Hollowbody Care and Feeding?

[RC Mike]

I've got a Hollowbody II showing up on Friday. I've never owned a hollow-body or SH before. I'm wondering if they need humidification along the lines of an acoustic? My basement gets a bit dry in the winter, with the RH somewhere around 30%. Will I have a problem if I hang this on the wall? I'm open to keeping it in the case with a humidifier, but would prefer not to (sorry, Les!).

Thanks!

 

[dmatthews]

Mine sits out in my office/music room when it's not in a double gigbag going to and fro to practice.
I live in Van BC where it is relatively mild I suppose. It gets treated no differently/better/worse than my others.

 

[ViperDoc]

Seeing as how difficult (and costly) it can be to "uncrack" a hollowbody guitar, I would be more concerned if your HB2 had a spruce top. That said, if you can somehow calculate the humidity in your space, that might tell you how to proceed.

 

[Moondog Wily]

Will it create problems? Hard to say! Can it create problems? Yes!! I would recommend you try to maintain 40-60% RH for any wood items that have unfinished surfaces (i.e. acoustics and/or the inside of a HBII). If that means you have to keep it in a case I would (WITH humidipacks if it is to stay in that room in case). But humidification is pretty cheap, so it would not be that difficult nor expensive to have a humidifier in that room to bring the number up a bit when it gets too dry! It could take some time for the problems to show, but as ViperDoc says, you can't uncrack it, so I would not chance it!! Best of luck and congrats on the new score, looking forward to the NGD!!!

 

[Alnus Rubra]

I may be wrong in saying this, but I’m pretty sure there’s a product that hangs in the guitar (obviously easier with an acoustic sound hole) that humidifies, even if the guitar is hanging up.

I’m going on a search.

Edit:

Found it -



Either that or a display case with a humidipak.

 

[veinbuster]

I just keep mine in cases in the winter. No case humidifier added. The oldest has managed 25 years with no harm and my area has very dry winters.

 

[bodia]

I’m in the Chicago area, and it gets dry here during the winter months. My HB 594 hangs on a wall in my basement year round, as did previous Hollowbodies I’ve owned. Never had a problem. I do run a humidifier from November thru March. It’s a Honeywell evaporative model that cost about $90. It was -1F here the Friday before Christmas, for a high, and the humidity in the basement dipped below 40%. I am usually able to keep the humidity in the mid 40s. For reference, the basement is one large open area and a utility room. The open room is roughly 350 sq feet.

 

[RickP]

I live in southeast Texas on the Gulf Coast, a place where the concept of low humidity has not yet reached. Were I in a place where low humidity was a thing, I’d likely have a humidifier just to remove the worry over expensive instruments. I really don’t know if it’s required, but I don’t think it could hurt.

 

[JasonE]

Interesting question. I have an HBII and SC HBII and I have never thought about this. I have had them for a while and have never treated them any different than my other electric guitars and have had no issues with them. For some reason, I have never thought about this with those guitars but I have with acoustic guitars.

 

[RC Mike]

I’d been thinking about the unfinished interior, and how quickly it would lose moisture. It’s a 2008 guitar that lived in Idaho, so I’m sure it’s experienced some dry winters.

We’ve got a whole-home humidifier, but I don’t use it unless the temps are in the 20s or 30s for lows. Here in Minnesota, our winter temps are usually colder than that. When it’s cold, the temp difference between outside and inside leads to condensation on the windows and inside exterior walls. That can result in a host of nasty problems that I prefer to avoid.

I’ve ordered an Arion case humidifier to try with the guitar. I use the gel packets for my acoustic, but it only comes out of the case occasionally. I think I’ll be playing this HB more frequently.