6 Expert Tips to Hang Your Guitar on a Wall

Who could’ve thought the first wall-mounted guitar hanger was made on a dairy farm? That’s where Paul Thieman invented his hanger from spare parts, merely out of a passion for his guitar. 

Three years later, in 1987, Thieman and his wife decided to sell their accessory invention, making up for financial losses. 

Today, String Swing continues to sell the first mass-distributed guitar hangers in their original elegant design. Still, hanging guitars on a wall isn’t a straightforward task for many players.

To hang your guitar on a wall, pick a wall far from direct sunlight and heat. Use a room with a dry and moderate temperature. Pick durable hangers that can rotate to accommodate different guitar headstock shapes. Choose a soft material, like rubber to avoid abrasion where the headstock is held.

In addition to being loved for their aesthetics, guitar hangers have become popular as smart storage options for music enthusiasts. 

Yet, if you’re weary of following the crowd when it comes to risking your precious guitar, you’re not alone.

In this article, we’ll list some x expert tips to hang your guitar on a wall. 

If you follow through, you’ll be able to showcase your musical masterpieces while keeping your mind at peace.

Why It Is a Good Idea to Hang your Guitar on a Wall

Isn’t it amazing how Thieman’s wall-mounted guitar hangers spread so wild? They’re in the backdrop of almost every guitar YouTuber.

You probably guessed there’s wisdom behind taking such a risk. Here’s why we recommend hanging your guitar on the wall.

1. Showcase Your Passion

For anyone outside the music world, people are probably hanging guitars as alternative wall decor. 

Although this is a superficial view of the scene, it’s one of the greatest takeaways from guitar hangers.

You’ll definitely feel the pride of being a guitar player when you invite your friends over. 

Displaying your passion attracts like-minded individuals who would be encouraged to share their experiences with musical instruments.

Even more, if you’ve got a collection of rare guitars, they’ll make an attractive backdrop for your own photos and videos. 

Someone might even reach out to you with a good deal for one of your masterpieces. 

In short, celebrate your guitar with the world. 

Otherwise, if your instrument is tucked away in a closet, who would know about it?

2. Save Space

Speaking of closets, how many of them would you need to accommodate a collection of guitars? 

We know cupboard space costs money and it’s an additional hassle every time you’re moving to a new house. 

Hanging your guitars on a wall takes advantage of unused surfaces around the house, like wall shelves. 

If you’re tight on space, make sure you hang them high enough to place furniture pieces below.

Another common storage option for guitars is floor stands. Truth is, guitar stands are an affordable alternative to closet storage. 

However, they take considerable space on the floor, especially if you’re living in a small apartment.

There are also guitar racks, for those of you with a dozen guitars. 

Again, they take up floor space, and, since the guitars are hung, they’re not much safer than wall hangers.

3. Keep Your Guitar Safe

Moving on to safety, you’re probably most concerned about dropping the guitar from a few feet above the floor. 

Interestingly, guitar hangers are more reliable than the previously mentioned options.

With the advancement in manufacturing technologies, several brands are offering hangers that can lift over 40 pounds in weight. 

Additionally, some manufacturers, like Hercules, have gone even further by offering their Auto Grip System to ensure the durability of their hangers.

This system automatically locks the guitar neck into the hanger once it’s in place. 

As a result, the firm grip eliminates any chances of slipping off the guitar.

4. Ease of Practicing the Guitar

Unless you’re playing the guitar for a living, you’re probably trying to free up some time for practice. 

In the midst of our everyday hustles, finding inspiration can be difficult for creatives.

For that reason, you need to keep your tools within reach. 

When inspiration hits, your guitar will be right on the wall. Otherwise, there’s a risk of missing the moment if you have to fetch the guitar from its case under the bed.

Even better, when it’s hanging on the wall, the guitar remains in the range of your eyesight, so you’ll be encouraged to pick it up more often. 

This way you can build up a few minutes of practice every day until you reach your guitar playing finesse.

6 Expert Tips to Hang Your Guitar on a Wall

Admittedly, hanging your guitar on the wall seems risky. 

Yet, if you know how to do it right, this task would be a piece of cake. 

We don’t recommend going for an improvised approach. 

So, here’s a round-up of expert tips to get your guitar on the wall.

1. Choose Hanger Mechanism

Not all guitar hangers are created equal. 

Although most guitar hangers are replicating the typical String Swing mechanism, it all comes down to the small details that differentiate professional hangers from their cheap counterparts.

You Get What You Pay For

Initially, we need to admit that reliable guitar hangers can be costly. Yet, they’re definitely worth the investment. 

You don’t go cheap on guitar bags, so take the same caring approach toward the hangers.

Rotating Hangers

The most important feature you need in all hangers is that they should freely rotate. 

This will ensure they can accommodate different guitar headstock shapes.

Thread Length

Another thing you need to look for is the length of the thread that goes into the holder of the guitar hanger. 

This is the metal rod that holds the weight of the guitar, so you want to ensure it’s long enough to be properly fixed.

Auto Grip System

Additionally, as we’ve mentioned earlier, Hercules provides a reliable Auto Grip System to its hangers. 

This mechanism provides additional protection, compared to the typical design. 

We would recommend an Auto Grip System if you’ve got young kids or active pets around the house. 

The grip prevents random drops if someone accidentally knocks the guitar.

2. Choose Hanger Material

Several manufacturers have chosen wood for the holders of their guitar hangers due to its sturdiness and pleasant looks. 

As long as it’s durable, the holder material isn’t much of a concern.

What’s more concerning is the material in direct contact with the guitar neck. 

Indeed, the grip can damage the finishing of your instruments, especially if you don’t use them that often.

Stiff Materials Cause Damage

First, it’s better to stay away from all stiff materials, such as wood or metals. 

These materials can create dents on the guitar neck, or even scratch its coating.

Go for Soft Materials

Therefore, you’ll need to look for grips with a soft layer around the grip. 

For that purpose, rubber and foam are two of the most common materials used around hanger grips.

Rubber is safe for all guitar finishing materials, but the foam is a bit of a concern for nitrocellulose lacquer finishes. 

Over time, the foam can react with lacquer and make it melt. 

3. Choose a Reliable Wall

Speaking of reliability, it’s not all about the hanger. 

If the wall won’t hold the guitar’s weight, then you might rethink hanging the guitar altogether.

Solid Walls Are Recommended

For hanging instruments, we recommend going for a solid masonry wall as it’s the most reliable wall construction. 

Brick construction is commonly used for the exterior walls of the house, but you can be lucky to find some of them inside.

How to Identify Wall Types?

All you need to do is to use some knocking and listening skills. 

Knock the wall with your fist and try to recognize the different sounds.

If the wall sounds hollow, then it’s a plasterboard, lathe, or stud wall. 

Brick walls sound solid, but there’s a slightly hollow sound that makes them distinctive from concrete sections of the wall.

All in all, you don’t want to be drilling in concrete or hollow walls. 

Yet, you can hang a guitar on a hollow wall with some extra effort.

Hanging a Guitar on a Hollow Wall

For hollow walls, you want to ensure there are no pipes or wires behind the drilling point. 

It’s best to use a wall scanner to find stiff wooden wall studs.

If, however, your hollow wall is stiff overall, you can directly drill the studs. 

Still, you’ll need to use the anchors designed for such walls.

You can use the anchors of LCD TV screens which are sold at hardware stores. 

Make sure, however, that the anchor bolts have a suitable size to go through the holes in the guitar hanger. 

4. Take Measurements

Before you fix the guitar hanger in place, you need to decide its position. 

The best way is to make some measurements on the ground.

Simply fix the guitar neck in the hanger grip, then hold the hanger onto the wall. 

Next, measure the height of the guitar, starting from the mounting holder tip to the bottom of the guitar. 

Now, find your guitar’s sweet spot on the wall. 

Make sure that your guitar will be relaxed while hanging, based on the height you took earlier.

5. Fix the Hanger

After deciding on the hanger’s height, you’ll need to mark where you’ll drill the bolts. Hold your guitar hanger on the wall and use a spirit level to ensure it’s aligned. 

Then, use a pencil to mark the positions of the bolt and the edges of the hanger.

After that, you can drill the holes using your power tools. 

Finally, mount the holder, tap the bolts inside the holes, and insert the thread.

6. Test the Hanger

Now that everything is in place, you want to try the guitar hanger before hanging precious instruments. 

We suggest using a heavy bag instead of the guitar for this experiment.

Simply hang the bag, or spare guitar, for a few minutes on the hanger. 

After that, remove the bag and check if the thread or any of the bolts have been displaced. If you find everything in place, you’re good to go.

Are guitar Wall Hangers Universal?

Yes, guitar wall hangers are generally universal and they’ll be able to hang different guitars and other musical instruments. 

However, guitar hangers that don’t rotate may not suit offset forms of guitar headstocks.

In addition, not all guitar hangers have the same bolts and screw sizes. 

So, it’s best to stick to the components of the hanger kit provided by the manufacturer.

Perhaps, more importantly, not all guitar hangers can bear the same weight. 

Make sure to check the maximum capacity of the hanger and the weight of your guitar.

Can a Guitar Be Damaged if Hung on a Wall?

Generally speaking, hanging your guitar on a wall should cause no harm, provided you follow the expert tips we mentioned earlier. 

Although many players have hung their guitars for decades without damage, there are still some common concerns in the music community.

Here are a few concerns we’d like to address.

Neck Warp

If you’ve heard that wall hangers can damage your guitar’s neck, you’re not alone. 

This is a common misconception.

If a guitar neck gets warped, then it’s likely due to the quality of the wood or being exposed to harsh conditions. 

Quality wall hangers shouldn’t cause damage to the guitar neck.

Truss Rod Damage

Admittedly, hanging the guitar from its neck stresses the truss rods. 

However, the hanging force is insignificant, compared to the tension in the truss rods. 

If you’re still worried about the truss rods though, you can give your guitars a break on the ground every now and then.

Environmental Factors

Now that we addressed some misconceptions, let’s list some factors that can damage a guitar on the wall. 

Make sure the wall isn’t exposed to direct sunlight and that the guitar is far from heating pipework.

Additionally, keep your guitar within acceptable humidity levels and frequently clean lingering debris. 

These care tips will apply even if your instruments are secure in their cases.

In the end, a guitar’s well-being depends on its player. 

Truth is that caring owners are the reason why we still have some of the greatest aging guitars.