Hi Guys and Girls
I'm after some advice with regards to humidity and my acoustic. Basically recently I've felt the action has become uncomfortable so I took it to a local tech, he gave me a call and thinks that the top has moved due to too much humidity. Now when he said this it sort of struck a chord if you excuse the pun as our house does suffer condensation problems, I never left the guitar in a case just on my stand. He said he would monitor the guitar for a few weeks and let me know if it settles any better. Well after 4 weeks he called me and it has not improved greatly. The humidity in his workshop is pretty much smack on 50% In the meantime I brought some cheap digital humidity meters and my house ranges from 60% to 80%. So I collected the guitar today and I'm a little concerned he showed me where at the back of the bridge there is a definite dip in the top. Now I suspect this has taken approx a year to move like this so I doubt 4 weeks would make a huge difference anyway. I'm keeping the guitar in the case, anyone else had a problem like this? I'm thinking about putting a (de)humidifier of some kind in the case can anyone recommend one only problem is that they all look like they work in the reverse of my problem i.e. to keep the moisture in the case which I don't need.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Comments
In the winter, typically the levels are lower than this due to central heating drying the air.
It sounds like a dehumidifier might be needed - 80% is very high.
Keeping a guitar in a case protects it from rapid changes in humidity but it won't keep it at the right level if the room it's in is constantly too humid.
Now I use a decent dehumidifier in my music room with an auto function that keeps the RH where I want it for as long as I want it. I don't run it all the time, but when I don't, my guitars are in their (virtually airtight) cases. My guitars go out to gigs and festivals where I have no control over the humidity and I don't obsess about that, but I make sure that they always come back to a nice controlled environment before too long.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/DAddario-PW-HTK-01-Humiditrak-Instrument-Humidity/dp/B019JD0XZ0
I keep my Martin D28 hung on the wall at home and the action crept up a bit after 4-5 months and I fitted a new Martin bridge saddle that I shaved down to get the action to where I wanted it.
I put this down to the top settling under string tension after manufacture and is something I have experienced wth every acoustic I have owned.
As for the top on your guitar, I would have expected a slight 'bellying' of the top rather than a dip if the action has increased?
I measured the action on my D28 from new at 7/64ths - 5/64ths and it crept up 1/64th after a few months. With the new bridge saddle fitted it is now nearer 6/64ths and has not changed. Did you measure the action from new and compare to now on yours?
Where I live is situated between 2 reservoirs. It's really damp throughout most of the year but in winter time it gets really bad.
My house averages around 65-70% RH.
Buy a couple of hygrometers. They tend to be cheap, so 2 won't break the bank. Having 2 means you can make sure the readings are consistent with each other (they're not the most reliable piece of tech so it's worth having a couple).
Get a dehumidifier like Lewy suggested. I've done the same, and have one with a hydrostat that switches off the unit when the desired RH is reached. I tend to keep it set to 45% at this time of year. Once it goes on it takes about a day or two to sort the house out, where it runs pretty much constantly. Then it will just turn on as and when.
Dehumidifiers aren't cheap (decent ones), but they are a lot cheaper than buying a new guitar or getting one fixed properly.
You our should also find the air quality in your house improves, so it's a win win.
Hope you get the Martin sorted.
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