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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 4081
Location: Utah | :eek: :eek:
Last evening I was hanging out chatting with the hired help at the local Pop (there's no Mom) Shop while my son was at his violin lesson. He carries a pretty good inventory of mid level acoustic and electric guitars, in addition to the usual beginner instruments. As I fiddled around on one guitar I noticed the fret ends sticking out a bit, just enough to feel sharp edges.
So I asked if they ran a humidifier. Shockingly, they informed me that not only do they not run a humidifier, they recommend against it! They also recommend not using a case humidifier, just keep a silica pack or dry sponge in the case to absorb moisture. :rolleyes:
Normal humidity around here is about 20%, but can run below 10%.
Then they tell me two problems with humidifying guitars. First, taking it out of the humidified room or case to play it somewhere else will stress the instrument. Secondly, they have seen finishes go milky when the humidity is kept above 50%.
Admittedly this was on a Taylor, he said. Also seen on nitro and lacquer finishes, he said.
Pop does a killer job making new guitar nuts and replacing violin bridges. But now I question his sanity. |
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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Well, Pop's advice certainly goes against everything I've ever heard. Taking a properly humidified guitar out on a gig for a day, or even a weekend, during the dry winter months at our altitude (Utah and Colorado are very similar in this regard) has never harmed any of my guitars. I think it takes more than a few days to dry them out. I'd politely thank him for his advice, then ignore it. |
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Joined:
March 2011
Posts: 16
Location: Alpine, CA | Well, I'm assuming I don't have to humidify my Adamas since the only wood is the neck. What about my Custom Legend, which has a spruce top and a wooden neck?
BTW, I live about 30 miles east of San Diego, if that helps.
Also, do guitar stores sell case humidifiers and, if so, where in the case do you put them?
Thanks, |
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Joined:
November 2006
Posts: 3969
| Adamas tops have a birch core between the carbon fiber shells (yes, they're laminates), and wood braces. Humidity - or lack thereof - also affects fret boards (as alluded to in the original post) and bridges.
Any guitar should be kept between 40% and 60% relative humidity, period. |
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Joined:
August 2002
Posts: 8307
Location: Tennessee | I've lived in California my whole life, mostly within 20 miles of the ocean, and I have never, ever humidified my guitars, nor have I ever had any cracks or other issues related to humidity or lack thereof. But maybe just call me lucky. I do tend to keep oil in my fretboards regularly to keep moisturized.
dp2, you ought to be fine there in Alpine but if you feel the need to be anal about it, go right ahead and do so. It won't hurt anything. |
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Joined:
January 2009
Posts: 4536
Location: Flahdaw | Originally posted by dp2macrae:
Also, do guitar stores sell case humidifiers and, if so, where in the case do you put them?
Thanks, Google search |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | The optimum RH is 45% +/- 15% but consistency is more important. If an instrument is constantly at 25% or constantly at 70% it should stabilise and come to no harm. The problems usually occur when you go back and forth between extremes. Temperature is also a factor.
Before you go humidifying or dehumidifying a room or an instrument, get a hygrometer first and find out exactly where your're at. Electronic hygrometers can be had for less than $20 and they will read a room, or can be left in the accessory box in a hardshell to monitor a specific instrument.
A simple rule of thumb is don't store an instrument anywhere you wouldn't be comfortable yourself |
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Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | I've had my oldest Ovation for about 42 years. Have not given humidity more than a faint thought and have had zero issues.
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Joined:
October 2008
Posts: 639
Location: NW of Philadelphia | I have guitars kept in their caes in a closet for the most part with only a couple out (still in their cases) for play. I don't humidify. I also have never had a crack or check mark.
**knock on wood** |
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Joined:
April 2003
Posts: 608
Location: Caribou, ME | In the past I've never even though about humidity or lack thereof. A couple months ago I bought a Garrison acoustic from Arizona. The fret ends stuck out, the neck had a weird roller coaster thing going on, and it had an ungodly high saddle and the action was still too low.
I bought a K-Mart hygrometer and found the humidity in my living room was 26%. I bought a used ultrasonic humidifier and ran it for a couple days until it got up to 40% or better. The Garrison's top lost it's sag and the neck lost it's weirdness. I levelled off the fret ends anyway, not sure if the fingerboard would have swelled up enough on it's own.
I bought another J-200 four weeks ago and it came from Oklahoma. It sounded good on the first day but sounded better over the next week or so. I can't credit the humidity exclusively, it may have been acclimation or maybe it hadn't been played much recently, who knows? I'm cool with running the humidifier to keep it at least over 35% in the house.
One thing I noticed was that I can't use tap water in it, at least not from my house. We have hard water and after running the humidifier a couple days, I developed a cough and there was a fine layer of white dust over everything in the house. I started using WalMart distilled water and have had no issues since.
My two cents. |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15680
Location: SoCal | I love living in SoCal. Humidity is just not an issue here in Paradise..... |
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Joined:
July 2003
Posts: 3111
Location: Nashville TN. | I don't use one |
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January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | I've heard that SoCal is not a humidity issue. I've not heard it refered to as paradise...... |
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Joined:
February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Beal, he loves living in SoCal.
Humidity is not an issue in Paradise.
A=B. C=D. A≠D. |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15680
Location: SoCal | Ok Rabbit. For that, you and Beal are now Suspects.... |
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Joined:
February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret |  |
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Do not humidify, so says local Pop shop!
