Packing and Storing Musical Instruments

If you are placing a treasured or valuable musical instrument into a self-storage unit you will need to take special care with the packing and moving. Many musical instruments can be easily damaged if not adequately protected.

Many musical instruments are very valuable pieces of equipment, others are simply treasured for sentimental reasons rather than having any intrinsic monetary value, but all different types of musical instrument have one thing in common with each other: they are fragile and can easily be damaged or even broken irreparably during a move to a new home or location either whilst being transported or whilst in a storage unit.

Pianos typically range from instruments of little monetary value such as an old iron-framed upright which has seen better days and will never again be tuned to concert pitch, but on which your children are learning to play; right through to the very best quality grand pianos such as a Steinway that can cost substantially more than the average year's salary for some of us and are played by the most talented of professional musicians, with every other type of piano in between these two extremes. You might wonder why anyone would want to put a valuable piano in storage in the first place but if, for example, you have been temporarily transferred overseas by your employer then it would be unfeasible to transport a delicate instrument like a piano and expect it to arrive in a new country (perhaps one with a completely different climate) in good musical condition. So sometimes temporary storage is the only feasible option even for an extremely cherished instrument. If you actually own a Steinway or another very valuable piano you are likely to opt for specialist storage for musical instruments, but if you own an everyday piano, then a reputable self-storage company (perhaps one with humidity-controlled units) would be perfectly acceptable for the temporary storage of such an instrument.

But moving and storing an instrument such as a piano so that no cosmetic damage is done but also, much more importantly, so that no musical damage is done, is a very delicate task so you should think very carefully before deciding whether or not to do the move yourself. Pianos are especially troublesome to transfer into storage because they are heavy yet also fragile at the same time.

You may, very sensibly, decide to use the services of a specialist piano mover who will have moving equipment designed specifically for pianos and will be able to deal with all types of piano including standard uprights, baby grands and also grand pianos. A professional piano mover will be experienced in the techniques used to prevent disturbing the mechanics of the piano and also be able to avoid damage to the outer case. After all a piano can be a beautiful piece of furniture as well as an instrument for making beautiful music.

But not all instruments are as large and cumbersome as a piano and many musical instruments have their own hard cases and need no additional packing. Although other instruments might have soft cases such as guitars or violins. The best option for packing and storing small instruments is to try and buy a hard case where possible but if this is not possible (for example, in the case of exotic foreign instruments or unusual antique instruments) then place the instrument in its soft case, if you have one, and carefully wrap with bubble wrap and place inside a sturdy cardboard packing box.

If you own a number of stringed instruments such as cellos, violas or violins, there are special storage racks available for these types of instruments to store, protect and transport valuable stringed instruments. The instruments are kept safe during storage and transport to avoid scratches or other damage to the body of the instrument and many racks have wheels so can be moved easily into its new home or self-storage unit.

The author has written and published articles on a wide range of topics including Small Business Advice, Tax and Accounting, Interior Design, House Renovation and Project Management.