larryp58 Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 Reading a recent post, this has to be a really good question for the "experts". I'll be the first to admit, I'm ignorant as to what the proper humidity level should be for our cherished Gibson guitars. Is it wise to keep them out of their cases till we play them? (I know I wipe mine down after every gig and put it back in the case after playing.) If we do, what ambient temperature should be maintained? Humidifier running in the same room with an instrument out of it's case? Summer vs. winter months? Northern climate vs. steamy Southern climate? What's a general "rule-of-thumb" for case humidifiers? Chime in and tell me (and probably many others) in language I can understand, (no theories in physics, please!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr newhaven Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 i agree with larryp! hook it up experts with all of your woody knowledge! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maninblack Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 I live in Cincinnati. (hot, humid summers and cold, dry winters) I keep mine in their cases with no humidifier in the summer (air conditioning brings the humidity in the house down) and with a room humidifier in the winter. I have multiple hygrometers in each corner of the room and some in the cases (I'm nuts about this). The general rule is 45 to 55% relative humidity but I think you are ok between 40-60%. Temperature-wise around 65-72 degrees. Basically, whatever a human would be comfortable with. Sustained dryness is a big problem in terms of cracking. Sudden, dramatic shifts in temperature and humidity are even more troublesome. This is by far the most accurate hygrometer I've purchased. I love it! I have checked it with the calibration kit they sell on Amazon. It was dead on. It blows those cheap, P.O.S planet waves hygrometers away. All 4 of mine read the same. I have 10 planet waves hygrometers and even right next to eachother they vary 15 percentage points. http://www.cigarextras.com/browseproducts/Caliber-III-Digital-Hygrometer-with-Temperature-LCD-Display.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkharmony Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 Not an expert, but I believe Bob Taylor is. http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/features/woods/humidity/default.aspx http://www.taylorguitars.com/global/pdfs/dry_guitar.pdf http://www.taylorguitars.com/global/pdfs/guitar_humidifier.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajsc Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 Not an expert' date=' but I believe Bob Taylor is. http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/features/woods/humidity/default.aspx http://www.taylorguitars.com/global/pdfs/dry_guitar.pdf http://www.taylorguitars.com/global/pdfs/guitar_humidifier.pdf [/quote'] Good stuff!! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drathbun Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 The Bob Taylor videos are excellent for all solid wood instrument owners. I like to have my guitars out of their cases. I hang them on the walls of my office/studio and leave my main axe (my Songwriter) out on a stand right next to me for fast and easy access. I keep the whole room humidified during the winter. The room is about 18'x12'x7'. I use this humidifier: I have a water distiller so I fill it with distilled water. There are no filters to clean. I just open the unit and rinse out the tray every couple of weeks. When the temps drop to -15C or lower, I can go through 4L of water a day. I keep the room between 40 and 50% RH. I have three digital hygrometers, one on the humidifer and two others at ends of the room. I deflect the heat vents so the air doesn't flow directly on any of my guitars. As long as there are no drastic shifts in temp and RH, the guitars seem to be stable and in tune. If I take one out in the cold and return it to the room, I'll keep it in the case overnight before taking it out again. I spend a lot of time in this room so the humidity is good for my breathing as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul E Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 I agree with what is being said about humidity, I always store my guitars in their cases and use a Oasis humidifier in all my gutars. It is very dry in the winter months were I live. My question is what did they do in th 20's, 30's, 40's and 50's before home humidifiers? It seems that these old guitars survived pretty good without modern humidifiers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drathbun Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 I agree with what is being said about humidity' date=' I always store my guitars in their cases and use a Oasis humidifier in all my gutars. It is very dry in the winter months were I live. My question is what did they do in th 20's, 30's, 40's and 50's before home humidifiers? It seems that these old guitars survived pretty good without modern humidifiers. [/quote'] I don't think they had central forced air heating in the 20's and 30's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkharmony Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 I use this brand of humidifiers in each of my cases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul E Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 Wood burner and fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 ...I always store my guitars in their cases and use a Oasis humidifier in all my gutars. I like Oasis too as you can easily tell when they need to be refilled. I keep an eye on my hygrometer and in the winter when the temps really drop and the humidity drops low' date=' I use the Oasis Plus (brown), otherwise the regular (blue). In the warm months, when the humidity is up, I'll leave my guitars on a stand. I use this brand of humidifiers in each of my cases. . A while back someone posted a similar method somewhere here, but he used a sponge and small tupperware container with small holes in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgwoods Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 With 4 guitars, 3 mandolins, 2 banjos, and 3 fiddles I am not going the route of individual case humidifiers. I would spend all of my time opening cases and refilling them . I have the room humidifier pictured in the post above and it has served me very well with almost no maintenance. In the cold dry winter I fill it every other day which takes about 1 minute to do- go across the hall, turn on the bathtub tap, quick fill, secure the cap and put it back. I keep 3-4 instruments out and the rest in cases in the closet with the door open so the humidified air can get in there. If I were smarter and better equipped I would precisely weigh my guitars when I was pretty sure they were properly humidified and playing well. Then I would track the weight periodically, adjusting humidity to keep it pretty much at the happy weight. My kitchen scale can weigh up to 11lb in grams, maybe I'll give that a try... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonCarlos Posted January 15, 2010 Share Posted January 15, 2010 Thanks for posting those videos. They are the BEST. It is a way to get a true understanding of what the issues caused by letting a guitar go dry. And in the high desert country, it gets pretty darned dry. The use of the straight ruler was excellent (now I have a better tool than my eye, and now I know what to look at). It was very reassuring after checking the my J45, to know that it's front and back are right where they are supposed to be. Yay. I do use the same "damp-it" that Bob is using and faithfully check it every other day. The only difference is that I retied the string to the inside of the damp it cover, flipped it over, so its concave in the soundhole (I really did not like it as it was....a hump under my strings). Now the cover sits under the strings. Once it becomes a habit using it, then it really is not a problem caring for a guitar this way. Thanks again for that post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larryp58 Posted January 15, 2010 Author Share Posted January 15, 2010 Good info, guys! There's always misinformation about what you should and shouldn't do. I do love my guitars, and I don't want to open a case up one day and find a crack. Especially knowing that I could have prevented it! Good info that will be used by me and I know others! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eds111 Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 maninblack: thanks for the tip on the hydrometers. I ordered 4 (for the price of 3). You are right the Planet Waves units are suspect. The two I own are off by 7%, I don't know if either is right. Also, I keep my guitars in a bedroom with a humidifier. I keep the door closed when I am away and the heat vent shut off. It's fairly easy to keep the humidity around 45%. Most of the day I keep the heat in the house around 60 degrees, that helps keep the humidity up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wonderful remark Posted January 17, 2010 Share Posted January 17, 2010 I live in a log house.. and wood is my main source of heat. I go through about 8 cords of wood in 1 year. Yes, it gets pretty dry in the house and keep my guitars in the case all year long with Oasis. I swear by them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmer Roy Posted January 18, 2010 Share Posted January 18, 2010 Here's some good information that I got from Kevin Ryan's website......... Dear Friend, Here is a chart I have made for your reference. If you become familiar with these numbers and are conscientious about proper humidity for your instrument, your guitar will remain in pristine condition through many, many years. If you have any questions about this, please give me a call here at the shop. Enjoy your new Ryan Guitar! Kevin Ryan Kevin Ryan Guitars Westminster, California April 2004 The figures below represent RH (Relative Humidity): 100%; You shouldn’t really be playing your new guitar out in the rain 95%; This is dangerous for your instrument; glue joints are compromising right now and the thin wood plates are highly stressed and buckling due to their swollen condition 90%; This is far too humid for your instrument; the action of the strings is very high; maybe it’s time for some air conditioning for both of you? Bad things are possibly going to start happening to your instrument 85%; Too humid; your wood plates are beginning to swell with the moisture; this isn’t good 80%; A little too humid I think (plus, aren’t you getting uncomfortable?); soundboard movement is starting to affect the action (making it higher over the frets) 75%; Probably getting too humid; if it keeps up you may actually notice the soundboard movement; sort of OK for awhile 70%; OK for awhile but don’t let the guitar get too warm; more wood movement with the soundboard bellying out somewhat perhaps 65%; A little too humid; there might be a small bit of wood movement but don’t panic 60%; Still sort of OK 55%; Not too bad 50%; OK 45%; PERFECT 40%; OK 35%; Time to think about humidifying your guitar; the soundboard is starting to sink in; probably will be OK for a few days so don’t panic (yet!) 30%; It is really time for humidifying your guitar, (a few days might be ok); action starting to get low; maybe you can start to feel the ends of the frets beyond the edge of the fretboard (which has shrunk back due to moisture loss); install the Planet Waves Guitar Humidifier when you are not playing the instrument 25%; Time to be really concerned; time is not on your side; take corrective action now; use the Planet Waves Guitar Humidifier and put the guitar in the case until the dry conditions are over; cracks are planning their assault; frets are hanging over the edge of the fretboard now 20%; Danger Will Robinson!!! You are living on the edge now; huge stresses are building up in the plates of your expensive instrument and; cracks may start to appear at any moment; the soundboard is sunk in and you have string buzzes 15%; Give me a call and we can discuss a time slot for your repair 10%; Now we need more time to fix all those cracks and glue the thing back together 5%; It’s over! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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