cheaper acoustics and humidity

[naboutboul]

Thanks, deepend. I meant damp, not damn. I'm letting the guitar sit in the case (it's a thick gig bag) flat with one damn sponge in the soundhole and a damp sponge in the soap dish about 1/2 way up the neck. I guess I'll check on it every time I play it or every few days and leave it like that until spring comes around and the ambient humidity is back up to 45% or more. My only concern is the possibility of over-humidifying the guitar. I think I'll judge that by how long the sponges stay damp until I get one of those soundhole hygrometers but dropping $30 on one seems steep to me ATM.

[DeepEnd]

. . . I think I'll judge that by how long the sponges stay damp until I get one of those soundhole hygrometers but dropping $30 on one seems steep to me ATM.

A quick search of Amazon.com turned up 4 for less than $10 on the first page so you don't have to spend $30: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2/192-6983097-1383600?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=hygrometer. If there's a tobacco shop near you, they should have hygrometers intended for humidors. A pet shop should have some for terrariums as well. I found mine used on eBay. IIRC, I paid about $15.

[Phil O'Keefe]

Ouch!

[Phil O'Keefe]

Okay guys. So, the humidity in the room now that the heat is on is around 30%. I guess I have to humidify. I've done some research and found 2 methods that I can use. One is the damp sponge in a bag in the soundhole and the other is the damp sponge in soapdish method. I'm wondering what I should be doing to keep this working best. As of right now, I have the guitar on a stand with a bag with a damn sponge in the soundhole. I'm wondering: can I leave it on the stand like this or should I be leaving it inside the case? Here are some pics of what I've come up with.

 

(snip)

 

 

Another method I've seen is to keep the these soap dish trays which have holes on top in the case and keep the guitar in there. Is this better than the soundhole method? What is preferable. I can do either or but I know not to do both together as that may over humidify the guitar.

 

 

 

A sponge isn't going to supply enough humidity to a guitar that is left sitting out on a stand. You'd need to use a room humidifier for that and monitor the humidity levels in the room. If you're going to use these types of units, leave the guitar in the case when you're not using it.

 

Here's an article I did with instructions on how to make those soap case humidifiers. You may find it helpful.

[Phil O'Keefe]

PS As Freeman mentioned, it's pretty darned hard to over-humidify an acoustic guitar if you live in a dry environment. If you live in Florida or some other jungle and don't use heat or AC, too much humidity could potentially become an issue, but for the vast majority of us, it just isn't a major concern - the opposite is.