thermometer, hygrometer, etc. should i keep my semi-body guitar in a cool place during heatwaves?

vale

i've pretty much always kept my solid body 'best main' guitar in the room where i live and sleep.
from my childhood bedroom days to student halls days, to studio flat days now.

and despite the polarised diverse humidities of cold 'condensation' breathiness through winters, and 'hot and sweaty' breathiness though summers, i have never had any issues with it, ever.
in fact i've never even had to touch the truss rod in nearly 20 years.

but now i have a semi-acoustic bass (which i am thrilled with, so feeling deeply proud and protective of) and a record heatwave is upon us (with more to come before the autumn) i am wondering if i need to keep the semi bass outside in the hall (away from breathiness) during the steamiest days and muggiest nights?

i ordered a £5 digital thermometer hygrometer from ebay which should be here any day. i am allowing for the fact that for £5 it might not quialify as medically accurate, but i think it will give a good enough guide as to when i am getting into humidity territory i should be concerned about.

i have back read through some old general threads here re hygrometers (why and when), but as this weather is so exceptional, i wondered if anyone felt we are entering 'be concerned' zone?

would be interested to hear opinions, especially from semi-acoustic owners.

i don't think semi-acoustic electrics are braced in the same way as classical stringed instruments (including acoustic guitars), nor (generally) made of such delicate materials. but i'm feeling very maternal about my new bass, so want to be sure i am doing the best i can re care.

thanks peeps.

Bridgehouse

The temperature is pretty high round here at the moment, but the humidity is pretty low (mid-high 50%) and that doesn’t worry me to be honest. 

I do end up doing seasonal tweaks to some basses during the year but it’s actually a lot rarer than you think. Compared to some places in the US (for instance) we hardly get anything bad here for instruments at all.

If the humidity really does bother you - then some silica gel packs in the case can help - as can a dehumidifier job on the window sill.

Either way, I wouldn’t worry too much.

vale

thanks for the reply @Bridgehouse

that's the general impression i got from this thread i read a while ago. http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/111425/humidity-and-good-acoustic-guitars/p2

low humidity something to watch for, but high humidity (of the sort that could cause problems) not a uk problem.
but with this summer being so off the meter, i thought now might be a good time to review.

if it were my solid, that is golden. unassailable. time has taught me not to worry.
but the new semi is an unknown quanitity re its preferred habitat. i don't keep it in a case (don't have one yet, but soon). it's just on the stand in my bedroom. so i can play it easily (& gaze at it admiringly obviously).

maybe i should take a pickup out, drop a couple of silicon sachets into the body and replace the pickup, so it can self-regulate?
silicon (in a sachet) is pretty inert afaik, so shouldn't affect electrics or paintwork.

Bridgehouse

I wouldn’t put any silica inside it - as I said, you could try a windowsill style dehumidifier - and I’d just check it over from time to time - Best way to see if it’s affected is to check the relief and see if it’s shifted at all (most likely effect of the weather)

There’s a lot of old hofners about from the 60’s and they are seldom affected by humidity at all over here. More likely electrical gremlins. 

An acoustic guitar is far far more likely to have issues

Winny_Pooh

Ply is very stable, you're overthinking it a bit. 

JezWynd

Winny_Pooh said:

Ply is very stable, you're overthinking it a bit. 

That said, Hofner do include a Hygrometer in the lid of their cases, so they obviously think it's something worth monitoring. 

Corvus

It'll probably be fine, I've had a Hofner since the 80s that's been all over the place with no special care. Anywhere without direct sun, sudden temp changes, not too dry, will be better for it though. Mine has mostly outside of a case for most of it's life. They seem pretty sturdy, neck joints aside. The only thought given really was no direct sun and if it came out of a cold car into a warm house it was left in the case for a bit to settle in.
I have a 70s semi-acoustic that has a small bit of de-laminating on the top but that lived in Japan mostly, very humid.

Winny_Pooh

JezWynd said:

Winny_Pooh said:

Ply is very stable, you're overthinking it a bit. 

That said, Hofner do include a Hygrometer in the lid of their cases, so they obviously think it's something worth monitoring. 

Or they think its worth the marketing!

crunchman

Winny_Pooh said:

JezWynd said:

Winny_Pooh said:

Ply is very stable, you're overthinking it a bit. 

That said, Hofner do include a Hygrometer in the lid of their cases, so they obviously think it's something worth monitoring. 

Or they think its worth the marketing!

There are probably parts of Germany that are much colder and drier than here in the winter.  If they are trying to sell into places like Austria and Switzerland it would make sense as well.

It's cold dry weather in the winter that will be the issue unless you live in the tropics.  In the UK, even that is unlikely to be an issue unless you have the central heating ridiculously high, or live way up in Scotland.

vale

Winny_Pooh said:

Ply is very stable, you're overthinking it a bit. 

maybe a touch of new guitar (bass) neurosis. i'm very attached to this one, which is a rare thrill.

but it's good to have the reassurance (from people who know a bit more than i do) that it will be ok. so i appreciate the feedback and hopefully it will make me less anxious.

thanks for the comments all.

WiWi

I wouldn't worry about it. Low humidity isn't an issue in the UK, humidity is almost always fairly high here but that won't do any harm to your semi. I wouldn't recommend a window sill dehumidifier either, I've tried one and it can't remove humidity fast enough to make any difference to a room. As mentioned earlier, action may rise slightly as the wood swells but that can easily be compensated for.