Larrivee vs Martin

thermionic

That looks quite good as it seems to measure the min/max humidity. I have an Oregon Scientific one from Maplins, which does max/min temp but not max/min humidity.

The accuracy of these things are sometimes questioned but I don't know how you'd check them. I'd hope they're good to +/- 2 or 3%.

CloudNine

Here is how you test the accuracy:

http://www.wikihow.com/Test-a-Hygrometer

ToneControl

Never trust one hygrometer, they are all a bit diff.

And it is true that some people live in damper houses, but most don't

thermionic

I should have said, I suspect my house is on the damp side of average.

Not sure about that "calibration", I don't think these cheap digital hygrometers can be calibrated anyway. Many years ago I did my final year Physics project on a dew point hygrometer, maybe I should try building another...

Misty

CloudNine said:

Here is how you test the accuracy:

http://www.wikihow.com/Test-a-Hygrometer

That's a useful link, thanks. I just ordered that hygrometer, it has to be worth trying at that price, and seems to have better reviews than the Planet Waves one.

RaymondLin

I bought a hygrometer the same week I got my Taylors.  Been monitoring the room my guitars are in and it sits between 55 to 60% now, which is a bit high.  Taylor factor level is 47%, I was in Andertons and noticed they had a hygrometer in the corner of the room that also reads 47%.

Back in Feb when it was colder, and the radiators on, the % was around 40%, I just put some wet towels on the radiators to bring it up.

Now I open the windows in the day to bring it down.  But i keep my acoustics in the case so it should be fine.  I also have some humidipak that I can use if needed. 

 

The key is to watch out for things like if the bridge is lifting, is the frets sticking out, any hairline cracks on the front or back of the guitar.

Misty

The worst thing that happened to me was in a previous house which we knew had a damp problem. I bought a Guild GF25, and within a week the end block had clearly absorbed some excess moisture, and swelled up causing cracks to appear between the binding and the sides of the guitar, a few inches either side of the block. There was similar cracking around the neck joint as well. I could have had the guitar partly refinished but I didn't bother. I kept the guitar, got a dehumidifier running in the house and the guitar didn't get any worse or better, the cracks stayed. That was around twenty five years ago, and the guitar still has the cracks. I've never considered there to be a humidity issue in my current house, and never noticed any issues with any of my other guitars. I suppose buying my Taylor 814CE fairly recently alerted me to the possibilities again, as they do make the dangers clear, although I owned a 314CE for some four or five years before that, and again there were no issues. 

Having said all that, I'll heed the advice given here and monitor it in future, thanks again for the tips. Oh, and apologies to the OP for slightly hijacking the thread:-)

ToneControl

other thing you notice if you control humidity with humidifiers and a hygrostat is that your guitars stay in tune much more, and the necks need less attention (action stays the same) - even on electrics

Misty

Just for the record, that hygrometer is already proving to be a reassuring device, most of the time reading around 47%, just right! (Can't see a way to test its accuracy though, or to calibrate it....)

ToneControl

put it next to another one

this time of year is easy though, mostly around 45-50% with no intervention needed

thomasross20

I've yet to buy anything to monitor the humidity, just been so busy with work *woops* Must get round to it! And also post sound clips!

crunchman

My house would cost far too much to get really warm in winter.  I set the Thermostat to around 19 or 20C and wear a jumper.  If I had the central heating set to 24C it might be more of an issue.  It's the difference with the outside temperature that affects the relative humidity.  I'm also down south so its warmer outside than the guys who live in Scotland.

I think it's really cold, dry climates where this is a major issue.  I bought a Furch in Sweden when no-one was importing them to the UK and they gave me a case humidifier for free with the guitar. I think it's a real issue there.

ToneControl

crunchman said:

My house would cost far too much to get really warm in winter.  I set the Thermostat to around 19 or 20C and wear a jumper.  If I had the central heating set to 24C it might be more of an issue.  It's the difference with the outside temperature that affects the relative humidity.  I'm also down south so its warmer outside than the guys who live in Scotland.

I think it's really cold, dry climates where this is a major issue.  I bought a Furch in Sweden when no-one was importing them to the UK and they gave me a case humidifier for free with the guitar. I think it's a real issue there.

It would be worse in Sweden

But... if it's 0C outside, your indoor air could get very dry, whether the house is kept at 19C or 24C. Dry cold weather is worse.

A controlled humidity is a way to protect your guitars, and it also means the neck relief varies less, and the tuning goes out less, even on electrics. What's not to like about that?

streethawk

seen a l'arrivee p-05. 

Anybody tried their Parlours?

Lewy

I've got one of the Canadian made Larrivee parlours (don't know the model number and the label just says "Parlor"). I like it a lot. Very punchy and strong in the midrange. Great fingerpicking guitar. Not great with a flatpick but not many small guitars are tbh.

thomasross20

P-05's are meant to be great but not tried one. 

Here are some demo's of my Larrive (down to but not including "RIFF"):

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=107094

thomasross20

Right!!

So I finally got a hygrometer for Christmas. 

My guitars are next to a window on the other side of the room from the radiator.

I was worried because my bass strings rusted (!) particularly quickly.. it's in a weedy gig-bag with no plush lining. Might have been the strings as they were a different brand. 

So... The temperature sits art around 18-22°C and the humidity ranges from 64-70%. The meter shows a happy face. The expensive electrics and my Larrivee cases all have plush lining which probably absorbs some moisture. Sometimes when I'll pull one out of the case  it can feel cold so I do have a slight worry. Probably ok though, right?

Lewy

Personally I would not be happy to leave my acoustics out in 64-70% relative humidity, and I wouldn't be happy if that was the humidity inside the cases for the same reasons. My little music room would constantly be around that if left to it's own devices so I keep my guitars in their (near enough airtight) cases and give it a 5-10 minute blast with my dehumidifier before I want to play.

Plush lined cases can soak up a lot of moisture and the only way I've found to dry them out (so you're not always shutting your guitar away into what is basically an all-over humidifier) is to have them open for a good while in a room that is the right humidity. In-case "two way" humidity control products like the planet waves pouches are hopeless at dehumidifying.

ICBM

64-70% is way too high. Ideally you want 45-55%, although a little outside that range is OK.

https://www.taylorguitars.com/blog/guitars-more/using-guitar-humidifier-and-other-guitar-humidity-tips

(From Taylor, but everything else I've read says something similar.)

thomasross20

OK, to note - all the guitars are on their cases all the time. Maybe I should put one of our little dehumidifiers on the window sill... I'll try that and see what happens.