Acoustic guitars and humidity

cephus

cephus

Slow Children Playing
I haven't been around in a while. I know there are a few luthiers that hang out and I am in a bit of a pickle.

I have a Gallagher doc watson that I bought used. This guitar has had a rough life, but it play(ed) great and is loud as a cannon. A few weeks ago, I went away for the weekend and the guitar was in the car trunk for an extended period of time. Not overnight. I brought it in the house and it's been in the case ever since.

I guess the cold dried it out because I took it out of the case today and the action is noticeably higher. I have a gig tonight and I was wondering if it would be a good idea to take it into the bathroom and run a hot shower for a while to moisten it up a little. Would it make a difference? I was told that sometimes the drying will cause the top to collapse a bit and to keep an eye on the action as an indicator of dryness.

Is that crazy talk?
 
good to see you post again though, i recall actually LOLing at someof your posts in years gone by
 
Welcome back Cephus, I've wondered where you disappeared to.....Alien abduction maybe?:eek:
(Never mind--they might be listening..);)

There is a local bluegrass/folk band in S. Illinois and the leader plays a Gallager-he raves about it always!
 
Bummer. If its any consolation, I once left my Ramirez 1a out in the car overnight in subzero weather (good party). The top cracked all the way from the bridge to the side. I had the crack filled and the guitar has been my main concert instrument since the mid 80s. And I've never had to talk it into joining me for a shower. :D

Make sure you don't overhumidify. It can loosen the glue. I think the general consensus is somewhere around 50 per cent.
 
rmaier said:
Make sure you don't overhumidify. It can loosen the glue. I think the general consensus is somewhere around 50 per cent.
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Depending on where you live, it is basically impossible to over-humidify a guitar. Maybe if you live in a swamp, but in most of of the USA it's an extremely unlikely thing. The ideal humidity for guitars is in the 40-50% range. Shoot for 45% and you'll be OK. But really, don't do that, because in cold weather your house will be ruined by humidity that high. Just keep the guitar in it's case with a couple of sponge humidifiers.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
The only time you need to worry about over humudifying your guitar or any piece of wooden furniture for that matter is if is put together with hide glue. The glue line will be vulnerable then over time. With modern glues this isn't an issue. If your at all worried check with the manufacturer but it's only really ever going to apply to some hand built instruments and some of the very old acoustic instruments. Fiddle players take note.
 
Light said:
Depending on where you live, it is basically impossible to over-humidify a guitar.

It happens much more often than you might think. I know. It happened to me with a very expensive handmade instrument. The humidity in my case was at about 70 percent for an extended period of time and the back separated from the sides at one of the lower bouts. Don't overhumidify.
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rmaier said:
It happens much more often than you might think. I know. It happened to me with a very expensive handmade instrument. The humidity in my case was at about 70 percent for an extended period of time and the back separated from the sides at one of the lower bouts. Don't overhumidify.
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See my post above yours.

Light is still correct and the problem of your back separating has to do with the glue line. The maker of the instrument should have made you aware of this.
 
Two days ago I saw a bump under the bridge on the top wood of my ovation acoustic. I am not sure if it as there before and I keep the guitar in its hard case with a kyser humidifier..

and what I mean by bump is a like a swelling which is visible when you look from sideways. Is this can be because of lack of humidity?

ps. sorry for posting twice
 
yag said:
Two days ago I saw a bump under the bridge on the top wood of my ovation acoustic. I am not sure if it as there before and I keep the guitar in its hard case with a kyser humidifier..

and what I mean by bump is a like a swelling which is visible when you look from sideways. Is this can be because of lack of humidity?

ps. sorry for posting twice
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It's normal for an acoustic guitar to have some bulge behind the bridge and a little dip around the soundhole. It's just the tension of the strings acting over time. In sever case it needs to be addressed but if its holding tune and playing OK don't worry about it. Keep an eye on it and if it does get worse have it looked at.
 
I suppose it should be mentioned that trying to rehumidify a guitar faster than a humidifier in the case can do it is a bad idea. Ideally you would like the parts of the guitar to re-expand evenly.

Prolonged exposure to humidity levels above 60% creates a situation where mold can colonize the wood. Only in extreme cases is this really harmful to the instrument, but it should be avoided anyway.
 
muttley600 said:
It's normal for an acoustic guitar to have some bulge behind the bridge and a little dip around the soundhole. It's just the tension of the strings acting over time. In sever case it needs to be addressed but if its holding tune and playing OK don't worry about it. Keep an eye on it and if it does get worse have it looked at.
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Thanks muttley, this really relieved me. I have been checking the tuning regularly since I realized the shape and they were ok, also there was no difference in playability and playing... maybe just having paranoia
 
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