News

Guitar Hooks have always remained something of a standard for upgrading the storage of your guitar. Off the ground and displayed on high, a guitar wall hook is a reliable solution to the problem of not only storage, but presentation too. But what happens when your hook just lacks a certain luster that your guitar simply radiates? Well, the answer is quite simple: GuitarGrips. 

Replace Those Guitar Hooks

GuitarGrip guitar hangers are a unique and stylish alternative to storing and presenting your guitar or bass with all the pride and joy of a Stevie Ray Vaughn song. You practice intensely to master those strings, so let the instrument exude the same passion and determination you have for playing it. A standard guitar hook just doesn't fit the musician's passion and dedication, it  more or less groans vanilla boredom. Ignite the walls of your music room and replace your guitar hooks with any one of GuitarGrips' signature models, to set the room ablaze with more than just your incendiary fretwork.

Consider this room here:

This is a stylish and inspiring space that cultivates musical creativity. It's a bold, contemporary vintage aesthetic, reminiscent of the British Invasion. It's a lovely space, but it could radiate the edge and attitude the style demands by tweaking one or three simple elements: the guitar hooks. These frames make for an elegant way to hang these guitars, but the rigging up a trio of our subtle yet grungy Antique Coppers would reverberate with heavy metal fury.

GuitarGrips are a simple, minimalistic addition to any music room or studio and make superb guitar hook replacements.

Get GuitarGrip 

It’s often said that shifts in music are measured in decades. While bands of the late 80’s, spider tapping their medieval armament shaped guitars, struggled to stay relevant, the MTV series “Unplugged”, brought a renewed focus on the acoustic guitar, an adoration not seen since the 70’s. Since then, acoustic instruments such as the banjo, ukulele, and acoustic bass continue to gain center stage. Acoustic Instruments can adorn any living space. How does yours hang? Do you use a case, guitar stand, or a guitar hanger for your acoustic?

Hanging your Acoustic Guitar

Even those not musically inclined can agree, acoustic instruments carry a certain beauty. They’re primitive, almost timeless, the craftsmanship strewn through every curve and grain. While acoustic instruments definitely need extra love and care, they can make a charming addition to any home or music studio.

When choosing were to place your acoustic instrument, consider a guitar hanger over an acoustic guitar stand. Acoustic guitar stands can leave your instrument vulnerable to small children, and pets. Likewise, stands take up valuable floor space. 

GuitarGrip Acoustic Guitar Hangers

GuitarGrip offers a great alternative over acoustic guitar stands and traditional guitar hangers. 

Check out our unique line of Faux Wood Finish wall mounts here.  These original one-of-a-kind guitar hooks will beautify your home while displaying your acoustic instrument as a work of art. 

Often, buying an expensive item requires extra purchases. Investing in a new set of golf clubs? Plan on dropping the coin for a new golf bag. Just picked up a new set of tools? A tool box might come in handy. The new guitar or bass you just purchased is no different. If you want to protect that shiny new axe there are better options than leaning it against the couch, wall, or your pillow at night, the following are 3 great options for storing your instrument. 

Guitar Stand

There is an endless list of guitar stands on the market. Most hold one guitar some hold multiple. Some fold nicely and fit into a case, which works great for that coffee-house gig, others you'll need a minor in trig just to put together. Guitar stands are good options but do come with drawbacks, including: 

1. Taking up valuable floor space
2. Vulnerable to being knocked over by small children, pets, and clumsy feet
3. Not the best option for acoustic instruments in drier climates

Protecting the finish of a Guitar

Any guitar or bass coated with a nitrocellulose finish will need special care and treatment. Nitro finishes are lacquer based clear coats made from softer delicate materials that are prone to interact with certain guitar hangers or guitar stands. Nothing will “harsh your mellow” like coming home on a hot day, picking up your guitar for some shred time only to discover your guitars finish melted away by a cheap guitar stand. It’s best to research the make and model of your instrument to determine whether or not a nitro finish was used. Likewise, research the guitar stand manufacturer to make sure their materials are nitro safe. If you need a guarantee, just slip some cloth rags in the areas where the guitar meets the guitar stand or guitar hanger and you can  be rest assured.

Guitar Hanger

At GuitarGrip we manufacture guitar hangers so obviously we’re big advocates for this method of guitar storage. Displaying your instrument offers a number of benefits.

Caring for Acoustic Guitars 

Acoustic guitars require special, humidity controlled storage to preserve their sound and structural integrity. The hypothesis that guitars perform better when dry is a myth and actually compromises not only the incrementally expensive acoustic guitar, but also the warm, soft tones it produces.

Wood is hygroscopic, meaning it relinquishes and absorbs moisture. Fine acoustic guitars are typically constructed using strips of wood, glued together, making them susceptible to humidity and temperature.

A few ways humidity and temperature affects acoustics:

• High temps weaken glue

• High humidity causes swelling and expansion

• Low humidity causes shrinking and cracking

• Radical changes in temperature can also cause detrimental expansion, contraction, and separation of essential components

To prolong the life of the acoustic guitar, there are a few ways to ensure good acoustic health.

1. Start by storing the instrument in a case with nominal air access during dry seasons.

2. Utilize environmental control systems, air conditioners, humidifiers, space heaters, and plants to help regulate temperature and humidity.

3. During the driest seasons of the year, take the guitar off the acoustic guitar stand or off the guitar hook and store it in a case.

4. However, if you want to keep it on display on a guitar stand or guitar hanger, you may want to employ the use of a guitar humidifier. You can get one that pros use, for real cheap. Follow this link from Reverb.com for awesome deals on humidification systems specifically designed for acoustic guitars.

Acoustic Guitar Stand or Guitar Hook 

In a properly controlled environment, acoustic guitars can be displayed all year round, free from the confines of a case. If you're planning on taking these precautions to ensure the longevity of your acoustic guitar, hanging it from a stylish GuitarGrip guitar hanger is a guaranteed elegant presentation solution. You'll be keeping it free from the dangers of rowdy kids, curious pets, and the occasional inebriated guest.

Present your acoustic with some of our rustic designs such as the botanic Bella Rose, or the arboreal Lumpy Stumpy, to really show off the natural aesthetic of the soft, warm, tone of an acoustic guitar. 

Buying that perfect gift for a guitar player can prove challenging. In case you haven’t noticed, they can be a bit “cliquey” when it comes to their gear. With an endless supply of cables, pedals, and other accessories on the market it’s hard to know which brand or product your shredder friend is going to appreciate the most; just because you bought him or her that small metal box with the knob thingy doesn’t mean they’ll be using it anytime soon. You could ask them what they’d like for that annual trip around the sun, but come on, wouldn’t that spoil the surprise?  Or, the conversation might go something like this “Hey dude! Whats that special piece of gear you’ve been wanting” “Oh, I’ve been wanting that Gibson Custom 1974 Les Paul Reissue…with a case!” HAHA…right dude, get a job.

If you are looking for cool, unique, one of a kind gifts for guitar lovers then check out GuitarGrip hand shaped guitar hangers. 

These guitar hangers are well crafted and designed to support many types of stringed instruments. And, it’s a hand! How cool is that! Talk about winning the award for original gift idea. Little Susie is going to open the box and most likely scream. But alas, once she realizes it’s the coolest guitar hanger ever, she’s gonna flip!  Yes, scream then flip. So will Susie’s friends when they see it holding her 74 Les Paul reissue on the wall. 

GuitarGrip guitar hangers make a perfect affordable gift for guitar players and bass players of all ages. Check out our line of wall mounted guitar holders here. 

A musician’s space is a personal and inspirational corner of the planet. Here, guitarists, bassists, and musicians of all types retire to allow the music within to flow with the peaceful passion of a calm, misty stream. Essential music room decor cultivates inspiration and creativity. It permits the musician to surround themselves in an atmosphere that suits their sonic aesthetic and dial in on the sounds that best represent their innermost vulnerabilities. Whether you have a music room, dedicated man cave, or a corner in the basement, every musician needs a place to tune out the world and hear the music within. Many musicians dedicate the walls, of this special place, to the instruments they use to create their most treasured tunes. Why not allow the wall mounts themselves to echo the painstaking art created on these instruments?

Using Wall Mounted Guitar Holders

The decor of your music room is a tribute to the relics and trophies of your past, present, and, future. A wall mounted guitar holder makes a unique and functional accent to your cherished instruments and music room decor alike, perfect for musicians of all genres. From the First Act in your garage, to the $5k Gibson in your personal recording studio, there is a guitar hanger that fits your personality and style. Your character is the core of your music, taste is what defines what you love to hear and feel. Being surrounded by the things that make you happy, especially tools to make music, makes your space feel more exclusive.

Instruments are the artifacts of epic moments in history, like any trophy you’d put on display, they make for essential decor in a methodically constructed man cave or music room. When hanging a priceless instrument or even one signed by a famous musician that you deem prized, it would seem reasonable to see the vulgarity in dangling it from a ramshackle fork. Find out why a GuitarGrip wall mounted guitar hanger is the best choice and safer than these old school hooks here!

Defining Your Music Room

Let’s face it, it’s just not okay to see a David Gilmour signed Stratocaster or a Kirk Hammett signature ESP barely clinging to a flimsy wall mount. Poor care of a legendary instrument or any instrument for that matter is unacceptable. To remedy such a travesty, utilize a truly unique guitar hanger to lift those guitars high in your man cave, on display, in reverence for all three of your friends to see. 

From the flat screen, to the dart board, to that neon Budweiser sign your wife wont let you hang in the living room, your music room is a mash up of what defines your personality.

Let your music room represent your taste in music and style!

Featuring Detroit artist Valley Hush, The ERERS, and Adventures with Vultures. 

GuitarGrip has long-standing ties with the Detroit music scene.  Members of our crew have jammed at clubs in the area for decades, and over the past few years we have worked with local charities, artists, and musicians at a variety of events.

Scenes change, good gigs may come and go, but those who work tirelessly in the world of music know that building new bridges (both creatively and professionally) is the lifeblood of any artist’s career.

We celebrate the spirit of connectivity with our “Strummed Out Sessions” interview series, featuring Detroit area musicians. 

One of the sessions was filmed, in part, at the Detroit Institute of Music Education (DIME), where students learn how to build successful professional careers in music.  We taped another at Assemble Sound in Detroit, whose website states:

“We convene around the belief that collaboration and cooperation can be a foundation of success for Detroit musicians and the broader ecosystem we represent.” 

Strummed Out Sessions feature three unique acts: Valley Hush, The ERERs, and Adventures With Vultures, all candidly discussing the benefits and challenges of immersing oneself in a creative mindset while moving forward with their careers.

We appreciate the insights, and wish them the best in all they do and will become.

-GuitarGrip “How Does Yours Hang”

One thing we understand clearly about the musical community: there is plenty of spirited debate regarding the specific care of guitars and other stringed instruments. We get it. Between the ever-changing nature of wood, and various string tension options, there are so many variables that learning how to properly maintain a guitar becomes a rite of passage for any serious player.  This is particularly true of those who own and play acoustic guitars, where greater amounts of wood are exposed to humidity and higher string tension places greater force upon the bow of the neck.

Using Wall Mounted Guitar Holders

Of course there are purists who will tell you the only way to maintain perfect integrity of an acoustic guitar is to store it inside a case in a humidity-controlled environment. But let’s face it, that’s not realistic or practical for everyday players and working musicians. We realize there are also collectors who buy expensive instruments and play them seldomly (if ever), and we’re not here to convince the owner of a never-played $20,000 guitar to do anything except keep it under lock and key.  But for the rest of us, the great majority of players, we’d like to address the practicality and safety of wall mounted guitar hangers as a go-to plan. 

Expensive guitars hang on the walls of stores and studios everywhere. Common sense and physics support the idea that any minor pressure deferred through the neck or body of the guitar by hanging is offset by significantly greater pull power from the strings. Some people even maintain that hanging a guitar by the headstock helps alleviate the stress of string pull on the neck, which can reach upwards of 90 pounds on acoustics.

To be clear- the effects of humidity on wood instruments is a legitimate concern, especially with acoustics, but sound-hole humidifiers can easily be used while your guitar is hanging to help keep it in proper shape if dryness is a concern. And it also bears mention that all the home precaution in the world won’t stop mother nature from wreaking havoc on your axe at outdoor shows and humid venues. Musicians simply accept this reality because instruments are meant to be played and we roll with the punches.

Keeping Guitars Out For Practice

The balanced approach is to care for your instruments as well as you can while also making them available for use.  Our guitar hangers offer protection from accidental drop breakage while also keeping the instrument at easy reach, and daily players know the importance of both safety and convenience. Additionally, having instruments mounted on the walls of your home or studio frees up space and brings artistic beauty to your environment. Safety, practicality, ease of use, and inspirational beauty...these are priorities worth maintaining.

Above all else, keep playing!

Don't forget to check out our Unique Guitar Hanger Solution

Guitar Hangers vs Guitar Stands: A Logical case for elevating your Guitar Game

If you’re reading this, there are real good odds that you play guitar.  And if you do, at some point you’ve probably watched in horror as one crashed to the floor. It happens to the best of us, an inevitable side-effect of working late into the night, multitasking, excitement, and distraction. At GuitarGrip, our main goal is limiting danger to your instruments by providing a safe, stable means to hang guitars on the wall.

A few things to consider when choosing a guitar holder...

Avoid Accidental Chaos

Guitar stands are dangerously accessible to children and pets, and you’ll only have yourself to blame when the scratches and dents pile up.  Typical guitar stands are incredibly easy to kick over, and often become tangled with cords. Cords are a necessity, but you have a choice with guitar holders. Choose wisely.

Ease of Access

Some people suggest keeping guitars in cases at all times. While this is possibly the safest option, it’s counterproductive to a daily practice routine.  You’ll need constant access to your tools as a player and songwriter, and a guitar hanging on the wall professionally will allow freedom to begin work within seconds.

See It, Play It

Speaking of daily practice, players who use guitar hangers on their walls at home and in-studio will testify that seeing the instrument actually stimulates a more frequent playing routine.  Makes sense right? See it, grab it, start playing 1-2-3.

This is another reason why keeping guitars stowed away in cases may be safe, but is also counter-productive.

Set the Mood

One of the particular benefits of a GuitarGrip wall mounted guitar hanger is the aesthetic beauty they bring to a room.  Obviously, beauty is a relative term here, as metal heads may want skulls and hippies may want trees and flowers. That’s why we offer a wide array of vivid designs to suit your unique palate and help bring atmosphere to your home/studio/practice area.  We love reading testimonials from players who wall mounted guitars with our grips, claiming “They really make the room pop!”

Make no mistake, you will notice a correlation between the appearance of your practice area, and your mood when playing, and we’d love to be a useful part of that design.

Clutter Sucks

One functional downside to being a musician is the 352,874 items needed at any point to get the exact sound you’re after.  Pedals, cords, cases, power strips, and drum hardware are just a few of the many things vying for floor space in a typical studio, and guitar stands are just another thing to get in the way- an unstable and avoidable piece of riff-raff.  Elevate your instruments above the fray with a GuitarGrip wall mounted guitar hanger and you’ll notice the benefits immediately.  

Can you hang instrument cords on a GuitarGrip? Absolutely.  Do whatever you like, it’s your world, yo.

Hand Shaped Guitar Hangers Here

HI, WELCOME TO GUITARGRIP’S BLOG, AND THANKS FOR CHECKING OUT OUR UNIQUE GUITAR WALL HANGERS!

Whether you are enjoying your first glimpse of our products or are well-acquainted with our custom guitar hangers, we encourage you to visit our new individual item descriptions as they will help shed light on the production process as well as the artistic intent behind our various designs.

We are thrilled to introduce this shiny new blog along with a host of other exciting developments for the Summer of 2015. Spirits are high as our crew prepares to roll out to NAMM for the 8^th year in a row.

The GuitarGrip team is primed and ready, with more new developments than ever and man are we stoked. Here are a few of the waves we’ll be making:

• New, user-friendly, comprehensive website. It’s ALL here now.

• Brand new company logo design…when you’re on a roll you gotta look fly, right?

• Exciting new Grip design- The Toxic Zombie…vivid, intense, and just dead enough to do the job!

• Re-designed cult-classic Grip Reaper…rest in peace knowing your axe is in good hands…

• Re-designed, newly-named female Grip a.k.a. The Valkyrie. SHE is here and she is stylin’.

These are just some of the great ideas we are bringing to the table this year as we look forward to making new friends and memories at NAMM 2015. We are thrilled with the strides we are making lately, establishing new markets in Germany, the U.K., France and elsewhere…collaborating with amazing artists for our unique Artist Series Grips…lending a hand (Grip) to benefit local charity. Basically, you name it- and we’re on top of it.

Thanks again for taking the time to enjoy our growing story, and don’t hesitate to reach out with questions, concerns, ideas, digital high-fives, likes, recommendations, shares…bring it!

Check out all of our GuitarGrip Products .