Humidity and good acoustic guitars

DevonChris

They have another mode, which is intended for your problem, where they would switch on a dehumidifier above a certain humidity level (e.g. 55%)  
I'd recommend one of these for you. Tracking humidity is not as effective as controlling it.
If you get it right, you can leave the guitar out of its case all the time, and play it more

We have a dehumidifier like this in our cellar. It works well.

This has turned out to be a fantastic thread with some really great advice and help. Thanks everybody

ToneControl said:

For good value excellent UK-made guitars, I'd recommend Avalon, ring up the workshop, since all the dealers are outside the UK

I've come across Avalon guitara before. They are indeed exellent. I will phone them.

I wonder if UK made guitars are less susceptible to high humidity than USA made ones

Lewy

Adji said:

 I would IMAGINE that over-bracing is generally found in cheaper guitars or those with less experience building them? I'd imagine finding the balance of sufficient structural support vs ability of the top to 'breathe' a really difficult one.

It's a bit of a relative term...for some players, anything more than scalloped forward shifted bracing is too much, but other players might prefer something a little more sturdy. Obviously it all interacts with the species and thickness of the top too.

Most people who buy high end acoustic accept that if they keep them for a long time they are likely to need a neck reset in the future. Usually nothing to do with the neck moving, much more often to do with the top settling into a belly and having to adjust the neck angle to compensate. Martin used to do these under warranty regardless of how old the guitar was but they've stopped doing that now, unless it's needed very early on.

Rat_Salad

Sorry to drag up an old thread, but I'm having a lot of trouble with a Taylor I bought a couple of years ago. It lives in a granite cottage in Cornwall, with humidity ranging from 60 (Winter) to 85 (Summer). Today the r/h is 82. The top/bridge has arched up and the action is pretty much unplayable. Truss/Neck is perfect, but the raised bridge has done for the action. 

The strange thing is, that it sits next to a cedar Simon & Patrick, which is totally unaffected with a perfect action. There are four other guitars in the house, ranging from 30 year old solid-bodies to newer acoustics - they're all perfect.

In the same room as the Taylor is a 135-year-old Bluthner piano, suffering no ill-effects. 

It seems that the Taylor is highly sensitive to RH, but everything else is not ! 

I'm going to let it live in its case for a couple of months with some silica packs, to see if that will sort things out, either that or I'll find out whether it's too far gone. It's not very high-end in the Taylor range (about £1,500) but it still stings that I only got to play it half a dozen times before the action made it remain in its stand ever since...   

richardhomer

Rat_Salad said:

Sorry to drag up an old thread, but I'm having a lot of trouble with a Taylor I bought a couple of years ago. It lives in a granite cottage in Cornwall, with humidity ranging from 60 (Winter) to 85 (Summer). Today the r/h is 82. The top/bridge has arched up and the action is pretty much unplayable. Truss/Neck is perfect, but the raised bridge has done for the action. 

The strange thing is, that it sits next to a cedar Simon & Patrick, which is totally unaffected with a perfect action. There are four other guitars in the house, ranging from 30 year old solid-bodies to newer acoustics - they're all perfect.

In the same room as the Taylor is a 135-year-old Bluthner piano, suffering no ill-effects. 

It seems that the Taylor is highly sensitive to RH, but everything else is not ! 

I'm going to let it live in its case for a couple of months with some silica packs, to see if that will sort things out, either that or I'll find out whether it's too far gone. It's not very high-end in the Taylor range (about £1,500) but it still stings that I only got to play it half a dozen times before the action made it remain in its stand ever since...   

Taylors have bolt on necks and their authorised service centres can quickly perform a neck reset which should give a playable action. The best bet is to contact Taylor - in my experience they are very responsive.

Axeal

I had a very expensive guitar ruined by leaving it in my high humidity cellar. The top bellied big style. It affected the sound and just ruined the feel on the neck. That was a solid spruce top - the laminate guitar I still have didn't budge. My strat never alters neither, but another solid body I have does at the neck.

My advice would be to be very careful - play the guitar in the cellar, but store it elsewhere.

Don't assume it will probably be O.K - when its too late, it could well be beyond economical repair and you will just "fall out" with the guitar and get rid like I did and feel really miffed.