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Humidity Control - My Story and Question


BoSoxBiker

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I live in the Southeastern US. End of May to Mid-October is bad humidity, even with AC on and it's humidity removal functionality. Winter can go either way, though we generally have to deal with the same cold, dry air that we had up north. Just not as cold. The Winter is easy enough. Keep an eye on my acoustics, rotate what's on the stand each week and use a sound-hole humidifier when it's in the case as needed.

 

The Summer is a different story and depends on the type of Summer we're having. This one has been particularly humid. It might be part of the reason my first Hummingbird's finishing error and deep, small crack came to be so visible. It was about that time that my beloved Taylor 614ce took on more humidity than it could handle. It was my own damned fault, too. I was still in Winter mode due to a late, cold Spring. The heat and humidity hit. I put it back into the case from it's week on the stand with a sound-hole humidifier in place. Boy, did it ever soak it up. The guitar was horrible to play.

 

I took my time repairing it, but I ended up using some of those silica gel desiccant packs as the two-way systems were not fixing anything. I did it slowly, checking every 2-3 days, and measuring to be sure. It's finally playable after about 2 months, though it only took a few weeks of 2-4 gel packs once I found this solution. One resource in particular that guided me was found on the manufacture's web site, which I will post below. If you look at the angles of the neck and bridge, it's pretty obvious when the front of the guitar bellies out. I hope nobody feels it inappropriate that I post a competitor's link, but it's very pertinent to the discussion and a subsequent question. There is a link at the bottom of that page for a dry guitar situation.

Signs of a Wet Guitar

The timing of getting that second Hummingbird was sublime. It taught me just how well an acoustic CAN play. With it as a guideline, I eventually got my 614 set up almost as perfectly. I did this in conjunction with the dehumidification process. I did replace the saddle just to keep the original intact. It plays better now than it ever has, and most of the negative effects of being too humid are gone. It's almost as nice as it was 4 months ago, tonally. I think I will end up going back to the stock saddle material. I bought another one when I bought the bone replacement.

 

So the questions. When I looked at the Hummingbird with the same inspecting eye as the 614, I saw that the 'Bird's visuals excelled. The lines were picturesque looking down the neck edge when compared to the "after" picture in the link (The fret wire radius notwithstanding). Hence, what I do NOT know, is how much, if any of it, does that information pertain to a Gibson? (Center of fret wires appear higher up on the saddle, for example) Secondly, is there a resource for Gibson owners with this type of detail to assist us in managing our beloveds?

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According to Rar (RIP):

“Gibson tops have a 28' (= 336") radius. Hence, on a J-45 (which is 16" wide) the gap should be around

 

( 336 - (336^2 - 8^2)^0.5 ) = 0.1"

 

Of course, a little more when the top is under tension is not a problem.”

 

So if you place a straight edge across the width of the body directly behind the bridge, the gap at each edge should be about 0.1”.

 

.

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this forum is a truly excellent source but a top notch luthier (if one is nearby) would have the benefit of having the guitar in hand during the process of your questioning and be able to solve all riddles or repairs.

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Thanks for the intel, BigKahune. I will give that a measure next time the strings are all off.

 

Just to be clear, jvi, the bird is sans issue. Also, a good/competent acoustic luthier availability here several months. A bad one is 30-45 days out.

 

It's bound to be much worse after Florence gets done with us. I've got my wooden babies in their cases and inside a massive, recently re-purposed solid cherry(?) Armoire for the duration. (unless I'm actively playing one.) Turns out to be quite a nifty guitar storage unit.

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