# hanging guitars on walls



## James (Jul 3, 2007)

Hi all - just wondering if anyone has had experience with this - hanging guitars on drywall without using the stud to screw into -

I have some individual Hercules hangers, two screws per hanger, and I'm told "hollow drywall anchors" will be fine for attaching them to the drywall. I'm pretty nervous about hanging a Les Paul from something like that...The anchors themselves are rated for 50 pounds, but i'm afraid the drywall would let go first -

Apparently lots of wall mounted television brackets are held on by just these hollow drywall anchors i.e. no wall studs used...

Thanks for sharing any advice / experience


Jim


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## traynor_garnet (Feb 22, 2006)

I’m thinking of doing the same thing. I’m going to get a nice piece of wood and screw the hangers securely into it. Then I’ll screw that nice piece of wood directly into the studs in several locations. I know of guys who hang hangers in the drywall but, like you, I’d be creeped out hanging a guitar from it.


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## powrshftr (Sep 8, 2006)

I wouldn’t even hang an acoustic from drywall plugs,let alone a LP.
The above idea,with a piece of oak spanning a few studs,is the same thing I did at my last house.It worked well,and was totally secure.
Please don’t take any chances.

Scott


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## JBFairthorne (Oct 11, 2014)

Simple advice. Don’t do it. 

Wall plugs frequently loosen in the wall with repeated slight movements which are likely to occur hanging and removing the guitar a bunch of times. Even if it’s unlikely that it will fall, is it worth the risk?

Personally I would mount a board to the wall hitting studs then mount the hangers to the board. That lets you hang the guitars exactly where you want without having to let the stud dictate where the hangers are placed.


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## CathodeRay (Jan 12, 2018)

I wouldn't do it, but if there are no other options, there are better products than plastic anchors.
1] Metal hollow wall anchors, and 
2] the ones with the spring loaded metal wings.

Option 2 is specifically for ceilings, they can take a lot of pull and the 'repeated slight movements' JBF mentioned.


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## Frenchy99 (Oct 15, 2016)

Plastic anchors only good for acoustic. 

I would use a nice piece of wood screwed in the studs. Or if you want to put multiple guitars up on the wall, you can install slot wall hangers. Here is one of my previous walls, the opposite wall was all slot wall over my amps...


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## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

I've had those inserts pull out of the drywall from a Tele hanging before. Never again. My current wallmount is straight into a stud using 3" screws.


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## powrshftr (Sep 8, 2006)

Dude,is that half a dozen Lados in that picture....?


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## Frenchy99 (Oct 15, 2016)

powrshftr said:


> Dude,is that half a dozen Lados in that picture....?


Lol , Those are just some guitars I was fixing up at the time... a couple of vantage VA-900, a VA-800, couple of Targa neckthrus, Mann necktrhu ….


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## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)

That's just "overflow" at Frenchy's...


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## FlyingFred (Sep 29, 2019)

Hercules hangers are the only ones I trust, and I prefer hanging them on slate all so I may vary the set-up with ease. Not much difference between the cheapest and the best, all things considered...


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)




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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Hercules wall hangers seem to work great for me. My walls are mostly lathe and plaster as opposed to drywall however.


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## sambonee (Dec 20, 2007)

@Milkman ypu like mandolins I see. What’s your favorite music to play? Pm to avoid detailing if you prefer. 

drywall plugs a no-no


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

sambonee said:


> @Milkman ypu like mandolins I see. What’s your favorite music to play? Pm to avoid detailing if you prefer.
> 
> drywall plugs a no-no


I like mandolins in classic rock and also bluegrass and ethnic music.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)




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## RustyCanuck (Jan 20, 2012)

I have lath and plaster walls as well, I just find a stud and mount hangars 16" apart on studs with 3" screws. It seems to be just the right spacing for these,pretty sure I could hang off these if needed! I wouldn't trust a standard wall hangar in drywall for anything heavier than a picture.


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## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

Milkman said:


> Hercules wall hangers seem to work great for me. My walls are mostly lathe and plaster as opposed to drywall however.
> 
> View attachment 292612


Same here. It's actually worse and less secure than drywall and in my house at least (over 100 yrs old) impossible to find the studs... still mounted my Gibsons though.


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

JBFairthorne said:


> Simple advice. Don’t do it.
> 
> Wall plugs frequently loosen in the wall with repeated slight movements which are likely to occur hanging and removing the guitar a bunch of times. Even if it’s unlikely that it will fall, is it worth the risk?
> 
> Personally I would mount a board to the wall hitting studs then mount the hangers to the board. That lets you hang the guitars exactly where you want without having to let the stud dictate where the hangers are placed.


I agree with this. Drywall slowly crumbles with repeated loadings. Long screws into wood only for anything mounted onto a wall.


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## THRobinson (Jun 29, 2014)

I bought a plank of 1x6 pine board, used some 2 1/4" screws and went into the studs. That board isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

I then put the hangers into that.

Going into drywall, even with anchors, I wouldn't risk. Especially with heavy Les Paul type guitars. Through drywall and into the studs would be ok, but they may not be where you want them to be or spaced too far apart. The pine board is solid, screws stay in nice and firmly, and you can space however you want. Maybe take a router to the edges and make them a bit nicer looking, paint the wood etc... 

I had it that way in 2 rows, but measured a bit too close together. 2nd row was a bit hard to access. Have just the single row and a Hercules 5-guitar stand underneath and looks pretty good. That said... the wallpaper looks like '80s giftwrap, so, until that's been stripped off and painted, no photos.


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## DaddyShred (Aug 11, 2019)

I bought a 3 pack of hangers on Amazon.

So far nothing has fallen off my wall lol

Admittedly they have a base, which used drywall anchors for 2 screws. Then the hanger portion screws to that (so you can adjust the spacing between the wall and the back of your guitar)

They took my 20 minutes to install and look and function great.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

I have this rack (3 1/2' wide) hanging on the wall for 20 years now, using a pair of 2" toggle bolts.


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