#1 HIDDEN THREAT to your guitars - D’Addario Humidipak - Does it work? 

Great to have someone mention high and low humidity problems. Often it's the low humidity gets addressed and lets be honest most humidifiers are the ones that add water to humidify rather than counter the excess The thing about Humidipaks is that yes they are 2 way to a degree but above or below certain levels you need a different pack to increase or decrease the humidity before using the standard pack, Then of course you need to check your hygrometer to ensure that you are still in the range. Obviously keeping the case closed when your using the guitar is important if humidity in the room is significantly out of the 45/55 range. Anyway D'Addario do provide the other packs

Great info presented here. I will purchase this system for the summer. In winter-months, I run 2 Humidifiers and also have meters that track the Humidity level's in my NYC Apartment. I like to keep my 3 instruments on stands. I like to play them all the time & love how they look in the living room.

Yep i live in canada , bought a brand new d16 once, didnt humidify it daily. One winter morning, had it out of the case sitting in the stand, watching the news. All i heard was a loud twang....my top split right up the middle of the top below the bridge. Some people simply suffer from ignorance , some arrogance, either way , pay attention to this video, save your insturments and your hard earned cash. Get a hygrometer they are about 20 bucks. Humidify your guitars daily Btw, martin gibson and taylor warrantys are great but do not cover humidity issues

I found the best solution to the humidity problem.I buy cheap laminate instrument that are less sensitive to humidity level and if i have a problem with it then i buy another one and never stress about humidity lol

The Boveda 49% packs in small bulk (10 or 12 count) runs about $4 each (online retail). These are the O.E.M. units. Humidipak was the name before they changed to Boveda. Cigar users trust them with the 62% to 72% units for the same reasons you give for instruments (glue, splitting & mold).

Robert, this is a very well thought out and informative video. I myself am lucky to have a home HVAC system that not only allows me to control the temperature but also the relative humidity in my house. I am also lucky to have my music/office in my basement which has a steady yearly temperature between 68 and 70 degrees. I live on the central east coast and so in the winter when temperature and humidity levels drop, on goes my furnace at 70 degrees and to assure a correct humidity level I use a small room humidifier that can be set for a range of 45 to 50%. In the summer when the outside temps go up into the 90s and the humidity at times also in the 90s, my office still remains at 68 to 70 degrees due to being below ground, but the humidity will rise, so I use a small dehumidifier that keeps it at a steady 50%. I hang my guitars on one wall. I have two calibrated combination digital hydrometer/temperature sensors in the room. One hangs on the wall next to the guitars, and the other one is in the corner furthest from that wall. Both give the same readings. So at any given time of year the temperature in my music room/office is 68 to 70 degrees and the relative humidity is maintained between 45 to 55%. According to Martin and Taylor my office environment is within their recommended settings. I told the luthier who does all adjustments to my new guitars that I hang mine on a wall in my music room. He says I should keep them in their cases to control the levels; that the cases act as a buffer. I then mentioned that there are retailers that display their acoustic instruments on their walls. He told that they have climate controlled rooms specifically built for that purpose. That authorized Martin retailers are required to have them for their high-end acoustic guitars and that is why they are able to hang them on the wall. My question to him was; so why is my climate controlled music room any different than or less safe for my guitars than these retailers? His answer; just keep them in their cases. I think I pissed him off. It wasn’t my intention to; it was in my opinion a legit question. I have been displaying my guitars on that wall for almost two years and have yet to notice any visible or audible changes in them. I have noticed that seldom do I need to tune my strings. When I measure them with my tuners of which I have several, they are almost always spot on. I also constantly check the neck for any bows or bends. I tenderly dust and clean them every week. The top, back and sides show no signs of stress or damage due to exposure to environmental changes. No issues so far. My dreadnaught, which of course is a laminated model, is as loud and clear as the day I bought it in 96. My two classical guitars, both solid rosewood, are as clear and warm as they have always been. One has a truss rod, the other higher-end has an ebony inset, and the necks are straight and the action is perfect. But I agree with Robert; if you are not fortunate enough to be able to control these elements in your abode, definitely keep yours in a case and get some type of device to control the humidity.

great video. great explanation. I do use also the D’Addario Humidipak many years now with great results. What you all don't say is what happens after you get the guitar out of the case. The most finish checking happens when the temperature from the case reacts with the external temperature... That is happening when you open the case and things gets rapidly mixed. No one can control this. Obviously guitars are not meant to stay inside their cases. Why buy them then??? I am a working musician and I play full seasons (from witnter to summer) to all kinds of places, from bars to open stadiums. Of course you cannot control any of these climates. Very cold to very hot. Very dry to very wet. However you should get the guitar out of the case in order to perform and get paid. There's no other way. What about then? Who guarantees me what happens to my guitar when I have to play to a bar next to a beach with 80% of relative humidity and when I have to perform 5 hours per night in the same bar, every night for 3 months? Should the humidipaks save me? How? I don't think so... If guitars are meant to be played only inside the house... controled environment and steriled...then something is very wrong with the nature of things. Vise versa... what about al these famous players who have the same guitar about 40 years and squeeze the hell out of her every night at any circumstance and any climate and the guitar is still alive? Ours are sensitive only? Not them? I always had a great query about how these guitars survive? Is there another magical recipe?

I had never put too much stock in humidifiers but recently one of my acoustics showed a significant dip on the top.A large dent about the size of your palm. Having heard about this before, I put a damp sponge in a soap dish inside the guitar and closed it up in its case for day and by the next day, it had almost completely leveled out to normal. One more day and it was hard to tell that there had ever been anything there. There’s definitely something to humidity and its effect on guitars.

Good info. I'll add this to what you have said. 1) get a hygrometer and measure the RH of your guitar in your case first. If your guitar is way dry or wet, the humidipack will dry out or over saturate very quickly. It is best start using these when you guitar and case, are at optimal RH levels. You will need an alternative method to get to the optimal level first. 2) when you take your guitar out of your case, close the case and keep it out of the sun that way you minimize the loss of humidity to the case. The case is an important part of your guitars humidity environment.

I started using these when they were still Planet Waves. My guitars require changing them out at different intervals so for me it’s important to monitor them at least monthly. My daily driver, Martin OM 35 hardly ever needs new packs whereas the others need new packs alternating nearly every two months. My thought is playing the others more often may benefit the guitars in more ways than one. Martin OM 35 Martin OM 42 Martin 00028 EC Martin D 18 GE Guild D 25

First time after watching 100s of videos ,,,,, you have explained clearly that makes seance

Sold! Bought a pack for my incoming Martin D-28. Told my wife I am actually nervous about having such a high quality instrument because normally I don’t pay no more than $1000 but after years of playing non-USA made guitars with enjoyment but not total satisfaction; I decided to buy the Martin. Can’t wait! Feel confident that it’s going to be kept in pristine order with these. Plan is to have this guitar for the rest of my life and I’m only 25!! Thanks!

Had to smile. I grew up in Oakland and lived in SF for 20+ years... Then moved to Detroit. I have done a lot of woodworking over the years and there is a lot of literature and advice etc. on how you build stuff to deal with humidity. BUT the Bay Area is very stable humidity wise and it never made a lot of sense to me, and then we moved. MY god wood moves here. Summers are generally in the 70% or so but you get multi week patches of over 90%. Winter is cold as in below freezing for months and that drops the humidity to sometimes single digits. We do have some humidity control, not enough to even things out but enough to bump the winter up to 20% or so and when it's over 90% we can knock it back into the 80's. But everything moves. Doors change position furniture can literally be gulled apart and you can hear the change happening in this very old house as it pops and groans each spring/ fall adjusting to the new dimensions of the food in the floors and walls etc. It was a shocker. Never thought about my instruments, so great now you gave me something new to deal with! ;~).

Yeah I recently bought my first nice acoustic (martin OM) after exclusively using a used ovation applause for years and didn't think to get any sort of environmental control system for it. Despite not being the best built guitar when it comes to playability, I never appreciated how otherwise indestructible the ovation was. That thing has suffered really poor care, storage, and transporting techniques for well over a decade and doesn't have a scratch on it. A few months of otherwise taking good care of my martin (stays in case when not in use, wipe down to clean before and after each session, no playing with dirty hands, etc) and the top developed a thin crack from the base of the bridge to where the edge meets the sides. Nearly burst into tears (okay I was also tipsy so my brain was interpreting this crack as being much bigger than it actually is), then got on sweetwater and ordered this system. It came yesterday so too soon to tell if it's really working for my instrument and apartment, but I'm optimistic given all the good things I've heard about it.

Robert, can you store your guitar upright with these? In a case, of course.

I live in Hawaii where the humidity is approx 900 million to 1.5 billion percent depending on which kind of 82-87 degree day it is. I am so envious of folks who get to experience a weird phenomena I've heard of called "change of season" and need to humidify/dehumidify their instruments. We certainly have no use for any of the moisture gel material in fact I've been thinking of storing my guitars inside duffel bags of kitty litter. Thoughts?

I just bought a Martin 000-28 and it came with a D'Addario Humidity pack. It took me a while to believe that putting a dry pack in the strings would keep a guitar at the right humidity. Im still scratching my head on this one. The guitar is only a few months old and i am still not convinced how.

Thank you this information it is very valuable to me best regards from Limerick city Ireland's

Top tip thanks, wish I’d understood that 20 years ago 👍🎸🇬🇧

Hi Robert: Thanks for the very encouraging video. Unfortunately here in India, Amazon supplies only the three gel packs (the refills) with no fabric stuff -- as I gather from reviews. I was trying to 'discover' (in your style) a way to deal with the issue. I thought the simplest way would be to sew up three cloth bags that are closest in texture to those in your video!! What actually is the weave and consistence of the fabric? I would very much appreciate your thoughts and feedback on this. With kind regards.....

Thanks for this excellent content Rob! Interestingly, I moved from Nashville to Michigan this past November and I used Humidipaks for a few of my more expensive guitars. It's now the beginning of March for reference, so basically talking about the whole winter, with still some cold weather to go but hopefully not too bad. I didn't use Humidipaks for my less expensive guitars and two of them got fret buzz around the 12th fret, no doubt from drying out (even though solid top with laminate back and sides). The one in the hard case is, not surprisingly, more dried out because it was competing with the case for moisture I ordered the Humidipak restore for the one that's worse off and bought a twelve pack of replacement packs to make sure I always stay on top of the situation. Lesson learned It seemed like even in a gig bag the Humidipak still helped, what are your thoughts on that? I have primarily seen instructions regarding hard cases and the Humidipaks.

Hello Robert, I would like to ask. Do you also use a traditional humidifier that needs to be refilled in the room that you have your guitars, to make sure they don't get damaged? How do you make sure your guitars are safe from humidity, eventhough you use the D'Addario humidity pack? Do you open its cases frequently? How do you handle that please? Another question is, I saw on the video a brown nice guitar case. May I ask you where you bought it, what brand is it, model please. Thank you!

When someone sells a guitar, retailers or otherwise, it should be a requirement to advise the purchaser that they need to watch the humidity or permanent damage will occur. When I started to learn guitar, I went and bought a Gibson j45 from a retailer, I knew nothing about humidity and the effects it has on acoustic guitars, you'd think people selling these high end guitars, or any for that matter would care that you know what could damage them, they had no problem selling insurance plans. I know if I was selling guitars I'd make it a priority to let people know to watch the humidity levels closely.

Thanks so informative... Iive in the UK and have these in my. guitar case but they never seem to need to change them does does it mean they are doing the job even though they don't need changing?

Just saw this Robert! I have been using Boveda- I found out that they manufacture these packs for D’Addario. I use the 72%. Change mine around 3 - 4 months. Great clip. It is costly but well worth it.

I just bought a kit of it, in my case it just doesn't work... My ambient humidity is like 75% I had in my guitar case like 69 % when I put them and 24 hours later I still have 70% of humidity. I suspect the bags are already saturated and I'm going to try to dry the bags out in the oven or I thought of a hair dryer (i will check out the links you put bellow), hope it's going to work. I'm waiting for the ambience dehumidifier I ordered yesterday before taking my guitar out of its case. Thank you for your video, if you have some extra advice I would be more than happy to hear about it.

My question - Once you remove the humidipack out of the guitar and start to play, the humidity changes drastically and that is even more dangerous, right? Thank you

Hi! Great vid ... i just bought a new guitar ... ... and inside the case it came with a pack of unused "HUMIDITYPAK - maintain everyday care" ... i kinda guessed for what it would be ... but i didnt even had a clue how to used it ... it came not with the card box, but in a palstic sealed bag ... so a left it out there thinking it was doing its work ... ... now i understood ... i have to open it and put it in that fabric "thing" and put it in the guitar hole ... ehehe :p ... but can i ask you 2 questions ? ... cause i'm realy new about this ... 1. i play my guitar quite often ... should i put the "humiditypak" everyday ... taking off for playing ... then put it back when i rest my guitar in the case ? 2. How do i know that the HUMIDITYPAK isnt working anymore ... and i should replace it with a new "pak" ? i know this might be really silly questions ... but i've never done this ... thanks you so so so much Greetings from Portugal Stay Safe & Keep Rockin

I have a maton guitar in a hard case with the humidipacks and also the Humiditrak by the same company which measures the humidity and temp in the case. The tracker is consistently reading 69 percent humidity so clearly one of the two is not working right I can only hope it’s the tracker

I have one of these, the only problem is that I keep all my guitars out of their cases and play them all the time. 😁.

A friend of mine used one of these bags and it broke inside the guitar. The gel caused significant damage to the wood and the paint. I’d stay away from it

Where are the recharge links in the description? I only see Amazon buy links. Thanks!

Hi, please post the link of the recharging the humidipaks please. Thank you :)

Hi Robert, I have two questions would like to consult. How do you know it is the time to replace new Humidipak? Would it have any problem to the guitar if forgetting to replace new Humidipak? Thanks a lot!!

Thank you Robert…. D18 in a good case…70%. Will the paks lower it to 50/55? Thanks

Hey man thanks. So my humidy in my cases are monitored. They are always around 43-55 percent humidity. I live in cal so it can get pretty dry here so I’m usually on the lower end of the levels I have set to alarm me. Normally it’s around 43-45 percent. Do I need to worry? If I put the humid sponge in there the humidity jumps to like over 60. So what’s worse 55-60 humidity or 40-45 humidity? Maybe I’m being OCD but it’s hard to keep it right at 50 so just curious if that 40-60 range is ok? Thank you for this great video.

where are people at90 percent humidity lol

This is my solution I wish I had the money to Market that I've never seen anything like it I made it I know at all times what the humidity is on the inside of my guitar at the other end of the little piece of cork is a wire goes into the interior and has a Daddario balanced humidifier I like to look at my guitars and I find one in her case I don't blame as much now I get the best of both worlds not trying to sell anything to anybody anybody want to send me an email that I can send you a picture you can see what I'm talking about take care of y'all

Yes i ahtrr