Just bought a new acoustic guitar and I would like to protect it as much as possible from whatever.
Its a Guild GAD-JF30, antique sunburst finish. Compared to what I've been playing, its absolutely rediculous how good this thing sounds, and looks!!
Other than protecting it from extreme temps, the car trunk, and other obvious enemies, i think my biggest concern is humidity,.
I live in Dallas, TX and the relative humidy averages from 52-62% in the afternoons and 79-86% in the mornings.
Not sure how this compares to other areas. (These averages are from weather history on http://www.cityrating.com ). Now during the summer, there can be some pretty quick changes in humidity as storms blow in, and I'm wondering if I need to get a humidifier to protect against this, or am I being silly to worry about it? Seems to me that in May, when the relative humidity has its largest PM to AM range (62% vs 86%), that several years of this could have an effect on the guitar.
My gut tells me to go ahead and spend the $30 and not worry about it again. (assuming they are reliable??)
Also, I read a previous post that mentions the need for a plastic cover for the soundhole if you are not going to use the humidifier in the case. Is this correct. Do some models come with this cover and others don't? I like hanging my guitars on my wall as I like to look at them and they beg me to play them regularly.
I may post some pics of the new guitar when I can. !!
The Damp-it brand of in-hole/in-case humidifier comes with a plastic sound hole cover.
I just bit the bullet and bought a humidifier for the room in which I hang most of my guitars. I bought a better model with a "humistat." Figured it was worth $100 given the value of my guitars. One humidifier is much easier to fill and maintain than four or five case humidifiers.
-=tension & release=-
I may be wrong but I think the optimum range is 40-50%, so you might need a de-humidifier in the mornings. I remember there being discussion of guitars have been ruined both by too much and too little moisture.
Someone else help please :?
PS
Is that one of the new Chinese made Guilds? I've an older American made model, hope they've kept the build quality up.
"Things may get a whole lot worse/ Before suddenly falling apart"
Steely Dan
"Look at me coyote, don't let a little road dust put you off" Knopfler
Average humidity for your city is not the only concern. The heating/ventilation in your home also makes a huge difference.
I don't really pay a lot of attention to this but every once in a while i"ll put a dampit in the sound hole and put the guitar in the hard case. It's a low cost, effective solution, but you have to remember to make sure it's damp and in the guitar.
oktay
45% is a good humidity number to shoot for.
you are i that range for most of the year.
by keeping your guitar in the case when not in use should be all that you have to do.
IMO.
A good point was made since the outside humidity is irrelevant. It is the humidity in the room where the guitars are that is important.
If you don't want to invest in a room humidifier (I did a whole house) it is worth investing in a humidity tester and only adjusting when it is out of the 40 to 50 range.
You need a DE-humidifier, not a humidifier.
0-25 = Very Dry
25-50 = Dry
50-75 = Normal
75-100 = Humid
When it is dry, there is a lack of moisture in the air. To equal things out, you need to add moister to the air = Humidifier
When it is humid, there is too much moister in the air. To equal things out, you need to take some moister out of the air = De-Humidifier.
This is all dependent on "inside" readings.
I guess my plan now is to keep the guitar in the case until I buy a Humidity tester for the room. Seems to me that the inside readings could be much lower than the outside readings. Then get a humidifier/de-humidifier to control. Maybe they come in a dual form?
Primeta - Yes, it is one of the new chinese made Guilds. I've never owned an American made Guild, but this one is gorgeous. I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I can't find anything wroing with it, craftmanship, looks, sound, all seem to be fantastic. Its really pretty! All solid wood, bone nut and saddle, wood binding, scalloped bracing. One big difference between this and much more expensive guitars i guess is the finish is poly rather than nitro. Although I dont know that the US made Guilds are nitro either? I'll post some pics soon.
Thanks to all for the input.
B
Meaningful environmental control systems are neither cheap to install nor to operate.
Wallmart quality/cost solutions have great potential to do far more harm than good to your instruments. A few hours in 80% humidy when you forget to turn off the system can soften a neck up enough that it will warp. A few hours in 5% humidy when the dehumidifier fails to shut off automatically and any small cracks will grow to large cracks.
Unless you have very expensive guitars, or have seriously out of line in-house conditions, you are probably not well served with investing in a real system, and a cheap system either won't do much at all or will malfunction and damage your gear.
"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." -- HST
Maybe I'll start with the hygrometer and make sure that the humidty levels are not extreme in either direction.
Maybe I'll start with the hygrometer and make sure that the humidty levels are not extreme in either direction.
I just bought a hygrometer in Walmart for about $3.00. They had them in the section with the humidifiers. A good cheap place to start.
So I bought th ePalnet Waves Hygrometer/Humidifier set, and when I put the Hygrometer in the case with the guitar it reads from 33-36% Humidity. So I fill the humidifier with water (it clips between the strings and hangs into the soundhole) and keep it in the closed case lying flat on the floor. The humidifier doenst seem to change the humidity at all, after two days it still reads around 34%.
Has anyone had any luck with other in-case humidifiers, DampIt is one I heard mentioned. Anyone had a similar problem to mine where the humidifier produces no noticable changes?
I'd hate for this guitar to sit in 34% or lower humidity all winter long w/o doing anything about it.
