Members EvilTwin Posted April 23, 2007 Members Share Posted April 23, 2007 I've only had this guitar since about September or October of last year. I moved to a new apartment this past winter that was very cold, and the guitar took some negative effects then -- everything from the 5th to 15th fret just made a dull "clink." I took this as a fret problem, since the neck seemed to be in OK shape (although adjusting the truss rod didn't aleviate the issue). I waited on getting a fix for it because I only trust one guy around here to work on my guitars, and I've been low on cash. So I finally get in contact with him (now that I have the cash to fix the guitar), and I open the case of my Guild yesterday only to find a vertical crack running from the bridge to the binding. And I have no clue why. The climate in my apartment has been fairly neutral the past few months. Anyone wanna tell me how I managed to mangle my favorite dread? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hudman Posted April 23, 2007 Members Share Posted April 23, 2007 Low humidity did it. The first sign was your guitar fretting out from the 5th fret up. Low humidity can cause the sound board to sink, thus lowering your action at the bridge. The good news is that it can be repaired easily and should not effect the tone of your guitar. Make sure you read Freeman Keller's "Is My Guitar Sick" sticky at the top of this forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted April 23, 2007 Members Share Posted April 23, 2007 Read what Jean Larrivee says about 20-25% RH and picture #6 Larrivee humidity article Before you do anything else slowly get the humidity back where it belongs - it might take a month or more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EvilTwin Posted April 23, 2007 Author Members Share Posted April 23, 2007 Wow. Thanks for the information, guys. I feel like a real ass. I've never had a humidity problem with my guitars before, but I never factored in the radiators in my old building before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted April 23, 2007 Members Share Posted April 23, 2007 Wow. Thanks for the information, guys. I feel like a real ass. I've never had a humidity problem with my guitars before, but I never factored in the radiators in my old building before. A bunch of us learned a few hard humidity lessons this winter. Put a couple of damp kitchen sponges in baggies with a bunch of holes punched in them - put one inside the soundhole and one by the headstock in the case. It might take 3 or 4 or 5 weeks, but the buzzing should mostly go away and the crack will probably close up. Then, and only then, have your guy work on it - if you have it set up now it will only change again as the humidity is corrected. I'll bet it will come out OK - let us know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Queequeg Posted April 23, 2007 Members Share Posted April 23, 2007 wait a minute. did you say radiators?as in "steam" heat?You don't have a forced-air furnace? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EvilTwin Posted April 23, 2007 Author Members Share Posted April 23, 2007 wait a minute. did you say radiators? as in "steam" heat? You don't have a forced-air furnace? I'm no radiator expert, but the ones in the apartment I moved into look like this, only older and much more beat up: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiator#Buildings) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted April 23, 2007 Members Share Posted April 23, 2007 I'm guessing I should dampen the sponges everyday?I'll be doing this with my other acoustics, too. Should I always put a baggy in the soundhole, or just in extreme cases like with the Guild? I dampen mine every few days and the only git that has the one in the sound hole was the one that got really dry, the others just have one by the headstock. Here is where I learned the trick http://www.bryankimsey.com/humdifier/index.htm When I was in college and we all had rooms full of houseplants, a friend who had a radiator like that just put a pan of water on it to humidify his plants. Might help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Queequeg Posted April 23, 2007 Members Share Posted April 23, 2007 When I was in college and we all had rooms full of houseplants, a friend who had a radiator like that just put a pan of water on it to humidify his plants. Might help. +1.in addition, steam or hot water heat tends not to dry out the air any where near as much as a forced air furnace does.it would be interesting to know what the RH% is/was in your home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EvilTwin Posted April 23, 2007 Author Members Share Posted April 23, 2007 +1.in addition, steam or hot water heat tends not to dry out the air any where near as much as a forced air furnace does.it would be interesting to know what the RH% is/was in your home. Well, the radiators tend to work when they feel like it. Plus there was a horrible cold snap around Valentine's Day here, so that couldn't have helped in the long run... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted April 23, 2007 Members Share Posted April 23, 2007 Evil, I just read a post on the musical instrument makers forum where a guy says his two year old Taylor 12 string split down the middle so badly that the top is actually pulling up from the tension of the bridge. Several of the luthiers chimed in to say that it is definitely low humidity and that newer guitars are more prone to problems than older ones which have gone thru many wet/dry cold/warm cycles. Good luck with yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.