Should i humidify my acoustic guitar

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Hot Network Questions. Buying an inexpensive digital hygrometer is a smart way to find that out- I keep one on a bookshelf near my hanging guitar. A good set of numbers to aspire to is 50 percent humidity at 70 degrees. Many of us would have a hard time making that a reality, so do what you can—generally percent humidity is optimal.

To help maintain that level, I keep an inexpensive humidifier running in that room in the driest months. If you will be keeping your guitar closed in its case, the concerns are a little different. There are lots of great in-case humidifiers available and some cases even have them built in to the lid. The packets are designed to be tear- and puncture-resistant, and to be completely resistant to leakage. Depending on climate conditions, they should last from two to six months, after which they can simply be discarded.

Avoid humidifiers that seal off the soundhole, unless you use a secondary humidifier behind the peghead. That depends on the season and the region in which you live.

To monitor the amount of humidity your guitar is receiving, we recommend the purchase of a digital hygrometer, a device that gauges and provides a read-out of humidity levels. Our El Cajon, California and Amsterdam, the Netherlands Factory Service Center staff can help with any service, maintenance or repair questions concerning Taylor guitars. One of the most important things you should consider is the location you live in. On the other hand, if you live in a place where there is a lot of humidity in the air, guess what, you need a humidifier.

None of us live in perfect conditions, and winters can be especially harsh on guitars. And any damage like this is considered to be a lack of maintenance. First signs, or cries for help, are rather easy to spot. Usually, there will be a change in action. By action, we mean the height of the strings or the distance between the fretboard and the strings. Furthermore, fret ends might feel sharper than usual.

Of course, if the lack of humidity continues, the frets will feel a lot sharper, and it will be difficult not to notice it. Besides, you will notice a major difference in playability. It is not rare that your instrument starts feeling like a different guitar. And not in a good way. In the end, if you still neglect to do something or if you were unable to interfere, there will be a noticeable crack or cracks in the finish on the body and even on the fretboard of the guitar. Furthermore, the glue joints will begin to fail, and the bridge and even the neck might separate.

Besides, it is not a rare situation that the neck of the guitar gets warped or twisted due to the harsh conditions. When it comes to acoustic guitars, the body itself might change if the humidity is too high or too low.

On the other hand, too high humidity will cause the body to become swollen or too wet, and as a result, the action of the guitar will also get high, making it difficult if not impossible to play. Usually, the fretboard on the electric guitars is without finish, and it can be quite a lot of differences depending on the time of the year. However, be sure that you always use an evaporative humidifier for guitars, and especially for electric ones. The easiest option to detect the humidity level and if your guitar needs humidifiers is to use the device called hygrometer that will tell you the exact figure.

This way, you will be able to adjust the conditions for your guitar depending on the results of the test. The humidifier is a device that is used to maintain a certain level of humidity in the air. Humidity is basically the amount of moisture in the air. There are three main types of humidifiers that you can use for your guitar. The first type is obviously designed for the acoustic guitar and using it is quite simple.

You will place it between the third and fourth strings, and the humidifier will go into the soundhole. While they are created for acoustic guitar specifically, you can still use them with any other hollow-body guitar. You probably asking yourself what is the difference between a case humidifier and soundhole humidifier.

The products that advertise that they purpose to be placed in a case are the same as those that you put in the soundhole of an acoustic guitar.