Hello fillies and fellers. Brad the Guitologist here. In a recent post on my Locals Community page, a channel supporter asked: What is the best place to store a tube amp?? What is a BAD place to store a tube amp?? I've ran out of storage, and I have too many amps!!!

Well, first of all, there are worse problems to have than “too many amps”. On that, I think we can all agree. On the scale of problems to have, “too many amps” falls somewhere between having too many classic cars and having too many girlfriends. But in my time of amp collecting, there are some ways I've found to best store guitar amps so they will continue to perform and look their best.

The first and most important rule in amp storage might seem obvious, but it is the one that's most often overlooked, and that's to store your amps in a CLIMATE CONTROLLED environment. This means controlling for BOTH temperature and humidity. Sorry farmer Jed, but unless your barn is housing million dollar thoroughbreds, the loft is probably not a good place for your beloved Marshall Plexi. That also means the shed where you store your garden tools won't make the cut. Nor is your home's attic a good place, if it's open to the outside air.

Humidity is the #1 enemy of all vintage guitar gear, included amps. I can't tell you the number of otherwise beautiful vintage amps I've come across that were covered in mildew and mold from being stored somewhere without proper humidity control. A good rule of thumb here is, if you’re comfortable, the amps should be too. While it's possible to bend the rules a little and store in environments a few degrees hotter or colder than we might consider comfortable, the key is to avoid constant, wild swings in temperature, which can hurry the breakdown of electronic components, and under no circumstances should the humidity be above around 50%. If you're unsure about the temperature or humidity levels in your storage area, you can buy inexpensive thermometers and hygrometers at places like pet stores or garden centers. Some of these will be old school analog and some will have modern digital readouts. Just be aware, the ones with digital displays will require batteries.

Because amps are bulky and because most musicians are too stupid to win an argument with a spouse about turning their home into a Guitar Center, the basement has become the default dumping ground for guitar gear. If you're like me and you must store amps in a basement, get shelves so the amps are always off the floor in case of any flooding, either from rain outside or broken plumbing inside the house. An alternative to shelving is to buy 3/4 chipboard flooring and concrete blocks and create a section of raised floor. In my last basement I created a perimeter of raised floor around the external walls of my basement and stored amps along the front edge and guitar cases behind them. This worked out pretty well.

Probably the biggest enemy of amps besides climate is pests! Mice and rats in particular can cause a lot of damage to amps. Many amps are not well sealed off inside the cabinet or chassis, so critters can get inside and chew wires and/or create nests. Rodents are also constantly urinating and defecating wherever they go, so control panels in the path of mice will quickly become rusty and lose lettering, tweed will become smelly and discolored. Fecal matter left behind by rodents will fester and decompose, causing all kinds of chemical reactions and discoloration on whatever surface it happens to be on.

But rodents aren't the only problem critters. Insect activity can also be a problem. Anything which nests - dirt daubers, wasps, bees, spiders, even small birds for example - can bring unwanted, sometimes conductive and flammable materials inside your amp's chassis, causing a short circuit or fire hazard.

Ever wondered what those mysterious white “paint drops” were doing all over your vintage amps? Chances are some of those “paint dots” are actually the digested meals of spiders, who, like mice and rats, leave their waste wherever they happen to be walking. If you wish to keep your amps pristine, always keep fitted slip covers on when not in use, and vacuum off or wipe down amps routinely to remove any pest deposits before they have a chance to discolor.

One more important tip, keep your amps as far away from any chemicals as possible. Do not store your amps on the same shelves are corrosive liquids such as bleach, keep them far away from detergents or solvents, paint thinners, or anything else you wouldn't want to dump directly onto your amp. This pretty much means steer clear of the laundry room. On top of the fact your laundry room is full of these chemicals, it can also be higher in humidity levels.

So those are my suggestions on how and where to best store your vintage amps. If you have any further suggestions, be sure to leave them in the comments below, and tune in next time when we'll discuss care and feeding for all those extra girlfriends. For now, we'll see y'all later.

Thanks to @Tripp172 for inspiring the video script.