Members surfcat Posted January 24, 2004 Members Posted January 24, 2004 Does a case humidifier actually help if it's placed outside the guitar in the case? I'm wondering if any of it gets in the soundhole with a plush lined case closed on top of the guitar. I use a Kyser soundhole humidifier but I leave a little space so it's not all going into the soundhole, but by the same token, is any of it getting to the neck? Is the primary function to humidify the bare wood insider the guitar, especially the solid top-how about laminated backs or sides? Are they less important? Do electrics need to be humidified? Should I just leave them all in the shower with the water running?
Members buddyboy Posted January 24, 2004 Members Posted January 24, 2004 I tried humidifying my Ovation, but every time I filled it up, the water ran out the tail-pin-jack hole! Actually, I use four kyzers and they don't fit the same way in each guitar. There is no real seal toward the neck. I think it humidifies the whole case as well, but I am no expert. My complaint is that the reservior is too small, or maybe that is to prevent idiots like me from saturating the guitar. All I know is that it cured my 12's sinking sound hole last winter, and that's, what, something like 600 pounds of tension?
Members Howard Emerson Posted January 24, 2004 Members Posted January 24, 2004 Hi Surf, You definitely want the moisture to go throughout the case and the guitar. If you seal up the sound hole and all the moisture stays there, the fingerboard can shrink and the fret ends could possibly stick out past the edges. A cautionary tale here: Years ago there was a humidifier manufactured by Dean Markley called the Humitar. It was designed by Grit Laskin if I remember correctly. This unit held a couple of ounces of water and basically looked like a a small drinking flask. The sides were made of Gortex and it only allowed water vapor to come through, so there were no chances of leakage....................... A customer of mine bought a nice Martin MC-28 from me during the winter and also bought the Humitar as well. Some time around late August, he called the shop where I worked, and he was distraught about his guitar. I told him to bring it down to the store and I'd take a look at what the problem was..................... Seems he'd gone to France for the month of August where, it just so happens, it's extremely dry during the summer. Now this was his first summer living in NYC where it is anything but dry.......... So he had filled his Humitar, put it in his beautiful Martin and hopped a flight to Paris. When he came home and tried to take the guitar out of the case, it would not budge....................and when I opened the case and finally did get the guitar out, I was shocked at what had happened: The sides and back of the guitar had expanded so much that it was just like on a violin where the top and back are made to protrude past the sides.........................Yikes!!!! The customer meant well, but a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing sometimes. Dean Markley assumed that people take their guitars out of the cases on a fairly regular basis, but evidently that isn't always the case, so to speak. Long story short: Dean Markley made good on 30+ guitars that were damaged in this way, and they discontinued the Humitar. The moral of the story is that it's better to use a small unit that has a limited amount of capacity and just have to refill it more often. Take care, Howard Emersonhttp://www.howardemerson.com/ Come Visit!!
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