So much for humidifying!

[Hall]

Don't know if the web cam will show the crack, but it's a bad one. Humidity in the house and case kept at 45 to 50% all winter. Played the guitar for an hour the other night and sat it on a stand. About an hour later, "pop". There it was.

[jedzep]

Does that run across below the bridge? Very odd against the grain. Sorry for you, brutha'.

[slimt]

Ouch ,,that sucks.... I do have a question though.. your humidifing? in what way? just the house? or? do you kepp the guitar in the case most of the time? where do you store the guitar? these are just questions.

[Hall]

Does that run across below the bridge? Very odd against the grain. Sorry for you, brutha'.

 

 

 

with the grain, from the A string at bridge to nearly the binding at low bout. I haven't investigated it on the interior yet (I think I already know!); still just staring at it for now.

 

Steve

[duluthdan]

Old eyes... I can't see it, but I believe you. Nuts, eh? That's life I suppose. In spite of your best diligence it still cracked. With the grain, short and cleatable I hope.

 

Wait - is it that dark line? I thought that might be the center seam...

[Hall]

Ouch ,,that sucks.... I do have a question though.. your humidifing? in what way? just the house? or? do you kepp the guitar in the case most of the time? where do you store the guitar? these are just questions.

 

in the case, always and for this one, the humidity paks. Ironic, because this is one of a couple guitars I really look after properly. So much for that aspect of care. The enviroment in and out of case is "like" so there was no real change. It just happened.

 

 

 

Yes, it's the dark line. *Photo does enlarge.

[slimt]

what area of the country? dry cold or humid Cold?

[Hall]

I'm in Northern Ky. just across the river from Cincinnati. This one has me baffled because I've never had such a problem in 50+ years of playing the guitar and thirty years in this same home enviroment. I have quite a few instruments, but I don't obsess over them. Spent too many years out playing shows to do so. The humidty in my home is whole house controlled at 50% during heating (gas/central/humidifier) season. No variations to speak of and this particulsr guitar has never been used beyond the couch in this house. My Gibsons are my daily and work guitars to the greatest extent. On the other hand, this Martin D41 has led a particularly easy life compared to most of my guitars.

 

 

Steve

[slimt]

I'm in Northern Ky. just across the river from Cincinnati. This one has me baffled because I've never had such a problem in 50+ years of playing the guitar and thirty years in this same home enviroment. I have quite a few instruments, but I don't obsess over them. Spent too many years out playing shows to do so. The humidty in my home is whole house controlled at 50% during heating (gas/central/humidifier) season. No variations to speak of and this particulsr guitar has never been used beyond the couch in this house. My Gibsons are my daily and work guitars to the greatest extent. On the other hand, this Martin D41 has led a particularly easy life compared to most of my guitars. As I said, I'm baffled.

 

 

Steve

 

Concrete floor? or wood floor? Im just curious..

[62burst]

I take it that is a center seam separation (?). Certainly not the end of the world, there. If so, might even partially close back up somewhat with re-humidification. Are you sure about that 45->50% humidity reading? How many humi gauges have you? They vary greatly in their accuracy, let alone the whole analog vs digital thing. Get another reading (or 2) in your room, and take it from there, but don't sweat it. Or maybe you should. The guitar, that is.

[bobouz]

Possibly a compromised bridge plate with the ball end of a string resting on the spruce?

 

Time to get out the inspection mirror & take a look.

[Aster1]

Sure sorry to hear/see that for you!!! As has been said, "if it ain't one thing it's another" with stuff I guess. I sometimes have similar problems with gadgets Mechanical & Electrical/electronic for bad luck. I usally purchase & invest in the best. My stuff breaks or needs "****'n with" more than anyone else I know (including all our clients). Someone knows I can fix it all and may be helping keep me in good shape I reckon.

 

Maybe an easy fix and may not have a thing to do with humidity/dry if a seam let loose. It just might not have held properly and it is wood ya know. See what the Manuf. says and if warranty? What do you have to lose? Let us know how/what things go like. Best wishes for an acceptable & permanent fix.

 

Also, on the hygrometer. Have you tested with the salt method for calibration & accuracy? I do that about every few months with some of mine. ONLY ONE OF THEM IS SPOT ON!!! The others & have to add or deduct to get the real RH.

 

Aster

[E-minor7]

Aaarrhh, what a drag - and out of nowhere as it's first time at your place.

 

Wonder if the guitar is relatively new. .

[jedzep]

with the grain, from the A string at bridge to nearly the binding at low bout. I haven't investigated it on the interior yet (I think I already know!); still just staring at it for now.

 

Steve

 

Now I see the direction with the grain. Hmm. It must have been ready to pop. Sooner or later it would have.

[drathbun]

It could be any number of things. It looks like a straight crack with the grain which is fairly easy to fix. I agree with looking at the bridge plate to ensure the spruce is not compromised there. A guitar tech can cleat that crack and you won't even notice it was there. If the finish is nitro, it is even easier to mask.

[Hall]

Sorry to be talking about a Martin on the Gibson Forum! I've investigated a little further. 2005 by the way. Well, it's stress of some sort for certain, but it's not at a seam. A water finger test and mirror says it is not all the way through (?). Bout the best I can do today. I can see no compromise at the bridge plate. No wear. The strings are seated correctly, etc. Nothing underneath to note. On top, bridge itself is still in position. In short nothing visible to give me a hint. So, I suppose that suggests environment, and that makes no real sense in this instance. I treat'em all right. The guitar leads the life of Riley with a reasonable amount of care and has done so for 10 years. Not sure what the heck I'm going to do about this one. It's beyond my tools and knowledge. Think I'll go shovel the drive!

 

 

Steve

[slimt]

Sorry to be talking about a Martin on the Gibson Forum! I've investigated a little further. 2005 by the way. Well, it's stress of some sort for certain, but it's not at a seam. A water finger test and mirror says it is not all the way through (?). Bout the best I can do today. I can see no compromise at the bridge plate. No wear. The strings are seated correctly, etc. Nothing underneath to note. On top, bridge itself is still in position. In short nothing visible to give me a hint. So, I suppose that suggests environment, and that makes no real sense in this instance. I treat'em all right. The guitar leads the life of Riley with a reasonable amount of care and has done so for 10 years. Not sure what the heck I'm going to do about this one. It's beyond my tools and knowledge. Think I'll go shovel the drive!

 

 

Steve

 

Nothing wrong with talking about Martins.. I own a fe as well.. Im sure others do here too... It is a wake up call for sure... I always make sure I look at mine on a daily base.. at times though.. you just never know what will happn...

[BigKahune]

.

Very sorry you had this happen to your D-41. It's always tough to take damage like that.

 

I wish you the best possible outcome with the repair.

 

 

.

[capmaster]

Doesn't matter what brand guitar you are talking here. I am a player, too, and I know how players love their instruments. So I am very sorry for this bad thing happening to you and your D-41.

 

In my opinion, you did nothing wrong over the years, and reading your lines I guess you couldn't have done any better. Although most of my instruments are solidbodies, I know what they mean to me, and I am pampering mine, too.

 

When taking a look at the picture you posted, I am wondering what these blotches near the crack could be?

[aliasphobias]

That's crazy-it hurts me to look at it. Are you burning the fireplace/wood stove. It makes no sense to me. We have had a cold, dry winter but that should not happen to a guitar in a climate controlled house. I am just across the river from you my humidistat has been reading 45-50% all winter and I occasionally leave mine out on the stand over night. I have never had an issue. That just should not have happened IMO.

[Jerry K]

The top is under quite a bit of stress from string tension and flexes up and down from humidity. Plus the thing gets vibrated all the time by being played. Not surprising occasionally to find a weak spot in the wood gives way. It's heart-breaking when it happens but you know what? It's easy and pretty cheap to fix and the fix is often so good you have difficulty finding it. And it doesn't seem to affect tone or volume. I have a D-18 with six or seven top cracks. Of course I did everything wrong and never paid attention to humidity, allowed it to get crazy dry and other times insane humid... The thing sounds great after repair.

[jedzep]

Who ever knows what particular stresses, conditions and other invisible forces make a top crack...and where it will occur? I have to ask though, for my own mental catalogue of acoustic guitar issues, how heavy are the strings?

 

Consider it the first step toward your guitar acquiring 'character'. Like others have said, your ear won't notice.

[Dave F]

Howdy neighbor!

Sorry to hear about the Martin. I have a D41 Special.

I don't know if you're familiar with him but Jamonn Zeiler is an excellent luthier/bulider.

Besides his own shop he works out of GC over on Houston Road.

If you catch him in there (call first) he'll check it out on the spot.

He's done some excellent work for me and I would recommend him for any guitar work.

[Hall]

Thanks to everyone for concerns, thoughts and suggestions. My more "neglected" acoustics are all fine so go figure. I pay a little special attention to one SJ -200 I've mentioned before here, and to this D41. Get a "duh" for the effort on the 41.

 

Thanks, Dave for the contact and, howdy neighbor back to you! My resource moved to Denver last year! Hmm.

 

Light guage strings only. I'm the one here always preaching that one. The blotch is the camera reflection. No fireplace use, heat vents, temperature changes. Nothing that explains this one. I took string tension off yesterday, checked inside. Looked at it for a second today and the crack is now from bridge rear to binding. While I know it is the nature of a crack to run, now I can't help but think structural (bridge plate as suggested) for tension change is the only new variable introduced. As Jerry said, "weak place in the wood". Nice sounding guitar though ..

 

 

 

Steve

[bobouz]

In your second post, you said the crack starts at the A string behind the bridge. This is what originally led me to suspect a compromised bridge plate, possibly caused by an improperly seated string ball-end.

 

Even if your strings look properly seated, there could be something else structural going on. If you purchased the guitar new and have the Martin warranty, I would certainly contact them to see if you can have the instrument assessed. I would fully explain your careful care of the instrument to set the proper stage, and to clearly demonstrate that this is not a matter of casual or lax treatment. In a perfect world, it might be covered under the warranty - and if nothing else, you could ask for a factory repair estimate.

 

Best of luck!