Humidity & Guitars

Extreme changes in relative humidity affects all woods, including guitars.

As humidity changes wood expands and contracts. If these changes are large and quick the wood will crack. You may notice that drawers and doors don't fit the same way in winter and summer. If you see this, the humidity in your house is undergoing large changes. I woud suggest a small hydrometer to keep track of the humidity in the house. I bought mine for less than $10 at Home Depot.

I keep the relative humidity in the house at about 45% to 50% whenever possible. If you can't do that get a humidifier for your guitar, they are only about $20 and will protect your investment.

I recently bought an epi les paul and over the past week the open G has started to buzz- is this something that could be caused by changes in humidity? (Theres been some pretty drastic changes in weather over the past week or so)

If so how can I prevent it?

I recently bought an epi les paul and over the past week the open G has started to buzz- is this something that could be caused by changes in humidity? (Theres been some pretty drastic changes in weather over the past week or so)

If so how can I prevent it?

Could be changes in weather. If so, controlling the temperature and humidity can help, but some guitars simply seem to need a seasonal tweak on the truss rod to maintain optimal neck relief -- especially those with mahogany necks and nitro finishes. (Yours is mahogany, but not nitro).

-G