lot. :oops: :cry:
It took almost half an hour to gather it up again, and a lot longer to fit it all back in the case.
Always carry any case so that if it opens, it opens against your leg, not away from it.
I wrapped a newspaper ’round my head
So I looked like I was deep
Dali, I'm so sorry. That's some bad luck there, bud. I hope you can get over the pains of the dings and accept it's playability and still be able to use it lovelingly sometime soon.
My MIM Tele has a gouge. The one I leave in "G". It's how I got it so cheap. I am all about the function over beauty thing, so it fits me just fine. I do realize that beauty of the instrument is part of the enjoyment for most sane people, so I feel bad for you.
Are you up to posting a couple of pics for the non-weak-of-stomach can see?
I'll try to get a photo up... .the guitar is apart right now since I had to fix the wiring.
-=- Steve
"If the moon were made of ribs, would you eat it?"
Sorry to hear about your guitar, fortunately the neck wasn't snapped.
I guess I am different from most folks, I kinda like my guitars to look beat up. Now, I take care of them and would never intentionally damage them, but a nick or dent here or there doesn't bother me at all as long as the guitar plays well.
I've told this story many times, but I'm a geezer, so I have the privilage of repeating myself, when I was young I lived on the beach in Florida, my brother and friends would surf everyday. Our boards were all beat up from wipeouts, hitting the rocks, etc... We took pride in how beat up our boards were. We would rub wax into cuts in the fiberglass, put a piece of duct-tape over it, put some wax over that. Good as new. :D
We would see surfers who really didn't surf come down to the beach. Their surfboards were all clean, shiney and new. Man, we would make fun of those guys and call them "townies". We were pretty cruel I guess, sometimes the guys would leave. But hey, that's the way it is, if you surf everyday your board is gonna get beat. A guitar is no different.
Now here's a photo of a real surfer.
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
Got to say, I agree with Wes up to a point - a few cosmetic scratches, scrapes etc - the scars of battle - won't hurt. Added mojo.
Then again, there's something about a mint condition guitar, isn't there? It's not nice walking on eggshells waiting for that first little scratch....I seem to remember someone telling a story a while back about his father buying a new car and almost being afraid to take it on the road - so he deliberately made a tiny scratch, somewhere no-one could see, then he'd think, "Ah well, it's already scratched...."
Glad to hear the Strat wasn't too badly damaged, Dali, I know it's your pride and joy - let's hope than when you've fixed the p/u it still sounds as good.
:D :D :D
Vic
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
OUch. That's a tough one. I can relate though. I let my son play my LP one day. I was within an arm's length of him when I saw him taking the guitar off of his shoulder. Instead of grabbing the guitar by neck, he simply grabbed the strap and pulled it over his head. That's when everything slowed down and i could not move quickly enough. By the time it took me to say "NNNOoooo" (with the slow motion effect), the guitar had already hit the ground. Headstock first. With the exception of a nice ding in the corner of the headstock, she was fine.
Best of luck with the repairs. I do agree with Vic, it will add some mojo to the guitar. Don't kick yourself too long over this!!
Teamwork- A few harmless flakes working together can unleash an avalanche of destruction.
I did that with a rifle on a paved driveway just before New Year's. Scraped it up a bit, but it's not as bad as I first thought. Nothing to be done about it, and it's made to be used.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
Ouch! But, so what...the older it gets the more dings and weathering it'l get...assuming it ain't all too broken. (I saw a van back over EIGHT axes by a stoned roadie!) Hey! I've got some bullet holes in my carcase!
Cat
"Feel what you play...play what you feel!"
Sorry to hear about your misfortune. Hang in there ... no pun intended.
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
Wow - That's a drag Dali )%
And I know how you feel - it's like putting a lover up on a pedestal and then trying to cope after you figure out that they are human after all!
The first 'dent' I got in my white Strat was after I was done playing it sitting on my [waterbed] (%
Tried to get up and fell back and banged the body on the wood corner of the bed! Ouch.
Was a bit distraught for years over that it seemed! LOL!
More recently, my White Strat fell from the wall much the same as your's did....
And oddly enough, I looked up right at it a second before it fell! LOL!
Rode straight down the wall like a Guillotine blade.... WHACK!
Hit so hard that it knocked the bridge plate off the screws (with it in tune!)....
And the felt in-between the strap button and the body got squished thru the SCREW HOLE in the strap button (with the screw in it!)
I had it hung up with a length of rope I had found - the rope came 'undone' over time.
Probably didn't even hold up a year.
I switched to 30 lbs test fishing line and a wood screw.... been fine for a few years now with that set up.
It's cool because it looks like it's just on the wall.... cant really see what's holding it up (%
I'm careful not to 'nick' the line, and after I hang it - I pluck the fishing line to see if it sounds right.... that's my 'test' LOL!
so far, so good :wink:
Ken
"The man who has begun to live more seriously within
begins to live more simply without"
-Ernest Hemingway
"A genuine individual is an outright nuisance in a factory"
-Orson Welles
I feel your pain! Just took a look at my 60th anniv tele and I see what you are talkin about. Have now taken it down and put it in a floor stand. You may have saved others from sharing the same fate by posting this. Remember "Time Heals All Wounds"
Robbietoo
My Jazz Bass is all beat up like that. Has a dent from where someone whacked it into the wall. It sits on a floor stand now.
As for wall stands, I've found the FretRest brand to be really really good. It has really really tight rubber washers that fit over the rubber of the stand and it's hard to move them. You move the washer back on the holder and it makes for a snugger fit and they provide a notch to hold the headstock. I've walked into my strat, tripped and smacked it, and it swings in the holder and has never fallen. It even holds the Tele neck of the my '51.
Oh that sucks my friend. I feel your pain. I actually had my 1,600$ Yngwie Malmsteen Artist series lying softly on my carpet, and Its G&G hardshell leaned up against the wall next to it, and god knows why, but the case just launched itself forward smashing directly over top of the strat. :shock: It was a very loud crash, and my heart dropped to the floor seeing as its my most prized instrument and I rushed to it faster then if it were my own kid in need. I searched desperatly for a blemish.... not ONE. I was very lucky, but again sorry to you my friend.
Sing Me A Song Your a Singer, Do me a wrong, your a bringer of evil. - Dio
