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Joined:
August 2011
Posts: 887
Location: Always beautiful canyon country of Utah | Since I live in the desert it makes sense that I might want to protect my guitar(s) with an in case humidifier?? Looking for clues about which one(s) might be the best. I know nothing about them at present even though I am a certified nerd.. Please help with whatever information you might have about which ones work best and are easiest to use. I know some of you out there have extensive experience with these things. Thanking you in advance. |
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Joined:
November 2012
Posts: 135
Location: New Bern, NC | The only humidifier I've ever seen used is called a Damp-It. Here in the Southern US we have PLENTY of humidity though, so it's not a big problem for me. I do have a Damp-It for my classical, which is a conventional box guitar. I used it for a while but found it to be inconvenient.
http://www.dampits.com |
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Joined:
December 2004
Posts: 1673
Location: SoCal | Start out simple... get a hygrometer and make your own in-case humidifier if you need one. A sponge in a plastic travel soap dish is my favorite. 
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September 2011
Posts: 402
Location: New Hartford CT | Some nice tips in there Noah, thanks. |
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September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Dave... You are in Utah, you probably need a humidifier.
I am in Oregon... You wouldn't think that I would need a humidifier but I do.
Air Conditioned air is Dry... so Summer air can be Dry.
Also heated air is usually Dry... and Winter air is always Dry.
It is relatively humid in Oregon, but my windows are sealed and do not open.
(my building used to be a Ramada Inn executive motel)
So my air is usually conditioned one way or another.
That baggie-and-sponge solution looks great.
I use Herco Guardfather case Humidifiers which are just clay in a plastic can.
And I have a couple of Damp-its in case something gets dry and needs emergency humidification.
But I am gonna make myself some of those baggie/sponge thingies. 
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 4048
Location: Utah | Dave, you definitely need to humidify!
To be honest, I think the most important factor is stability in humidity. Secondarily but still very important is the humidity itself. If you keep your guitar in a 40% humidity usually, but then take it out for a week at a time camping in 10% conditions, you will be doing harm with all the changes. (Once in a while is no big deal, it is the repeated cycles which stress it, just like temperature cycles). If you take your guitar out of the room for a few hours or a day at a time it will be just fine. It is not going to shrink/swell in a few hours.
We have a Sears room humidifier in the music room set at 35% year round.
The eldest daughter keeps her O in her apartment, and I find the fret ends stick out a bit. If she puts it in the music room here at the house for a few days the sharp ends go away due to the wood swelling back to normal.
I continue to be a skeptic on the in-the-case humidifiers but members here have posted hygrometer readings from inside their case when they use a damp-it type of product. If you keep the case closed except when playing the guitar, and if you keep the sponge wet all the time, you can do an adequate job of keeping your guitar properly humidified.
Edited by FlySig 2013-04-08 11:02 AM
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | I'm in the same camp as FlySig. If you have more than one guitar, you are better off keeping them out in a room and buying a humidifier with a built in hygrometer to keep the humidity in that room at 40% or more. It's usually just the winter that gets dry here in the mountains. You can get a decent humidifier for the cost of a couple of Dampits. The Dampits work, but they require more attention than a room humidifier. When it got really cold here this winter and the heat was on all the time, I was filling the humidifier every couple days. Now that it gets into the 60s, I fill it less than once per week. |
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September 2011
Posts: 402
Location: New Hartford CT | Repeated exposure to sudden changes in temp/humidity will stress the wood. Repeated stress, fatigue...a crack can develop in the same way as metal and other materials do.
Winters are cold and dry in Conn and the summers as hot and humid as most anywhere in the country but they were designed and built in this climate to withstand these changes, within reason.
My Dad's old DB has NO cracks and none of the others do either. I treat them all with care but confess to never using humidifiers or worrying about RH.
If you can avoid exposing your guitar to repeated sudden climate changes the odds are in your favor.
Just don't let your wife dust around your prized Patriot; she could knock a picture frame over and hit your guitar....that causes a crack for sure. And thanks for the repair JB> |
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Joined:
August 2011
Posts: 887
Location: Always beautiful canyon country of Utah | But it should be less of a problem with an Adamas? Because there is no wood except for the neck?? |
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December 2003
Posts: 1889
Location: Central Massachusetts | Don't forget the braces. |
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April 2008
Posts: 2985
Location: Sydney, Australia | dvd - 2013-04-09 1:10 PM
Don't forget the braces.
Good point, but I think Adamas guitars are just generally a lot more resistant to all sorts of damage. Sort of like an expensive beach guitar, that sounds heavenly. |
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Humidifier??
