humidity and your guitars

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tippie53
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humidity and your guitars

Post by tippie53 »

this is the time of year when Humidity , or lack of it can cause damage and other issues.
The key is here it to be able to control RH and also know what that RH is. SO to do this
#1 be sure you have a gauge that is reasonably accurate. The range that you have to be concerned about is how low , once you see 35% you better get some moisture in the air. It is true some guitars can withstand swings better than others but this is the crux of the discussion . If you don't have a good gauge you have no true idea what the RH is when you build so lets start here
There are a number of RH gauges out there. I am not a fan of the digitals but in all fairness I had not bought one in 10 yrs. All the ones I had were terribly out of calibration and few can be calibrated so that is where you start.
I have an Abeon that is a laboratory rated gauge and cost well over $200. I tried a number of brands but found this little guy.
https://www.amazon.com/Analog-Hygromete ... ter+analog
the ones I have ( I have 6 of them ) were out of the box within 5% when compared to the abeon gauge. But to make sure I did use this method to check them
You take a tablespoon of table salt and a few drops of water. I used a soda bottle cap. I then placed the gauge and wet salt in a plastic sealed bag and let set a few hours. The reading should be 75%. You can adjust these gauges. You may have to pry a magnet off the back and access a small adjustment screw. Set it for the 75% and double check. That should be it and your good to go.
#2
Now that you have a way to measure your RH it is now time to control it. If you don't have a sealed shop you may just want to set up a room and control the rh there. If you can get 40% in this dry winter your ok, As long as you can stay about that 35% you should be ok but pay attention to you instruments. Look for sharp fret ends cupped wood , or sunken tops are all signs that your dry .
I use 3 humidifiers in my 1800 sq ft shop 2 lasko recirculating one in the lower floor and 1 honey well up stairs. In my studio I use a Lasko on the main area and a the smaller honeywell in the guitar room. I have about 4 gauges there , yes it is over kill but each area has one so I can see if I am controlling the RH and if I need to be aware of anything. Common sense will rule , so I hope this helps as it is very heart breaking to spend all that time and then see a guitar crack.
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
Diane Kauffmds
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Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: humidity and your guitars

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

Thanks for posting this John. I'm having problems in my shop area, because of the lack of humidity. Like you, I've gotten away from digital hygrometers. I'm moving to synthetic hair hygrometers. I've bought a Fischer hygrometer that's been adjusted to 3 positions. It's +/- 3%. I also have this hygrometer. Eschenbach Klimakurt 452033 Precision H ... pop_ma_swf

It arrived out of calibration. I used my husband's professional psychrometer to calibrate it; it was easy to calibrate. It's accurate to within 1% now. I needed a second one, but Amazon ran out, so I opted for the Fischer.

As far as I'm concerned, there is no such thing as overkill as far as humidity is conerned. I'm sealing the tops of walls of my shop area to keep the humidity in. I'm running 2 large evaporative humidifiers. One is a hunter 3 gallon, the other is a Vornado 1 1/2 gallon. We also have in line humidifier on the furnace. The room is much better now.
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
Kbore
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Joined: Sun Jun 25, 2017 3:58 pm
Location: St. Louis area

Re: humidity and your guitars

Post by Kbore »

Thanks so much for posting that! My digital is reading low. No provision for adjustment inside the device.

My X Martin is unplayable JUST LIKE LAST YEAR due to the humidity effect on the box. The bridge is lower by say .070”. The little E is just .040 from the twelfth fret and almost laying on top of the fret wher the neck meets the body, which is also high now. This year all my guitars have a sound hole sponge humidifier. Doesn’t appear to help if guitar is out of the case.

Thanks again for posting that, it was new learning for me. Woof!
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Karl B
tippie53
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Re: humidity and your guitars

Post by tippie53 »

the point is , without knowing how to calibrate a hygrometer you never know just how good or bad they may be. As a repair guy it amazes me how people spend money on a guitar and do not follow up with the care a new guitar requires. 45 to 55 is my perfect spot
avoiding big swings is also important
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
Diane Kauffmds
Posts: 3246
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: humidity and your guitars

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

tippie53 wrote:the point is , without knowing how to calibrate a hygrometer you never know just how good or bad they may be. As a repair guy it amazes me how people spend money on a guitar and do not follow up with the care a new guitar requires. 45 to 55 is my perfect spot
avoiding big swings is also important
This is absolutely true. Something else to point out is that digital hygrometers in particular, have a finite life. The Caliber IV hygrometer that I've relied on for so many years, simply won't stay calibrated anymore. It used to be +/- 2%. But even with a new battery that I changed a couple of times (just in case something was wrong with it), it will no longer stay calibrated. It's correct within a very short range of humidity, but is way out of wack under 45% and above 50%, which of course is where it's most needed.
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
Mal-2
Posts: 104
Joined: Wed Jan 03, 2018 12:56 am

Re: humidity and your guitars

Post by Mal-2 »

tippie53 wrote:the point is , without knowing how to calibrate a hygrometer you never know just how good or bad they may be. As a repair guy it amazes me how people spend money on a guitar and do not follow up with the care a new guitar requires. 45 to 55 is my perfect spot
avoiding big swings is also important
If they're gigging, this is often way out of their control when it matters the most, so it seems pointless to even try. That doesn't make it true. Certainly it's worth trying to control humidity within the case, but what about people who hang them on the walls? Controlling the room seems like a good idea, but often these are also home recording studios, and other equipment (particularly electronics) may not appreciate the periodic injections of water vapor.
tippie53
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Re: humidity and your guitars

Post by tippie53 »

I keep my studio controlled but if you use case humidifiers that is also ok. The point is , do nothing expect cracks. Gigging musicians should use at least case humidifiers , if you don't here is what you can expect
A as the top shrinks your action will lower and you get buzzing
B you will notice fret ends getting sharp
C the top grain will show dips in the grain
the guitar will tell you when your in danger

Cracking doesn't happen over night, and the longer you allow it to dry the worse the damage can be , from simple top seam separation to sever cracking and bridge popping off.

The point is , a little care can save you a lot of frustration later.
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
Mal-2
Posts: 104
Joined: Wed Jan 03, 2018 12:56 am

Re: humidity and your guitars

Post by Mal-2 »

tippie53 wrote:The point is , do nothing expect cracks.
I know a guitar teacher who uses a carbon fiber body instrument specifically so he doesn't have to worry about it. It doesn't sound as good as his recording instruments, but he can leave it in his car all day while he's at his normal job and not have to worry about it whether it's +40°C or -20°C. The neck is still wood, but he doesn't care. It's his beater.
tippie53
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Re: humidity and your guitars

Post by tippie53 »

carbon fiber is not influenced by weather and if your in a canoe you can use it for the paddle when you get stuck up a creek. LOL My friend has a Rain Song crown of thorns that is a great guitar actually .
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
johnnparchem
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Re: humidity and your guitars

Post by johnnparchem »

Thanks for the suggested gauge, I got two and they both came in on the money for 75%
humidity.jpg
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