humidity

[guit30]

I got the planet waves humidifier today and put it in my guitar, guitar still the same, hi e string has dropped at least 1/64 of an inch, making it buzz from 10th fret up and you can't get a note out of the octave fret. How can you tell when to add to this device, I guess I need a Hygrometer, my local radio shack did not have one, do you have to order on line? I had a sponge like thingie in there for 2 days which didn't help, hopefully this new device will, makes sense.

On the other hand I received a Peavey backstage amp from Sweetwater Sound, They sent me either a demo or a return and were a real hastle dealing with, the sound is bland and the tone switches don't do anything. The power switch seems to be on the way out. Would not recommend this company, MF better.

I was going to leave their President a message on their system at 3 in the morning, he actually answered the phone, I explained my situation , some pushy guy called me the next morning wanting me to keep the amp and he would still give me a refund, I look, I don't want this, can you send me a mailing label. Finally they did, why would I want a broken piece of junk

Jim

[Freeman Keller]

Jim, once again, I've got a similar problem with one of mine right now. It has two sponges - one actually inside the body, one by the headstock. The hygrometer in my music room reads 30 percent - its one of those little cheap Planet Waves ones so I figure +/- a few %. Point is that it is darn dry in my house (yet snowing and raining outside).

 

After about a week I'm starting to see a little improvement - last night it only buzzed slightly (I haven't actually measured anything). I'm just going to wait a week or so, keeping the sponges damp, before I do anything. If it hasn't come back in a couple of weeks I'll probably dress the frets and go thru the setup stuff.

 

All my other ones are pretty happy with their little heads resting on one sponge pillow, but asked my wife for some more sponges just to be sure. BTW - I think it will be pretty hard to over humidify it this time of the year.

[Dave W.]

I would think re-humidifing a dried out guitar would be measured in weeks instead of days. It is going to take a while for the moisture to get down deep in the wood and get those fibers moving back where they were.

[kwakatak]

Give it a little more time. It's only been a day. The only way I've ever heard of any quick results was when somebody mentioned leaving their guitar in the bathroom and running the shower to get the whole room steamy. Somehow that just seems wrong to me.

 

For reference, there's a really good video over on Taylor guitars' web site that documents the rehydration of a badly dehydrated guitar. It took them about 2 weeks to get it back in shape, though there was a lot more wrong with it than buzzing action:

http://www.taylorguitars.com/see-hear/ - click on one of the links for "Understanding Humidity"

 

I feel your pain though. The RH in my home is 22% and my guitars have all been in their cases for weeks with only minimal time out. My Larrivee is pretty much case-bound until spring. Along with the sponge in a baggie I have this courtesy of Jason at Notable Guitars:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Planet-Waves-Acoustic-Guitar-Humidifier-with-HTS-?sku=420981

[Dave W.]

The only way I've ever heard of any quick results was when somebody mentioned leaving their guitar in the bathroom and running the shower to get the whole room steamy. Somehow that just seems wrong to me. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Planet-Waves-Acoustic-Guitar-Humidifier-with-HTS-?sku=420981

 

Kwak, that is an understatement, what were they thinking! Any rapid changes are likely to cause damage. Wood and glue are just not meant to move quickly.

[rbomb]

I have a hygrometer built into my case (Epi Masterbilt series), how do I know it is accurate and is there a way to calibrate it? It doesn

[drnihili]

 

How can you tell when to add to this device,

 

 

I do it by feeling the weight of the humidifier. It's heavier when full. (duh). If I were trying to rehumidify a guitar, I'd proably just count on adding water daily.