I've noticed that when I pick any of my guitars after a few days the tuning goes, "sharp."

I noticed this a lone time ago on my Strat Plus, but I never thought about it much.

Any idea why this happening and is it bad?

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1975 Sunburst Stratocaster rosewood finger board
1979 Stratocaster with roseowood finder board
2001 Candy Green Clapton Stratocaster
2007 Andy Summers Inspired Telecaster
2007 '51 P-Bass
2012 Taylor 110
2015 Mystic Ice Blue Deluxe Stratocaster Plus

Probably just due to temperature/humidity changes. Mine usually go slightly flat after a few days.

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Bill

I agree with bluesky636. Gotta be something in the humidity of where you leave the guitars. The most common thing is for the tuning to go flat on some strings after it has sat for awhile, without being played. This is due, usually, to some strings "relaxing" a bit over time and the newer the strings, the more likely it is to happen. But since your tuning goes sharp, in the opposite direction, excess humidity is probably the culprit, as this will cause the wood to swell slightly and pull the strings tighter.

If you get in the habit of always putting your guitars back in their cases, when you know you won't be playing them for awhile, it'll likely solve your problem. I would also suggest storing all of them in one room and equipping that room with a dehumidifier, if storing them in the case doesn't solve the problem.

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"It's about sound and sound alone. Looks are irrelevant. You can have the best-looking guitar on earth, but if the sound isn't there it is nothing more than a beautiful piece of trash. The sound it makes is the soul of any guitar."

It could also be temperature. If the strings are going sharp, then the temperature may be cooler than when you played it last. Playing the guitar heats the strings slightly, and when you re-tune, and then set the guitar aside, the strings contract in cold and get slightly shorter, making the guitar sharp.

Thanks for the input. I have them on the wall in one room. I may have to start keeping them in the case. Should I de-tune them?

Store in the case tuned.
Look at the location you are keeping it. Is there an airconditioning vent blowing on it?
Or does the morning/evening sun shine through a window on it?
Nothing wrong with hanging on a wall, but the spot should be away from such things. As pointed out, long term storage in the case is best.

My guitars are hung on the wall or in stands, and are away from heating/cooling vents and direct sunlight. There is no need to detune the guitars to store them.

It's somewhat of a slippery $@!&# here. I, too leave mine in stands for short periods. Since air conditioning dehumidifies the air, along with cooling it, it shouldn't be much of a concern in the warm weather months, as long as it's not directly under an outlet. But you have to watch it carefully with heat in the wintertime. That's when, for me, they go back in the cases when I'm done playing for awhile.

Solidbody electric guitars aren't nearly as sensitive as acoustics to climatic changes. I always put my acoustics back in their cases when I'm done playing, year 'round, and I wouldn't recommend ever hanging one on the wall. Had a friend who did that once and the neck turned into a ski jump in a few months.

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"It's about sound and sound alone. Looks are irrelevant. You can have the best-looking guitar on earth, but if the sound isn't there it is nothing more than a beautiful piece of trash. The sound it makes is the soul of any guitar."

I live in the Northeast US (Boston MA area). The room where my guitars are kept, does not use air conditioning. Our heating system is not forced hot air, a system which tends to dry out the air (and wood). I agree that in some climates great care has to be taken to prevent wood from drying out, I happen to be in a climate/conditions that make this less so.

Instead of putting a guitar on the wall for a few days, put it somewhere else, on a stand in a different room or in the case and this if it goes sharp after a few days. Guitars tend to go flatter when played and sharper when not, something with body heat or something.

It's humid here in the South and one Strat I leave out on a stand is nearly always a little sharp after sitting for the night...the ones in the cases are not much out of tune.

Must save those little dessicant bags

Mine stay in their cases when not in use. Mostly to keep my dogs from chewing on them

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Bill

Mine go sharp when they sit idle too. Gibson, Fender, Taylor, makes no difference. I've always attributed it to the cool weather where I live. Now that it's summer I don't notice it anymore. I just assume that my hands warm the guitar (and strings) up after about 15 minutes of playing while I am continually retuning it and then it settles down after a while but then it cools when I'm done and when I come back to it later, it's sharp again. The human body is 98.6 F and room temp is about 70 F so in the summer when the house warms up I don't notice it as much. I dunno. My mind goes there when I think about it due to the circumsatnces.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

Couldn't help but notice a recurring comment about storing tuned/detuned. Your guitars should be stored in tune,and in their cases. The reason for this is that the truss rod is intended to compensate for string tension...the neck wood cannot counteract string pull by itself for any period of time. Storing your guitar detuned (without also loosening the truss rod) will allow truss rod tension to bend the neck backwards. It will take on that contour, making it almost impossible to get uniform action along the neck without some involved and time-consuming effort to get the neck somewhat straight again. Many nice guitars have been damaged by well-intentioned owners loosening the strings if the guitar won't be played for awhile.

All mentions of temperature and humidity are spot-on. If conditions are uncomfortable for you, they are uncomfortable for your guitar!