Well i have a few questions here. the first is how many other guitar players are out there on the board. (acoustic/classical/electric?) I am just learning and just purchased my first guitar an acoustic. (Guild GAD30E) I played one at schmitt music and loved it. My second question is does anyone know if i can get 50% beads. You are supposed to try and keep the humidity around 50% a lot of companies offer the florist foam but nothing else. TIA
Guitar ?
- Thread starter RigilKent
- Start date
njstone
BoM January 2010
I'm an avid and occasionally professional guitarist (worship leader). For my Taylor I just use 2 sponges (like you use to do dishes) inside of soap dishes (covered, with holes cut out). It's cheap and it's really all you need, imo.
Someday I'd love a cedar-lined room to house my guitars w/a walk-in humi
Ah, to dream...
Someday I'd love a cedar-lined room to house my guitars w/a walk-in humi
Ah, to dream...
Electric bass meself, but a mate uses this: http://oasishumidifiers.com/index.html
rick12string
Caught in the Crossfire
The ideal humidity for acoustic guitars is between 40% to 50% RH. If your home is normally in this range youre OK. A little higher or lower should not be a problem. I would be concerned if the RH got down close to 30% or lower. Low RH can cause the wood to shrink resulting in cracks. Too high RH can result in the wood swelling and causing other problems including loosening of joints. Sudden changes in temp or humidity can also cause cracking or swelling of the wood depending on which way the RH swings. For example you dont want to take your guitar (acoustic or electric) from a climate controlled environment such as your house and leave it in the car over night if its a cold winter or during the day in the heat of summer. If you ever have your guitar in a situation where it had gotten very cold or hot dont open the case immediately. Give it time to adjust before opening. This will allow the guitar acclimate gradually rather than shocking it. If you find the RH is too low in your house you can use a product like Alfonso suggested or another alternative is a room humidifier for the room you store your guitars in, keep the door closed, monitor the RH and adjust accordingly.
Hope this helps.
Hope this helps.
Soundwave13
BoM Feb 2010
I've been playing for 19 or so years...
Rick & Jkim pretty much have the rest covered. Congrats & enjoy!
Rick & Jkim pretty much have the rest covered. Congrats & enjoy!
Wagz
Großartig Hurensohn
I play acoustic/electric guitar, electric 5 string bass, upright bass and ukulele. Been playing for 25 years or so, but I never stop learning.
Never gave much thought to the humidity my instruments are exposed to. I probably should though, given my immediate proximity to the Pacific Ocean.
Never gave much thought to the humidity my instruments are exposed to. I probably should though, given my immediate proximity to the Pacific Ocean.
Soundwave13
BoM Feb 2010
Electric 5-string Bass is my favorite!
Always wanted to play the upright bass.... Never could justify the purchase. But then again I have expensive tastes... I love the upright electric.
Always wanted to play the upright bass.... Never could justify the purchase. But then again I have expensive tastes... I love the upright electric.
njstone
BoM January 2010
Ditto. When I first got my Taylor (410 custom, used), I was clueless to this particular fact. The very first winter, my top split! TRAGEDY!! I took it into the local dealer and he said that it wasn't really fixable, but that the crack didn't go through the wood itself (just the gloss and a tiny bit of wood on the top) so it shouldn't affect the sound much. I got lucky, really.
I got a few sponges (mentioned above) that day and it's been fine since. But now I have a full-house humidifier that keeps things above 50%, so I don't even bother wetting the sponges when it's in the house during the winter. Haven't had any problems.
To me, the guitar doesn't sound quite as "warm" when it's too dry...maybe Rick can comment on that...When it's in the right range, your guitar will sound correct (which is relative to that specific instrument, of course, as all acoustic guitars sound different). When it's too humid it starts to sound too warm, i.e. "muddy," that happens a lot when playing outdoors in the summer (and guitars have a tendency to de-tune a bit then too). Apparently maple wood guitars are better for outdoor play for that reason--and they're darn pretty too.
Awww...how cute! He's mere intermediate! :smokingbo
thanks for the info. Im not positive what the RH is in my house but will leave one of my hygromoters out for a while and check it. I just know that it gets lower here in the winter when it gets below 0. cant wait to get into the thick of playing already have about five cords down and the first three notes for each string down. thanks guys
rick12string
Caught in the Crossfire
Wood is hygroscopic in nature. Wood moves across the grain with changes in humidity. It expands when subjected to higher humidity and shrinks due to low humidity. Acoustic guitars are made with relatively thin wood with large surface areas and can loose moisture rather quickly. As the wood looses moisture it tries to shrink but is held in place by the dimensions of the guitar as it was built. As this occurs the grain becomes tighter, taught and tends to loose the richer tones. It can also cause the sound board to become concaved slightly causing buzzing on the frets. In extreme cases this shrinking can lead to cracking or splitting.
With a very high moisture content the wood tends to swell and does just the opposite, dulling the sound of the instrument. Once again since the guitar is held to its original dimensions the sound board can become bellied or convex raising the action of the guitar affecting the playability. It can also cause joints and bracing to come loose.
Higher end guitars are made with solid woods as opposed to laminates for superior sound but are more susceptible to this because the thin solid wood is more sensitive to humidity change than laminates. Damage from dryness is more serious than damage from excess humidity. If you keep your house at a comfortable level anywhere from 40% to 55% RH which I think is a good range for the house you will have no problems to worry about.
Hope this helps some.
Rick
P.S. maple is a harder tonewood that carries or transfers higher frequencies better than mahogany or spruce for example.
I've been playing for close to 20 years. I switched to electric bass when I went to college to play in the school's pop/jazz/rock/country band. I didn't play guitar since my room mate was the guitarist and he was much better than I. I now play both in a band during my spare time. As to humidity, I've never really had a problem. Muggy Mississippi is pretty much a state size humidor.
Meg, yer pad has a good RH, so no need to worry.
Volusianator
BoM Nov '07 & Jan '09
Are you freakin' kidding me?! You have to keep guitars at certain RH's to perform bettter! WOW, never would've known!
Everything perfoms better with the correct RH. That's why us latins are such excelent lovers :thumbsup:
:smokingbo