Wood Crack/ or Lacquer Crack?

[greenthi102]

http://i.imgur.com/iXVxZxF.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/iXVxZxF.jpg

 

Is this something that was bound to happen?

[greenthi102]

right down the middle, this guitar is less than a year old.

[Bryn6490]

If it's in the middle it's more than likely the seam separating not a crack. Your guitar might be too dry. Try humidifiying your guitar. Hunidity should be 45%-52%. It looks like the center seam is separating on your guitar because of humidity.

[EuroAussie]

That does look like a crack, of the woody type, and it seems like a seperation which needs attetnion.

[fortyearspickn]

Contact Customer Service. They will probably direct you to an authorized guitar technician/facility. That is where you can get a remedy for this, not so much here. G'luck.

[bram99]

If it's in the middle it's more than likely the seam separating not a crack. Your guitar might be too dry. Try humidifiying your guitar. Hunidity should be 45%-52%. It looks like the center seam is separating on your guitar because of humidity.

 

Or it could be the opposite....on an overly hydrated guitar the wood expands, causing the back and soundboard to expand. This results in an increased belly on the sound board and a rounder back. The rounder back can cause a seam separation just as easily as a dry guitar......don't hydrate the guitar until you figure out which it is or you might make it worse...

 

Either take it into the shop or get a hygrometer before you do anything. Can you post a picture with a straight edge sitting across the back or top, perpendicular to the center seam? How is the action on the guitar? A dry guitar should exhibit a flatter soundboard and thus lower action....

 

If you get the guitar back at equilibrium (45-52% like Bryn6490 says) theses gaps can close up and pretty much disappear. How is the humidity where you live?

[RusRob]

I would say you got some good advice in the above posts, it very well could be a humidity issue but I would wouldn't wait to get it fixed. If the crack isn't all the way down the back it soon will be if you don't do something with it.

 

My suggestion would be to lower the tuning to D so it doesn't have as much tension on it and then get a hydrometer and check the humidity. Put the guitar and the hydrometer in the case and close it up for a day or so. That will give you a good reading of what the humidity level is and you can take action from there.

 

Or, get it into the shop right away, but don't neglect it for very long or it could get much worse.

[greenthi102]

Or it could be the opposite....on an overly hydrated guitar the wood expands, causing the back and soundboard to expand. This results in an increased belly on the sound board and a rounder back. The rounder back can cause a seam separation just as easily as a dry guitar......don't hydrate the guitar until you figure out which it is or you might make it worse...

 

Either take it into the shop or get a hygrometer before you do anything. Can you post a picture with a straight edge sitting across the back or top, perpendicular to the center seam? How is the action on the guitar? A dry guitar should exhibit a flatter soundboard and thus lower action....

 

If you get the guitar back at equilibrium (45-52% like Bryn6490 says) theses gaps can close up and pretty much disappear. How is the humidity where you live?

 

 

Humidity is quite awful where I'm at (Columbia , South Carolina) (aka the armpit of the south)

and i live in a historic wooden house. So it most definitely is a humidity thing. How do i de-humidify?

My luthier said he can make the crack disappear with 50 dollars. worth it?

[greenthi102]

I would say you got some good advice in the above posts, it very well could be a humidity issue but I would wouldn't wait to get it fixed. If the crack isn't all the way down the back it soon will be if you don't do something with it.

 

My suggestion would be to lower the tuning to D so it doesn't have as much tension on it and then get a hydrometer and check the humidity. Put the guitar and the hydrometer in the case and close it up for a day or so. That will give you a good reading of what the humidity level is and you can take action from there.

 

Or, get it into the shop right away, but don't neglect it for very long or it could get much worse.

 

will do. how do you de-humidify your guitar?

[greenthi102]

Humidity is quite awful where I'm at (Columbia , South Carolina) (aka the armpit of the south)

and i live in a historic wooden house. So it most definitely is a humidity thing. How do i de-humidify?

My luthier said he can make the crack disappear with 50 dollars. worth it?

out side- the humidity is 80 %

[bram99]

Humidity is quite awful where I'm at (Columbia , South Carolina) (aka the armpit of the south)

and i live in a historic wooden house. So it most definitely is a humidity thing. How do i de-humidify?

My luthier said he can make the crack disappear with 50 dollars. worth it?

 

 

Your luthier will probably just drop fill the gap or overspray....if you then bring the humidity down and the back settles into a more flat condition, there will be no where for the contraction to occur because the gap was filled with nitro finish. this could result in finish cracks and a bigger problem. You need to treat the cause not the symptom. The gap is the symptom....the humidity is probably the cause.

 

Keep your guitar in its case...order one of these and put it in your case for a few days....then you will know for sure....

 

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Measuring_tools/Digital_Humidity_Gauge.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=395294

 

your guitar should be able to handle humidity up to about 60-65% with out too much distortion, but big fluctionations of humidity will cause the biggest issues and should be avoided...there are things that you can do to lower the humidity in the case and in your house, but you need to first determine that is what you need to do.

[greenthi102]

Your luthier will probably just drop fill the gap or overspray....if you then bring the humidity down and the back settles into a more flat condition, there will be no where for the contraction to occur because the gap was filled with nitro finish. this could result in finish cracks and a bigger problem. You need to treat the cause not the symptom. The gap is the symptom....the humidity is probably the cause.

 

Keep your guitar in its case...order one of these and put it in your case for a few days....then you will know for sure....

 

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Measuring_tools/Digital_Humidity_Gauge.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=395294

 

your guitar should be able to handle humidity up to about 60-65% with out too much distortion, but big fluctionations of humidity will cause the biggest issues and should be avoided...there are things that you can do to lower the humidity in the case and in your house, but you need to first determine that is what you need to do.

 

I will wait a week, i just ordered a hygrometer for the case. And try and to humidify the guitar for now to see if anything heals up. What can you do if it's too wet?

[RusRob]

To remove moisture from the air you would use a couple desiccant packets. Those are the little packages you find in electronics packages. It is basically a pack of silica crystals or a gel.

 

You can make your own but I have never tried. Just Google "making a desiccant" and you should find it.

 

 

You can also control humidity with heat. Place your guitar in its case in a closet and put a lamp with at least a 60 watt bulb. Use your hydrometer to check the humidity (it should be between 40 to 60% humidity but target it for around 50%). Depending on how much humidity is in the wood it could take up to 3 weeks but will probably come down in a week or so. Keep your guitar in its case since that will act as a buffer and will allow it to dry out slower. DO NOT try to change the moisture content quickly as that will make the crack worse. Nice and slow and you shouldn't have any problems. I would also keep an eye on the temp in the closet as well as the humidity outside the case, you don't want to go to extremes with heat since that can loosen up the glue.

 

Before you do anything find out exactly what the moisture content is. If its wet do as above but if it is dry then you can just get a sound hole humidifier (Planet Wave makes pretty good ones that are pretty cheap and work well). While humidifying it or drying it keep checking it every day and watch the crack, you should see it closing up.

 

After you get the humidity correct then you need to get the crack fixed and stabilized. The proper way to fix it will be with hot hide glue and cleats. A cleat is just a small square of wood that gets glued inside the guitar under the crack. That will stabilize the crack from moving in the future.

 

After that, keep your guitar in its case when not being played and keep the hydrometer in the case so you can keep an eye on the humidity.

 

I live in Michigan and it gets humid in the summer and dry in the winter. I added a central air conditioning unit which pulls water out of the air in summer and have a furnace mounted humidifier which adds moisture in the winter. My house and shop stay pretty close to 45% humidity all year round.

 

One thing to know is the crack will not effect the tone or playability of your guitar as long as it gets fixed. If it doesn't get fixed you could end up with a loose brace which could cause a rattle or buzz.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Bob

[rar]

What can you do if it's too wet?

Desiccants (e.g., silica gel) are okay for a single guitar kept in its case, but you might want to consider a room dehumidifier. You can head over to the Home Depot or equivalent and check some out, or find a few hundred options on Amazon.

 

By the way, if you want to make sure that the problem is excessive moisture -- although going through a summer in SC certainly makes that the likeliest hypothesis -- try to find a non-invasive hydrometer you can borrow to actually check the moisture level of the wood of the guitar. Guitars ship from Bozeman at around 8%, IIRC. If you're measuring over 10%, you need to dry it out some.

 

-- Bob

[RusRob]

I probably should have added if you use the closet and light trick, not to put the light near the case. All you want to do is raise the temp in the closet enough to drop the humidity. You don't want to cook it...

 

Also you may want to invest in a small single room de-humidifer and keep your guitar(s) in a dedicated room so you can control the humidity. I know a few guys that have small guitar rooms that are temperature and humidity controlled.

 

Don't drive yourself crazy worrying about humidity, an all wood guitar can handle a pretty wide range in humidity. What you want to avoid is prolonged exposure to high or low moisture content. I would say the range would be from about 35% to about 60%. Not letting it stay too long at either extreme. It takes 1 to 3 weeks for the wood to change moisture content.

[j45nick]

Humidity is quite awful where I'm at (Columbia , South Carolina) (aka the armpit of the south)

and i live in a historic wooden house. So it most definitely is a humidity thing. How do i de-humidify?

My luthier said he can make the crack disappear with 50 dollars. worth it?

 

 

What has not been mentioned here is that the fluctuations in humidity will not be as great if you keep the guitar inside its case when you are not playing it. Also, when you remove the guitar from the case, shut the case so that the ambient case humidity is as stable as possible.

 

I live in south Florida. From about May 1 through the end of October, the house is shut up with the AC on. The humidity stays pretty stable at about 45-50% under those circumstances. It is more volatile in the winter, when the house is open most of the time. Humidity can vary from the high 30%'s after a frontal passage to about 65-70% with warm breezes off the ocean. The only humidity change symptoms I see with my guitars are a change in action height and tuning (guitar goes sharp and action gets higher) when the humidity gets very high.

 

As others have said, a room dehumidifier is as good solution. You should also get a room hygrometer so you know what the ambient humidity actually is.

 

And keep the guitars in their cases.

[Dave F]

http://www.maurysmusic.com/inc/sdetail/humidipak_waterless_humidity_control_kit/3869/53198

 

I usually leave my guitars out. I keep my house between 40%-60% which is okay for most of my guitars that show no affects.

I have one that does suffer from the 60%

On the advice of my luthier, I just ordered a few of the above to try out.

I have two of my guitars encased. The third will get it when it comes back from the Gibson factory.

I was having problems with my J200 and my local authorized repair shop sent it back to the factory for a neck reset this past January.

It came back perfect and I assumed they did a neck reset.

9 months later the guitar was in the same condition.

 

I contacted Gibson direct ( it only took them 2 business days to respond) and they sent me a shipper to return the guitar.

After a couple weeks they contacted me and said -

" When it came back here in January, your guitar did not have a neck reset. The problem was overhydrating. The same problem has occurred again. Anything over 50% humidity can cause the guitar to swell and the top to go up which raises the action. Bowing the neck back and lowering the action won’t fix the problem. They will acclimate the guitar back to the proper humidity and set it up again. As long as the guitar stays within the proper humidity range, it should be fine. "

 

I have been dealing with Daryl Mosley. He has been very responsive and helpful. I'm looking forward to getting it back and seeing if the HumidiPak works.

I've heard that some guitars need a few years to settle down.

I also considering adding a dehumidifier to my guitar room.

When my AC is on the humidity is good.

When the heat is on I have a whole house humidifier that controls it very well.

The bad times are in the spring and fall when it's humid outside but not warm enough to turn on the AC . That's when it creeps up to the 60%