Members Mikeo Posted October 21, 2018 Members Share Posted October 21, 2018 Time to start humifying your acoustics and archtops. I use the old travel soap dish and sponge method. I'm gonna bounce an article written by Phil, a few years ago. https://www.harmonycentral.com/articles/make-your-own-diy-guitar-case-humidifiers I have tried many of the store bought ones, but these are easy to make and seem to really do a great job. Amazon has digital hydrometers too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Neal Posted October 21, 2018 Members Share Posted October 21, 2018 Man I hate this. Too many cases, too many humidifiers. Too much time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted October 22, 2018 Members Share Posted October 22, 2018 Fall has been spectacular in the northwest. I've been climbing, hiking, paddling, out to the coast - but its also getting cold at night and we have the heat on. So yes, its time to humidify. Actually I humidify year around - each guitar stays in its case with a sponge/baggie. Each time I play one I check the sponge and dampen it if its getting dry. But in the fall and winter I start keeping an eye on the humidity in the house and usually run my little Walmart room humidifier. I also know that I'll soon start getting calls from the music store that I do repairs for - the easy ones are wonky action or sharp frets, cracked tops are heart breaking. Thanks for the reminder, Mike, but you are probably preachin' to the choir. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted October 22, 2018 Members Share Posted October 22, 2018 Been humidifying all year. No reason to quit now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MrHarryReems Posted October 22, 2018 Members Share Posted October 22, 2018 I'll just throw it out there again that I'm willing to swap my completely saturated humidipaks for dessicated ones at any time! Living in a rain forest means that I have more humidity than I can handle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Danocoustic Posted October 22, 2018 Members Share Posted October 22, 2018 I just keep the whole house humidified/dehumidified as need be. Bought the equipment for another...errr...agricultural endeavor that I no longer pursue. Fairly easy to keep it between 45 and 55% rH. Never have fret sprout or cracks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members garthman Posted October 22, 2018 Members Share Posted October 22, 2018 None of my guitars have ever been humidified. Neither has my house. I suppose the good old damp UK with its lack of extremes does the job OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members catscurlyear Posted October 22, 2018 Members Share Posted October 22, 2018 yes i always wondered what the americans were always moaning about with humidity ,i`ve never had an issue in my life with guitars and humidity in Great Britain maybe it`s the wrong instrument for americans maybe you should all take up a brass instrument start a brass band or something . although i think your problem with humidity does affect your voices in the right way tone wise ,where as mine voice sounds like ( excuse the pun), an over oiled teenager., Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Danocoustic Posted October 22, 2018 Members Share Posted October 22, 2018 yes i always wondered what the americans were always moaning about with humidity ' date='i`ve never had an issue in my life with guitars and humidity in Great Britain maybe it`s the wrong instrument for americans maybe you should all take up a brass instrument start a brass band or something . although i think your problem with humidity does affect your voices in the right way tone wise ,where as mine voice sounds like ( excuse the pun), an over oiled teenager.,[/quote'] Well...the upside of it is, we don't have to live in Great Britain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members catscurlyear Posted October 22, 2018 Members Share Posted October 22, 2018 shh the queen might come on this forum browsing for an axe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Danocoustic Posted October 22, 2018 Members Share Posted October 22, 2018 *cues "My Country 'Tis Of Thee"* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members catscurlyear Posted October 22, 2018 Members Share Posted October 22, 2018 Hendrix did the best version at the Isle of Wight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted October 22, 2018 Share Posted October 22, 2018 Time to start humifying your acoustics and archtops. I live in the desert - it's pretty much a year-round chore for me. I use the old travel soap dish and sponge method. I'm gonna bounce an article written by Phil, a few years ago. https://www.harmonycentral.com/articles/make-your-own-diy-guitar-case-humidifiers I have tried many of the store bought ones, but these are easy to make and seem to really do a great job. Amazon has digital hydrometers too. Amazon just added this deal recently - you can get four of them for $15 - IMO that's a great option if, like me, you have several instruments that need monitoring. Thanks for the bounce! I wish I could take credit for the soap dish as humidifier idea - I don't know who first thought of it, but it's a good one. I must have about a dozen of those things - most of my acoustic guitars have two per case. They seem to work as well as the commercial models (or better) and they're cheap and easy to make. And they beat the heck out of sharp fret ends or worse, a cracked top... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members katopp Posted October 22, 2018 Members Share Posted October 22, 2018 I've bought an ultrasonic mist generator from Fleabay and a two gallon mid-height plastic bowl. Fill bowl half with water, put mist generator on a 24 hour programmable timer, 10 min on, 20 min off. Refill every other day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Danocoustic Posted October 22, 2018 Members Share Posted October 22, 2018 I've bought an ultrasonic mist generator from Fleabay and a two gallon mid-height plastic bowl. Fill bowl half with water' date=' put mist generator on a 24 hour programmable timer, 10 min on, 20 min off. Refill every other day.[/quote'] Ultrasonic humidifiers are the best. I went through several wick types before I discovered them---still using my first one (3 years old). I only use reverse osmosis filtered water in it (another piece of equipment left over from my growing days). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members garthman Posted October 22, 2018 Members Share Posted October 22, 2018 "Ultrasonic mist generator" . ..phew! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Idunno Posted October 23, 2018 Members Share Posted October 23, 2018 Central Florida. I don't usually have much of a problem but I have the equipment if needed. The hygrometer in the music room shows 50% RH. Outside it 66% with a 65°F temp. I expect to get by another year without a fuss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Neal Posted October 23, 2018 Members Share Posted October 23, 2018 I just keep the whole house humidified/dehumidified as need be. Bought the equipment for another...errr...agricultural endeavor that I no longer pursue. Fairly easy to keep it between 45 and 55% rH. Never have fret sprout or cracks. Just last winter, I threw caution to the wind. Used my whole house humidifier to keep it in the mid to high 30’s (%). Went fine until that cold snap broke and my attic door-in-the-ceiling started dripping water...it WAS a pretty site though, all those attic beams covered in mini snowballs. When the temp starts edging into the 10-20, humidity should definitely go down, when it gets to 10 and below, it probably should be set to just make sure your sweater to metal shocks don’t cause small electrical fires . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members catscurlyear Posted October 23, 2018 Members Share Posted October 23, 2018 so if you buy a guitar in America does the shop assistant ask if you need a humidifier with that or are you just expected to know yourself . Many great guitars must have been lost and ruined to the humidity over there.i`d hate to have to pack my guitar away or set up a life support for it all the time, it`s such a luxury we have over here in England then to be able to just pick a guitar up and play then put it down again with no thought about it`s well being .it must make you Americans feel like the guitar is a very fragile thing ,wow.do pianos suffer the same and all wooden instruments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members garthman Posted October 23, 2018 Members Share Posted October 23, 2018 {grin thingie} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Neal Posted October 23, 2018 Members Share Posted October 23, 2018 I think some of the concern is a tad misplaced, but if your instrument is going to sit in a humidity range of 5-15% for a few weeks/months, it’s not a bad idea. Most of my instruments are old enough that I’m sure they never saw any effort to baby them thru the winter, and whaddya know, just fine today, but I still get out the Oasis humidifiers at 20 bucks a pop and the DISTILLED water every week and a half and have a little religious ritual with the congregation. Maybe there’s a Darwinian thing happening with all those old ones.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Idunno Posted October 23, 2018 Members Share Posted October 23, 2018 Fossilized. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Idunno Posted October 23, 2018 Members Share Posted October 23, 2018 I think... If the constituent woods of a guitar expand and contract at different rates relative to each other, sudden exposure to significant RH changes probably isn't a good idea. But, if they're allowed to slowly adjust through the use of hydrating/dehydrating devices, (or normal seasonal changes over the days and weeks) then no damage should occur over that period as the woods settle into their new surrounds. I mean, barring any swift change in RH, any guitar slowly introduced to any RH change should maintain the same integral structural relationship of the constituent parts as a whole. In other words, it will change as a unit minus the risk of damage from one component part expanding or contracting faster than the surrounding parts (structure). Empirically proving that is probably in plain view and as mentioned in the posts in this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted October 23, 2018 Members Share Posted October 23, 2018 Better shops probably do or places where the staff works on commission. I haven't bought a guitar from a music store in years but I do remember a sales guy at a local mom and pop setting a lady up with a humidifier once when I was buying strings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kwakatak Posted October 31, 2018 Members Share Posted October 31, 2018 I bought an Aprilaire 500m whole house humidifier for my furnace. RH will tumble below 20% once the temperature gets cold enough for the furnace to kick on. I just need to figure how to wire the thing so that it only draws water while the blower is on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.