Hooray! You’re almost ready to move. You’ve packed the entire kitchen, your clothes, small appliances, and a whole list of other stuff. Alas! The battle’s not over yet. It’s time to box up one of your most prized possessions – the guitar.
It’s ironic how a solid instrument crafted out of wood can still be very delicate. It’s so fragile that your guitar will most likely hate you if you leave it to toss around inside a moving vehicle. That’s why you have to be meticulous with the packing process.
But before learning how to do it properly, it’s a good idea to know what happens first if you don’t.
Why Should You Pack Your Guitar?
Right. Why not just put it in a plastic bag, cram it in a box, add a little bubble wrap here and there, and then load it to the truck? Sounds easier, right? Well, that would be fine if a guitar was as sturdy as it looks.
You see, packing a stringed instrument might not be as difficult as moving a piano, but it certainly poses a challenge on its own. If you happen to neglect the necessary preparations, broken strings are the least of your concerns.
The shaking and rattling during transit could disorient the keys, causing your guitar to fall out of tune. In worst-case scenarios, the impact could break the bridge or snap the neck, ultimately rendering the instrument useless.
Of course, you don’t want that to happen. So here’s a guide on how to pack your guitar easily.
Step One: Gather Materials
Life will be much easier for you if you still have your guitar’s hard case or bag. But it doesn’t matter even if you’ve bought your guitar from someone else and they didn’t provide you with one. You’ll just have to perform everything written below.
That said, here are supplies to prepare before starting the process:
- Large Moving Box. It should be sizeable enough to house your guitar with a 1-2 inches gap from the tip of the headlock and the roof. Additionally, you want to reinforce the box with heavy-duty tape to make sure it doesn’t tear apart if it collides with other cargo.
- Eco-friendly bubble wrap. You won’t need much of this. Several large sheets should do the job.
- Packing paper. Make sure it’s unprinted, or you’ll risk messing up the finish on your guitar.
- Packing Tape. You’ll need this to fasten the bubble wrap and packing paper.
- Ziploc bag. Use this to store guitar accessories.
- Foam Peanuts. These will act as a cushion to protect your guitar from vibrations during transit.
Step Two: Getting Ready for Transport
Before you proceed with packing, there are three essential things you should remember:
- Loosen the strings. You don’t need to unlatch them completely. Just ease the tension a little. The reason is that taut strings will likely snap when they encounter sudden movement.
- Turn the tuning keys in parallel with the headstock. This helps to prevent them from pivoting in the opposite direction.
- Remove detachable parts/accessories. Unfasten the guitar strap, bridge cover, tuner, or capo and put these parts inside a Ziploc bag labeled ‘guitar accessories.‘
Step Three: Packing Your Guitar
Once you’ve made sure to follow everything stated in step two, it’s time to pack and get things over with.
- To start, carefully wrap the headstock with packing paper. Ensure that you don’t disturb the keys’ position, which you adjusted earlier. Next, wrap two layers of bubble wrap around the headstock for added protection.
- Place the guitar gently inside the case. Again, you can skip this step if you don’t have one.
- Slide a sheet of paper between the fretboard and the strings. Doing so prevents these two components from brushing up against each other.
- Wrap the entire guitar with packing paper. Tape furniture pads or hand towels on the body to act as shock absorbers.
- Put the guitar inside the box. Ensure that the space between the instrument and the cardboard walls is filled with crumpled paper or used clothes. Verify that there’s no movement inside the box. Lastly, drop foam peanuts to completely occupy any empty spaces you’ve missed.
- Close the box and secure it with tape. Don’t forget to mark the package as ‘FRAGILE.’
Step 4: Hire a Professional Moving Company
If you think that the DIY method seems too risky or tedious, you could always leave the job to the experts. Ask you’re mover if they provide instrument moving services. Besides saving time and effort, you can also obtain peace of mind knowing that your prized strings are insured.