Taking care of an acoustic guitar?

B

Buddy Lee

New member
What type of environment is good to keep a guitar in good condition? I know to keep it away from smokey rooms, but is it good to keep it in a really dry room or a room that is humid?

And what's the best way to clean the wood when it's dirty? My guitar, a martin DC-1e acoustic/electric doesn't have a clear finish on it.
 
You want to keep it in neither a dry room or a humid room.

Somewhere around 45 relative humity is good. Not everyone has a stable enviroment though, I strongly suggest the use of a guitar humidifier if you are in a dry climate. The type that fit over the soundhole. You fill them with water (well, fill and then drain the excess - moist) and put them in place. Do this, combined with keeping your guitar in its case when not in use.

I remember coming out to the studio one morning and looking in horror at my Guild acoustic with a big crack from behind the bridge to the base of the guitar. That sucked and $200 to repair.

A visit to your local music store will offer plenty of different devices for controlling each enviromental extreme.

As for polish, martin makes a guitar polish that is safe on almost any guitar, as does Jim Dunlop. Try it out on a small area of the guitar first though to be sure.
 
Buy a thermal hygrometer, Radio Shack has them for about $25. That way you can monitor the humidity. I use a product called Dampit that fit's into the soundhole if I need to add humidity. Planet Waves also makes a similar product.

There are some acoustic guitar forum/websites if you look around on the internet. They usually have good information on the care of acoustic guitars.

The main thing is to not let you guitar get too dry or humid. Other than than just keep it clean and keep it set up properly.
 
i don't know for sure but martin should have a website with their own forums.i belong to taylors forum and i usually take my (taylor) guitar questions there.you can buy both humidifiers and dryers depending on the climate where you are you could need either or both or neither.most of either are not very expensive.rapid changes in temperature or humidity are to be avoided though.i use pledge on my guitars.it's self cleaning so it dosen't build up.i have never had any problems with it.i spray it on the cloth though not the guitar.
 
alright i've got a dehumidifier down at the studio, it just decides to turn on and off every couple hours, is that gonna do?
 
You can't tell until you have a hygrometer. The real issue is change, or rather, rapid change, from high humidity to low. Because wood swells when it picks up moisture, the worst that usually happens with a guitar that has been in an unusually moist environment is that the belly will swell (like just after a spaghetti dinner) but later will return to normal. The same cannot be said of low humidity. A guitar that dries out below the humidity level at which it was built will crack. Plain and simple.

The worst is winter in the midwest or northeast - arctic air masses are low in humidity. So when the outside humidity is at 10% or so, watch out! The guitar is under incredible stress. The only way to combat that is with a humidifier and the exercise of some self discipline about checking it to be sure that you are in a range of about 40 % - 60% Relative Humidity (and stay there). The best way, however, is to leave it (case open) in a humidity controlled room. A small studio with a humidifier is the right recipe, but you need to know where that level is. So get a hygrometer.
 
John Mayes Guitars

Yes, Mayes guitars are very nice. Pricey but worth it. His small guitars (parlor and OM) are out of this world.
 
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