Humidifiers

TRJC24PRS

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Atlanta, Ga
So I have been reading articles about keeping my room humidified to keep the wood safe on the guitar. All the articles I have read are confusing but got me concerned because its soon to be summer here in Georgia and it gets pretty humid. What do I need or am I just getting too worried about my guitars?
 
Acoustic or electric guitars? Acoustic need more care than electric. If electric guitars then I wouldn't worry too much unless you're talking extremes of dryness or dampness.
For acoustics you can buy small digital hygrometers for guitars (keep them in the case etc) that will tell you the humidity level and keep track of the highs and lows. That's probably your first step to get one of them then you'd know what you're dealing with. If it shows that it's really dry, you can get sponges that you fit down the sound hole that will add a little moisture back in. Not sure what you do if it's really damp apart from get a de-humidifier running.
Best bet though is to just store the guitars in their case when you're not using them.
 
I'm guessing summer in Georgia will probably require a dehumidifier!

Bob Taylor recommends humidity between 45-55%, but says 40-60% is acceptable. I personally find that my acoustics sound better at 45% or even a little lower, say 40-45%. Anything above 45% and they tend to start sounding "muffled" or "wooly" to my ears, YMMV of course.

This article, https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/Fighting_the_Humidity_Battle, does a decent job explaining humidity and how it pertains to acoustic and electric guitars.
 
Acoustic or electric guitars? Acoustic need more care than electric. If electric guitars then I wouldn't worry too much unless you're talking extremes of dryness or dampness.
For acoustics you can buy small digital hygrometers for guitars (keep them in the case etc) that will tell you the humidity level and keep track of the highs and lows. That's probably your first step to get one of them then you'd know what you're dealing with. If it shows that it's really dry, you can get sponges that you fit down the sound hole that will add a little moisture back in. Not sure what you do if it's really damp apart from get a de-humidifier running.
Best bet though is to just store the guitars in their case when you're not using them.
Ive got an SE Angelus no other acoustic, but ill look in to the meters and go from there
 
The main noticeable effects of either too dry or too humid will be on the playability of the guitar. As the soundboard absorbs moisture the wood swells and this will cause it to bow, pushing up the bridge and raising your action (and dryness has the opposite affect). If you find that you're action is getting a little high it might be time for some de-humidifying
 
The main noticeable effects of either too dry or too humid will be on the playability of the guitar. As the soundboard absorbs moisture the wood swells and this will cause it to bow, pushing up the bridge and raising your action (and dryness has the opposite affect). If you find that you're action is getting a little high it might be time for some de-humidifying
Ohh I get it now
 
Acoustic or electric guitars? Acoustic need more care than electric.
Has more to do with hollow body vs solid body than acoustic or electric. It's gonna take REALLY dry conditions a really long time to do anything bad to a solid-body other than give it a bit of fret sprout, which is easily enough remedied. But really dry or really wet conditions or rapid swings in humidity can play hell with a hollow body guitar, whether it's got wires and pickups or not. The top, back and sides can all warp, the top and back can crack, etc.

In the coldest part of the winter with the heat blasting, the humidity in my place will get down into the mid 20% range, even with a whole house humidifier trying to counteract it - it'd probably be in the low teens without that. I have a couple of small evaporative humidifiers that do a decent job, but they'll just get my man cave / guitar room up to maybe mid-30% neighborhood and that's running pretty much full time. BUT, they'll get the humidity in their immediate area up to the mid 40s, which is about perfect for my one guitar that I'm concerned about, a Martin acoustic. So I put them both pretty much right below where it hangs and the meter I rest on the Martin's shoulder shows humidity around 45-48%. I wouldn't do this with a misting humidifier, but with just an evaporative one, it's no problem. When it gets crazy humid in the summer, I generally have the house closed up and AC running, which brings the humidity down into the right range. And in the Spring and Fall, with the windows open a lot, it usually doesn't get too high or low. If it's just too extreme, I just stick the Martin in it's case with Humidipaks, which do a great job of bringing the humidity UP or DOWN to around 45-50%.

I'm playing around with an Ibanez Casino knockoff at the moment that's completely hollow except for a block to mount the bridge to. If I end up keeping it, I'm gonna have to worry somewhat about it too, although with a total of $300 invested in it, I probably wouldn't worry too much. Except it's a shockingly nice guitar and they don't make 'em anymore, so I'd probably try to keep it in the right range as well...

-Ray
 
I use these with my acoustic. Drop one in the case, and forget about it. With this, you don't have to worry about too much, or too little humidity. I had a top on a Taylor crack once about 20 years ago. Always keep the acoustic cased from that point forward. Electrics I hang, year round. Dehumidifier in the summer, humidifier in the winter (in the Chicago area). We keep it pretty cool in the house over the winter, so the humidity isn't as much of an issue as it would be if we were cranking the heat at 72, or more. I've got one SE and one non PRS that require a truss rod tweak when the seasons change. All the rest are bueno.
 
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