Like the Rock Lock we featured last month, the Guitar Hanger is one of those wonderfully simple ideas that you wish you'd thought of first. It provides a temporary storage solution for players who suffer from limited floor space or just need to get their treasured electric saxophone out of harm's way. As you can see from the gallery, the device has two parts – a double-hooked hanger where one end locks to a U-shaped bracket and the other is slung over any closet or rack rod that happens to have some space.
Anyone who, like me, owns a number of guitars and has them sitting perilously out in the open on floor stands or resting against the sofa, will probably have watched in horror as a beloved pooch playfully sends one hurtling through the air or a vacuum cleaner clips it just a little too hard and causes an accidental flooring. The Guitar Hanger was designed to relieve such tensions by giving owners a means to suspend a much-loved instrument safely behind a closet door or out of the dog's radar on a high rack – but still allow for easy access.
The distal end of the hook part of the Guitar Hanger slides and locks into the keyed slot of the U-shaped bracket or yoke. After slinging the other end over a suitably secure closet or rack rod, a player then moves the guitar neck through the gap, turns the instrument by 90 degrees and lowers the headstock into the cradle.
The guitar can be faced either away from the hook or facing it and the lipped feet of the yoke prevent the git-fiddle from being accidentally knocked out of the Hanger's grip when you grab your coat or shirt from the closet. The two sections come apart for easy storage.
Although solidly constructed, the Guitar Hanger is not meant for long term storage. For extended periods between play, a case would better protect the instrument from dust, humidity, changes in temperature and so on.
I suspect that if you were going to rack up your prized collection as shown in the photograph below then you'd need to take considerable care to avoid some sort of huge Newton's cradle when loading and unloading. But for beginners or touring professionals alike, the Guitar Hanger looks like an ideal solution for easy access, temporary storage. It'll even take care of your gaming axe between bouts of Rock Band...
I would like to see some sort of swivel mechanism incorporated into the hook without affecting the hanger's strength to make it even more useful, but maybe that's just me being a little too wanting.
The Guitar Hanger is available now for US$24.99
