Should i humidify my guitar?

[tthcore]

I just bought a gibson j45, should i humidify all the time? Or not at all? Sometimes? how often? Should i buy one of those digital humdifing thingys at GC, or should i just put it in the bathroom when i take a shower?

 

[mshilarious]

I just bought a gibson j45, should i humidify all the time? Or not at all? Sometimes? how often? Should i buy one of those digital humdifing thingys at GC, or should i just put it in the bathroom when i take a shower?

Well, don't do that last one! You want to avoid fluctuations and extremes, and a bathroom is about as extreme as you can get!

First off, how humid is your house? In summer? In winter? Many locations in the US are dry in wintertime, so you might need some humidification, whether whole-house (which is good for you too), room, or case. A big goal is temperature and humidity stability.

 

[Light]

The answer is yes, but you can read more HERE.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[packratlouie]

Depending on the humidity in your area, you'll either want to humidify it (providing you live in a lower humidity area), or control the humidity (if you live in a rainforest, haha).

I suggest purchasing an in-guitar humidifier, similar to this:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002GYW0G/102-0000857-0945733?v=glance

The humidistat is a nice addition, but not very necessary as they are often notoriously inaccuate. Unless you pick up an expensive one, expect it to be off.

You'll want to ensure you keep that puppy of yours humidified properly, because during manufacturing process, it's kept a specific humidity as well. If you neglect to do so, your guitar will suffer some pretty interesting consequences ranging from simply dryness, all the way to finish cracking, and even cracking of the fretboard (extreme case).

I purchased the planet waves humidifier for about $15.00 CAN without the humidistat, and it works like a charm. Fill it once every couple weeks, and it does the job perfectly.

I wouldn't suggest getting a damp-it guitar humidifier unless is ISN'T the one that looks like a long sponge...

There are many humidity resources on the internet, but my favourite come from Jean Larrivee.

Good luck.

 

[Light]

Depending on the humidity in your area, you'll either want to humidify it (providing you live in a lower humidity area), or control the humidity (if you live in a rainforest, haha).

I suggest purchasing an in-guitar humidifier, similar to this:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002GYW0G/102-0000857-0945733?v=glance

The humidistat is a nice addition, but not very necessary as they are often notoriously inaccuate. Unless you pick up an expensive one, expect it to be off.

You'll want to ensure you keep that puppy of yours humidified properly, because during manufacturing process, it's kept a specific humidity as well. If you neglect to do so, your guitar will suffer some pretty interesting consequences ranging from simply dryness, all the way to finish cracking, and even cracking of the fretboard (extreme case).

I purchased the planet waves humidifier for about $15.00 CAN without the humidistat, and it works like a charm. Fill it once every couple weeks, and it does the job perfectly.

I wouldn't suggest getting a damp-it guitar humidifier unless is ISN'T the one that looks like a long sponge...

There are many humidity resources on the internet, but my favourite come from Jean Larrivee.

Good luck.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but the Planet Waves humidifier sucks ass. It is WAY too difficult to fill, it doesn't lock the moisture in the body the way I want, and it is made of a hard plastic which can damage your guitar if things are bumped wrong. The ONLY thing they got right is that it has a larger sponge than a Damp-it.


As for the effects of low humidity, they range from a sinking top (which means lower action, which of course translates to buzzing, particularly when combined with the neck movement which is normal this time of year), to cracks in the wood (if the crack is just in the finish, that is usually from the guitar getting too cold and then warming up too quickly). Fingerboard shrinkage does not after lead to cracked fingerboards, but fret ends will start to poke out and they can cut the crap out of you hand. All of these can be structurally fixed, but the when the wood on the body cracks it is very expensive to fix the cosmetics.

The only commercial humidifier worth a damn is the Kyser Lifeguard (and I don't just say that because I know the inventor, who doesn't make a dime off of them anymore). It has the largest sponge of any of them, it is made of a soft plastic (just remember to remove the hard plastic ring which comes packaged with it; he was thinking that it would help with guitars with thin tops, but all it does is damage the finish around the sound hole), and it helps to lock the humidity in the body cavity where it is needed most. It is NOT enough on it's own, but it is a very important first step. The second step, as I said in my above link, is to use a soap box humidifier in the case, and of course to KEEP THE GUITAR IN THE CASE when you are not playing it.



Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi