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UK heatwave vs guitars


merciful-evans

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I bet uk luthiers are getting plenty of work during this heatwave. Only my 339 and Deuce remain unaffected. The LP & 650 have moved only very slightly. The high e on the 650 is fretting out on some whole tone bends. It’s still usable, but it’s not right. The LP is doing the same, but slightly worse.

 

The Esprit has moved the other way. Sounds fine. The action is a tad higher though. I’m not going to touch any of them. I’ll wait for the weather to change. Blown Out still have no gigs booked, but if one comes in I’ll use the Deuce. As I discovered last year, sweat is no good with the 339’s nitro finish.

 

If I’m honest, everything is still playable, but they are no longer ‘perfect’.

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Really, m-e? Wow!............msp_blink.gif............

 

I can't say that I've noticed any change in ANY of mine but neither have I been able to give any of my guitars anything like a decent workout since the 1st of May - so just over seven weeks now (*). I haven't played them all but I have played three of the LPs, the Strat, the Tele, the D'Angelico and the Di Mauro and they seem to be as they always are.

 

It's been hot here in London for quite a number of days now (it's 34 degrees C. {93 F.} in the shade at the moment) so we leave all the curtains and windows completely closed against the sun only opening the windows and patio doors in the evenings and it seems to work out fairly well. It's probably some 10 C. cooler indoors than it is outside.

 

Pip.

 

(*) There's a fragment of bone which, somehow, has become chipped off the second joint of the ring finger of my left (fretting) hand and playing 'normally' is impossible; I can neither flex nor extend the finger. I'm now in a state of 'Django' (but without the skill!) where I can only use my index- and middle-fingers with the ring- and small-fingers being little more than useless baggage which, nonetheless, still manage get in the way.

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That's an average late spring/summer/early fall temperature here in Kentucky. I hated playing outdoor shows in the summer. Have your guitars adjusted that much? We have high humidity here as well but most places are air conditioned. It's pretty brutal without it. I don't think I've had any of my guitars adjust that much due to the weather and they've been from one side of the US to the other. To me, that's unusual. Is this a common occurrence? I sometimes take them out on the porch or patio to play, or even camping and have never noticed any issues due to heat. They've not been out in that kind of weather for days or weeks in a row though.

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It's 32 here in deepest Hertfordshire. I can't say the guitars are effected in any way more than any other day but I do tune most days anyway. I'm playing to morrow night acoustic but being Britain we will have a thunder storm by then.

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That's an average late spring/summer/early fall temperature here in Kentucky...

We're simply not used to it; the norm for this time of year is around 10 C. cooler. I've just checked the Met. Office site and the current all-time record temperature for June was 35.6 C. in 1976. And for our aged infrastructure this 'odd' weather causes problems; a friend's son was caught-up in a 6-hour train-delay on Sunday because the heat had caused the rail-tracks to buckle!

 

...being Britain we will have a thunder storm by then...

Apparently some parts of Scotland are suffering a cold-spell. In the Fair Isle, for example, it's currently 12 C. and raining!

 

Pip.

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Really, m-e? Wow!............msp_blink.gif............

 

I can't say that I've noticed any change in ANY of mine but neither have I been able to give any of my guitars anything like a decent workout since the 1st of May - so just over seven weeks now (*). I haven't played them all but I have played three of the LPs, the Strat, the Tele, the D'Angelico and the Di Mauro and they seem to be as they always are.

 

It's been hot here in London for quite a number of days now (it's 34 degrees C. {93 F.} in the shade at the moment) so we leave all the curtains and windows completely closed against the sun only opening the windows and patio doors in the evenings and it seems to work out fairly well. It's probably some 10 C. cooler indoors than it is outside.

 

Pip.

 

(*) There's a fragment of bone which, somehow, has become chipped off the second joint of the ring finger of my left (fretting) hand and playing 'normally' is impossible; I can neither flex nor extend the finger. I'm now in a state of 'Django' (but without the skill!) where I can only use my index- and middle-fingers with the ring- and small-fingers being little more than useless baggage which, nonetheless, still manage get in the way.

 

All these guitars mentioned have been in the south facing sitting room. I should have moved them somewhere cooler I suppose.

The 650 was very precisely set up to within an 1/8 turn on the 2 truss rods, leaving almost no relief. Its now out of its case in the back room where I usually am. I'll move the others out this evening. I'm impressed with the 339's resilience though.

 

I thought of luthiers because Simon (the fellow I use) once told me he expects more setup work during the hot spells.

 

Sorry to hear of the finger injury Pip. In my 20's my 3rd (fretting) finger was damaged in a crushing accident. I couldn't play properly for over a year. I'm curious; what D'Angelico do you have?

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All these guitars mentioned have been in the south facing sitting room. I should have moved them somewhere cooler I suppose.

...I'm curious; what D'Angelico do you have?...

My wife's from the south of France so knows the best ways to keep the interior much cooler than the exterior. I get Hell from her if I leave the curtains open all day!....

 

My finger? Well, I'm seeing another 'specialist' this coming Friday.

The worst of it was my finger had swollen up so badly they had to saw my wedding ring off my finger.

On the upside? At least the 'Saw-bones' got the finger/ring situation the right way 'round.

 

The D'Angelico is an 'Excel'. I was moved to buy it after first reading a rave review of his by the Rev. here and second by trying one out when I was in NY a couple of years ago.

Great Guitar! Kent-Armstrong fully-floating p'up (it's attached to the p'g only) and (almost) no vol / tone controls!......msp_laugh.gif......right up your street!

 

I haven't posted this snap for yonks so what the hey;

 

Lo-res%20Angel_zpsu93ndrm1.jpg

 

Pip.

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My wife's from the south of France so knows the best ways to keep the interior much cooler than the exterior. I get Hell from her if I leave the curtains open all day!....

 

My finger? Well, I'm seeing another 'specialist' this coming Friday.

The worst of it was my finger had swollen up so badly they had to saw my wedding ring off my finger.

On the upside? At least the 'Saw-bones' got the finger/ring situation the right way 'round.

 

The D'Angelico is an 'Excel'. I was moved to buy it after first reading a rave review of his by the Rev. here and second by trying one out when I was in NY a couple of years ago.

Great Guitar! Kent-Armstrong fully-floating p'up (it's attached to the p'g only) and (almost) no vol / tone controls!......msp_laugh.gif......right up your street!

 

I haven't posted this snap for yonks so what the hey;

 

Lo-res%20Angel_zpsu93ndrm1.jpg

 

Pip.

 

Oh man! That thing is the dogs cogs! [love]

 

Please tell me no-one every sits in that chair because its where the Excel goes. Just lie. I don't mind that.

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...Please tell me no-one ever sits in that chair because its where the Excel goes. Just lie. I don't mind that...

Errmmm....OK.....

 

"We bought that chair especially for the Excel because the curve of the back-rail echoes the peg-head outline of the D'Angelico. Even the finial on the p'head is echoed.

By a curious co-incidence the chair was crafted in the mid-19th C. by an Italian-American based in New York whose business name was "Dan Angel? Ecco!"...(*)....

 

Pip.

 

(*) With apologies to my erstwhile Latin master for this abuse of my form 1 text book's title...

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i used to have a strat with a neck that moved significantly every time the weather changed. it is why i sold it. i otherwise loved it. adjusting the truss rod half a dozen times or more in a year was just a pita.

 

by contrast, my gibson's truss rod has never once needed adjustment since i bought it in the spring of 2014. stable as gibralter. man i really dig that guitar!

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My wife's from the south of France so knows the best ways to keep the interior much cooler than the exterior. I get Hell from her if I leave the curtains open all day!....

 

My finger? Well, I'm seeing another 'specialist' this coming Friday.

The worst of it was my finger had swollen up so badly they had to saw my wedding ring off my finger.

On the upside? At least the 'Saw-bones' got the finger/ring situation the right way 'round.

 

The D'Angelico is an 'Excel'. I was moved to buy it after first reading a rave review of his by the Rev. here and second by trying one out when I was in NY a couple of years ago.

Great Guitar! Kent-Armstrong fully-floating p'up (it's attached to the p'g only) and (almost) no vol / tone controls!......msp_laugh.gif......right up your street!

 

I haven't posted this snap for yonks so what the hey;

 

Lo-res%20Angel_zpsu93ndrm1.jpg

 

Pip.

 

!!!!!oh no!!!!!, I can feel the GAS building up, way deep down,,,,somewhere..

 

If I didn't already have a pretty spiffy regent, I'd be in a bit of trouble right now.

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...

My finger? Well, I'm seeing another 'specialist' this coming Friday.

The worst of it was my finger had swollen up so badly they had to saw my wedding ring off my finger.

On the upside? At least the 'Saw-bones' got the finger/ring situation the right way 'round.

...

Pip.

[crying] Oh dear! Reading it already hurts physically. :unsure:

 

All my best wishes for your recovery and having your wedding ring repaired properly.

 

 

...

The D'Angelico is an 'Excel'. I was moved to buy it after first reading a rave review of his by the Rev. here and second by trying one out when I was in NY a couple of years ago.

Great Guitar! Kent-Armstrong fully-floating p'up (it's attached to the p'g only) and (almost) no vol / tone controls!......msp_laugh.gif......right up your street!

 

I haven't posted this snap for yonks so what the hey;

 

Lo-res%20Angel_zpsu93ndrm1.jpg

 

Pip.

She's an awesome looker indeed! [wub]

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We have a similar heat wave here, too, but I can't complain about guitar neck behaviour so far. Tuning is a bit flat when grabbing a guitar that had a certain hiatus. The GraphTech Ghost Floyd Rose systems call for unlocking the nut since the travel of the fine tuners is not sufficient when they were locked during winter the first time. Ibanez Edge and Schaller FR I 370 FRs have much more range even on "long" intonated strings.

 

... As I discovered last year, sweat is no good with the 339’s nitro finish.

 

If I’m honest, everything is still playable, but they are no longer ‘perfect’.

Playability is still flawless, no neck relief problems, but the lots of sweat are not amusing. Regardless if nitro or poly, I thoroughly remove it with facial tissues after playing.

 

I also won't let sweat get into the case linings. No mold growth, please, I dislike its look and smell as well. :-s

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My wife's from the south of France so knows the best ways to keep the interior much cooler than the exterior. I get Hell from her if I leave the curtains open all day!...

 

Yep, your wife and mine think alike - close all windows and doors at about 8am and then open everything you can up once the sun drops below the hills and leave them open all night. Repeat every day. 10' C cooler is about right!

 

Hope the finger is ok. I had a steroid shot into my left index on Monday in prep for a rare gig and to be frank I don't think it's done much to help at this stage - last time it was like a miracle. Oh well, it's ok, just hoped for more than that.

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I hope they've installed air conditioning at Hogwarts.

 

rct

They have magic snow machines [rolleyes]

 

The central line (tube trains) doesn't.. And man I cant tell you how nasty it is.... It can be hot and stuffy in the winter.. In the summer during rush hour it is torture.

 

Right now its 1:15am and in my front room with the windows open and a fan on its over 30 degrees C and climbing and really humid... It is plain nasty.... Outside its about 26 or so...

 

My guitars however.. All seem fine, even my little pignose guitar. :)

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They have magic snow machines [rolleyes]

 

The central line (tube trains) doesn't.. And man I cant tell you how nasty it is.... It can be hot and stuffy in the winter.. In the summer during rush hour it is torture.

 

Right now its 1:15am and in my front room with the windows open and a fan on its over 30 degrees C and climbing and really humid... It is plain nasty.... Outside its about 26 or so...

 

My guitars however.. All seem fine, even my little pignose guitar. :)

 

Yeah sure buddy. WHAT THE FUKK IS 30 DEGREES? Not everybody is metric you know, we have only missed it here by 41 years but we're working on it.

 

rct

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For the cantankerous amongst us, 30C is 86F. Rather uncomfortable at night time if you don't have aircon.

 

Not had issues with guitars and heat even though it can get to 40C - that's 104F for the unconverted - over here apart from having to retune.

 

Of course, different parts of the world have different construction and it could be that homes in England are designed to keep heat in unlike other areas where homes are designed to allow for air flow to keep them cool.

 

As I tend to believe in the science, it may well become a long-term matter of concern and not only for looking after your gits.

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It is so rare to approach 30 C in the UK....I tend to enjoy the novelty....although any work is to be avoided wherever possible....:blink:

 

Sleeping 4 or less hours doesn't help in general

 

Guitar tuning has varied a little but without requiring spanner intervention....

 

Freshening up from today....with rain forecast....and down to 20 C or so.....

 

V

 

:-({|=

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Guest Farnsbarns

I work in a big glass building and the Aircon is totally inadequate. It's 40+ in here. It's the humidity that makes heat so unbearable in the UK. It was 80% at 6pm yesterday where I live but also 32c. When your sweat can't evaporate it's not only uncomfortable but it means sweating isn't cooling you down.

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Guest Farnsbarns

Teach your employers a lesson they'll never forget.

Next time the conditions are that bad simply remove all your clothes.

 

Pip.

 

In fairness to them the Aircon has failed every summer throughout my time here until they threw 10k at it this winter. It's just not keeping up with the heat. The glass box effect doesn't help. It's not their building or their Aircon either, it belongs to the brand (not naming the brand but you know). I think they've done what they should and more.

 

Does this sound like a bit of a disclaimer? Not into slagging my employer off on the internet!

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...I'm playing to morrow night acoustic but being Britain we will have a thunder storm by then...

Nostradamus is in the building!

 

10:30 a.m. here in the UK and there's thunderstorm rolling up somewhere over to the east as I type...

 

Pip.

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Guest Farnsbarns

Nostradamus is in the building!

 

10:30 a.m. here in the UK and there's thunderstorm rolling up somewhere over to the east as I type...

 

Pip.

 

Not sure about Nostradamus. It's been forecast for a week.

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