I don't understand humidity and guitars...

[JuanPabloJr.]

Can someone explain it to me?

 

I thought humidity was bad for guitars and makes them warp and stuff... then why do people have humidifiers in their cases?

 

Someone please tell me what's best for acoustics humidity-wise

[Guest Anonymous]

Extremeties are bad for guitars. Woods react to weather and any extreme in temperature or humidity is not good. There needs to be an equilibrium. Most of the time this can done by just keeping your guitar in the case when not used.

The following page explains it quiet well:

http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/care.htm

[JuanPabloJr.]

Cool... do you need to purchase a humidifier or take any special care if you're in medium humidity places? no extremes...

[Guest Anonymous]

Well...where do you live?

In Perth we usually don't need to as temperatures range between 0-45 degrees celsius, and those are the extremes which are rare and only last for a short period. Humidity is also quite moderate. So keeping my guitars in their cases is ample.

[fantasticsound]

Nidge is correct save for his last comment about your guitar case providing protection against humidity issues. In fact, most cases wick away humidity from an instrument. Not a problem if you play your guitar in adequate humidity every few days, but it can be a problem.

Putting your guitar in the case for longer stretches will not protect it from even modest extremes of humidity, hence the advent of several kinds of in case humidifiers.

Generally, if you're comfortable in temp. and humidity, so is your guitar.

Aside from the fact a case can wick away moisture from the wood in your guitar, the reason every case should have a humidifier is that dry conditions are more damaging to guitars than humid conditions.

Dry air causes cracked skin, right? It also can cause the wood of your guitar to crack if left for too long. I received many calls when I was part of Gibson Customer Support from customers whose guitars had sat for months or years in the case. When these folks finally opened their cases they found cracks in the tops of their instruments and were upset the case didn't protect the instrument. I had to tell them the case could not protect their guitar from a lack of humidity.

If you leave your instrument in constant , hot, humid weather then you risk warping of the neck and/or top. But it takes immense heat and humidity to produce such an effect, or modest heat and humidity over time. Don't leave your instrument, even in the case, inside a hot car in the summer. Otherwise it shouldn't be a problem in most climates.

Again, if your hands are dry (assuming you're drinking enough water each day), then it's probably too dry for wooden, stringed instruments.

[Guest Anonymous]

Guess you're right. Well, Perth is pretty comfy

[fantasticsound]

Never been... I'd love to visit Oz, though.

[Pepol]

I found the perfect link for this question.
Gotta check it out even if you know all about humidity and guitars:
http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/features/woods/Humidity.aspx

[Robman2]

Damp-it, works fairly well, I put the larger one in a case shipping from Cincinnati to Los Angeles, it was pretty much dry when I got the box open, had I not added it just before, who knows...

On any instrument, it's simply good maintainence to take precautions.

Years ago, I lived in Phoenix ans had a little aluminum gadget which did a similar thing.

[fantasticsound]

Originally posted by Pepol I found the perfect link for this question. Gotta check it out even if you know all about humidity and guitars: http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/features/woods/Humidity.aspx

 

 

Thanks for the link. I'll have to check it out tomorrow at work. (Broadband connection.)