Importance of Humidity Control
Posted: Sat May 28, 2016 8:56 am
I'm going to post this in a couple of sections of the forum, because it illustrates the importance of humidity control.
We often talk about the lack of humidity which results in the wood drying out, causing damage, but we rarely talk about what happens when there is TOO MUCH humidity.
This custom OM-45, comes from southern Georgia, where there is a lot of humidity year around. Forced heat and air conditioning, act as dehumidification, but in this area, neither is used much, except for the dog days of August. This guitar was kept in ~ 77% RH in a residence. The owner sent the guitar to me. Since it's under warranty, I brought the guitar to John Hall, since he is certified for Martin Warranty repair.
The guitar had a very high action and the binding had started coming off in a couple of areas. When a ruler was placed over the area below the bridge, it was obvious that the guitar was very swollen from excessive humidity, causing the neck relief to change and popping the binding off. We're lucky we caught it; guitars can eventually come completely apart when the wood swells to this extent. The owner said that the guitar never sounded very good. He even had Martin replace the entire top with a nice Adi.
He placed the guitar in his basement to "dry out". The next day, the difference was startling. The belly bulge had decreased substantially and the neck started to straighten out. The binding will be reglued after the guitar completely dries out, which takes about two weeks.
I discussed the problem with the owner and found that he was having trouble with most of his guitars. He has since gotten a good dehumidifier for his guitar room. He told me that his guitars were much happier.
We often talk about the lack of humidity which results in the wood drying out, causing damage, but we rarely talk about what happens when there is TOO MUCH humidity.
This custom OM-45, comes from southern Georgia, where there is a lot of humidity year around. Forced heat and air conditioning, act as dehumidification, but in this area, neither is used much, except for the dog days of August. This guitar was kept in ~ 77% RH in a residence. The owner sent the guitar to me. Since it's under warranty, I brought the guitar to John Hall, since he is certified for Martin Warranty repair.
The guitar had a very high action and the binding had started coming off in a couple of areas. When a ruler was placed over the area below the bridge, it was obvious that the guitar was very swollen from excessive humidity, causing the neck relief to change and popping the binding off. We're lucky we caught it; guitars can eventually come completely apart when the wood swells to this extent. The owner said that the guitar never sounded very good. He even had Martin replace the entire top with a nice Adi.
He placed the guitar in his basement to "dry out". The next day, the difference was startling. The belly bulge had decreased substantially and the neck started to straighten out. The binding will be reglued after the guitar completely dries out, which takes about two weeks.
I discussed the problem with the owner and found that he was having trouble with most of his guitars. He has since gotten a good dehumidifier for his guitar room. He told me that his guitars were much happier.