Humidifiying acoustics?

First go to your local Radio Shack and get a hygrometer. It should set you back less than $30.

You want it to read between 40% and 50% RH at about 70 F.

If it is below that, humidify. You'll probably only need it in the winter.

Actually, the planet waves humidifying packet that I'm looking at comes with a hygrometer. Its this: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=home/search/detail/base_pid/420981

Its a humidifyer and hygrometer for $30.

I know it is implied in what Nick said but it is important enough to repeat.

Humidifying should not be automatic, meaning don't humidify for the sake of humidifying. Make sure it needs it. Too much moisture is also bad for the wood. Nice to keep it in the 40% to 50% range.

What does humidifying do for the guitar, ages better? Less prone to cracks in the wood of finish or warping? Any one else humidify their guitars? Thanks.

I'm not an expert on guitars but I imagine that it attempts to keep the wood within a stable range. Even the most seasoned wood continues to gain or lose moisture depending on conditions.

Some years ago I used to design and make solid wood furniture. When I made table tops I used a technique that allowed the top to "float" on the base to allow it to expand and contract. Most table tops now are veneered chipboard, but genuine solid wood tops can crack badly when conditions dry out, if the design doesn't allow for movement. In some climates owners of antique solid wood furniture will leave small bowls of water around to try and keep the moisture content in the air up a bit.

On the other side of the coin, I once worked with a guy who was building a house. He'd reached the stage of putting floorboards down but the house did not yet have any windows. In a bit of a rush, he put down a room of boards, and cramped them up. He then securely nailed down some of the boards, and just lighly tacked some of the in-between ones to hold it all in place until the next day.

The boards were seasoned wood, yet when we went back the next day it looked like the ocean waves. During the night they'd taken on so much moisture that they had expanded against the brick walls, buckled, and pulled all the nails clean out of hardwood joists. In places it was well over a foot in the air! The whole job had to be pulled up and re-done. As Nils points out, too much moisture can be as bad as not enough. :cry:

But enough of the bad side. :twisted:

30 years ago I bought an acoustic dreadnought but never learned to play it. It has spent most of its life abandoned in its case, stuck in a series of sheds and attics. For the last 12 years it has lain neglected in the roof space of my house. I put it up there one day to get it temporarily out of the way, and then forgot about it! The house has a corrugated iron roof, which means that it's like an oven under it during the Australian summer. It reaches huge temperatures in the roof space. :shock: It also has open eaves, so at other times it can be damp, humid or whatever. In short, it's a wood torture chamber.

Last year I retrieved the case and opened it..... expecting to see a heap of mummified splinters. To my surprise, there were no cracks and no problems. It sounds fantastic! :D

So don't panic if you stray out of range occasionally.

I live in New England, so for me it's –

Summer = Dehumidifier

Winter = Humidifier

Depending on the extreme of the conditions warrants the action taken to control it.

As stated before, 40 – 50 % range for the norm, but if you're in the 80 – 90% range you will need a Dehumidifier NOT a humidifier.

If you live “East of Mississippi”, chances are you'll need a dehumidifier a LOT more than a humidifier.

2 cents on the dollar……..