Tripped on Guitar Cable, launched guitar off stand...!

But if it broke it’s the fault of “bad design”, not stupidity, right?

Never, never, never, never put a guitar on a stand without unplugging it first. If you do, don’t blame Gibson for “flawed design.”

 

Fenders are pretty tough.

Unfortunately I did that with a Gibson SG about 25 years ago. Landed face down on thick padded carpet so I thought it was ok. Picked it up, and the neck came off. Snapped it right at the joint where it joined the body.

Had it repaired and am still playing it today.

 

The same thing happened to my Greco SS (lawsuit SG special). I fell on my back while playing and pressed on the body with my right arm. The neck snapped right off. I don't think the neck tenon was even an inch long. I had it repaired but I get this weird feeling when I hold it. I only play bolt-ons now.

I don't think it's either/or. Bad design makes it fragile in the first place, but carelessness or an accident breaks it.

 

I pulled a Yamaha Revstar from the wall once, not noticing I had the cable that was plugged into the guitar wrapped around my ankle when the phone rang...

 

Crazy. I've played and seen a lot of shows and have never seen another guitarist unplug before putting it on a stand.

 

You’ve never been to one of my shows, I see. Your loss.

 

"Yeah man, tripping on guitar cable is one we haven't tried..."

 

I have never put a plugged in guitar on a stand in nearly 50 years. People don't lift their feet. You increase the stumblebum danger zone area by an additional 25 feet.

There is no upside to putting a plugged guitar on a stand. I say this each time the frontman walks by with a guitar attached to his ankle.

 

I’ve been playing live since 1981 and I’ve never put my guitar in the stand and NOT unplugged it first.

 

The other saving grace is that it wasn't someone else's guitar. Even if it's not damaged, you feel like an a-hole for weeks after.

 

Not saying it's not a good idea. Just saying you're in the minority.

 

We were playing in Ottawa, Ontario last night at one of the traditional watering holes as my bass player is from there so it was a blast! My singer put his backup strat on the stand and at some point during the second set, it got bumped and fell face first on a marble floor. All was fine and it suffered no damage other than a few more relic points. All good!

 

I did the same thing with a new Gretsch White Falcon. Tripped on a cable and the whole guitar tipped off the stand and landed strings first on the stage...so much horror. The guitar survived and still sounded awesome, but from that day onwards I always unplug my guitar from the instrument cable when it's on a stand or rack.

 

2 quick stories:
Starting out, a 63 Gretsch Corvette leaned strings toward the grill cloth of a Vox Essex bass amp. Break time in more ways than one. Someone bumped the amp, and the neck cracked. My woodworker Dad said "Let me mess with it. What do you have to lose?"
Glued, spliced and refinished, and played great for years.

After my first band, the lead guitarist switched to a Gibson Johnny Smith model. He left it sitting on top of his new Duall Showman. Oops. Fell off and snapped the neck. Even late 60s, still an expensive lesson!

 

Years ago, my brother had a ‘79 strat (in a gig bag no less) get run over by a car, because he leaned it against the bumper. The damn thing escaped totally unscathed. On the other end, he had an 80’s, ES-347, which he was so afraid of dropping (and snapping off the headstock) that he never took it out, and eventually sold it.

Go figure.

 

I've always unplugged a guitar when putting it on a stand. It's an easy habit to develop and keep. I've never, ever even thought about leaving a guitar, with a plug protruding from the rim, and the whole thing attached to a cord, plugged in when putting it down. I pull the plug and lay it on my amp where it's right there when it's time to plug in again. Pull the plug!

 

Don’t use guitar stands or lean guitars against something!!!

Lay guitars down, in the case, on the floor, etc... and guess what... the guitars can’t get knocked over or fall!

 

Our guitarist yanked a cord out tonight after our gig and knocked over his Epiphone P-93 Riviera. Seems like no damage to the guitar, but I told him to inspect it carefully in good light when he got home. Funny thing is, he's always saying, "Don't yank any cables!"