Guitars - Thoughts on Humidity, temperature etc. 

Candidly admit, I thoroughly enjoy your videos. Thanks for taking the time to post these and find time to play a bit too!

We live on the Strait of Juan de Fuca in NW Washington state, where the humidity is normally 50% thanks to the marine climate. I've never needed to worry about my guitars and humidity, until for a few years we lived in central Illinois. I left my guitars in Washington and bought an inexpensive Recoding King RP-06 12 fret parlor to use while in Illinois. Not 3 hours home from the guitar store with it there was a loud crack and the strings sounded like they'd been thumped. The neck had dog-legged at the body join and action lifted to nearly 1/2". Ignorant of humidity and guitars I took it back the next morning where the owner explained humidity, offering to keep my guitar in his environmentally controlled store until the cold snap and

Thankyou Sir, i have founs this very helpful 😊

Hello Andy, Nice to see you. Very timely video. Thank you. I use Planet Waves Humiditrak Bluetooth Instrument Monitor- This goes inside my case - so I can get a reading of what’s going on inside my case without having to open the case. This doesn’t change the humidity just reports on it. To control humidity I use inside the case D'Addario Humidipak. Depending on the season I run a humidifier/de humidifier in my room. I also have a Bluetooth hygrometer in my room. Thank you for your time and information. Much appreciated.

Thanks, Andy. I live in a dry climate: eg 41F w 57% humidity but warmed up inside to 72F turns to 4% humidity. Summer humidity outside will go down to 9% or less. Dec 14, high of 12F, 98% relative humidity warms to 2% humidity. Even with whole building humidity, it doesn't keep up.

The 'Beast from the East' back in 2016 (?)totally killed my guitar. The top cracked and split along as well as across in various places, the action went up to about 4 or 5mm minimum and that was it! I'd say that was an extreme weather condition. It taught me to actually use a humidifier! Pity, very nice guitar, a vintage Japanese Washburn Prairie song Custom, the best acoustic I've ever owned.

Andy, very timely discussion on humidity. Being in north Texas we get a lot of southerly wind which keeps humidity up in spring, summer, and fall. It is not uncommon for me to see 50% -60% humidity in doors, and I have considered getting a de-humidifier. But winter time is when it can get bad, with heater running, it just sucks the humidity out of the air. It is not uncommon to see 27% - 35% during the extreme cold. I have a whole house humidifier which I keep set at 50% and it is not uncommon to go thru 3+ gallons of water a day and maintain 42% - 47% humidity. I think I have read that 45%-52% is a very healthy range to protect acoustic guitars. People need to make sure they don't store their guitar on a stand near the fireplace of they will end up with damage. In mild winters good humidity levels are easy to maintain, but during extreme cold snaps it is very hard to get humidity above 36% with a humidifier. I use the D'addario acoustic humidifier with sponge like you show in my guitars as well. You can also make some case humidifier by taking plastic travel soap holder, drill holes in the top and use a damp sponge or sock in it, inexpensive yet effective.

Emerald...Emerald Guitars, made in Ireland of pure carbon fiber. Impervious to changes in humidity, pressure, temperature, or sunlight. They don't move and they sound every bit as good as the best wood guitars. I wouldn't have believed it until I bought one.

Hello Andy. It is always a pleasure to see you have posted something. I am in the middle of the US (Kansas City, Missouri area).we have the moisture from the gulf of Mexico conflicting with the cold arctic air from Canada. The fight between the two causes our tornadoes at times. At present we are relatively "normal" by meteorological standards. I mentioned to you recently that the weather was bitterly cold, well below zero and about 40° today. I leave my guitars in a dedicated room in my basement. The temperature is about 67° today with humidity about 48 to 52% , depending on where in the room I check. My guitars are on the wall or on stands for access. I am running two humidifiers and have a water pot on an electric radiator. It was recently 38%humidity and I added another humidifier. I do have devices for my guitars should I move them or travel with them.. This is valuable information, thank you. God speed.

Very timely discussion. I live about 50 miles west of Boston, MA. We have hot water baseboard heat in winter and whole house air conditioning in summer. My guitars are out on stands and I use a room humidifier in winter and dehumidifier in summer to maintain an RH of between 45 to 50 percent. Temperature is kept at 72 to 73 F year round. At this time I'm using 2 to 3 gallons of water per day.

You are much appreciated and well loved, if you were unaware. An old friend of mine died this morning, about moon your time.

Humidity here in the Washington D.C. area in January usually is around 24-29 percent in my house. Since I have over 20 guitars, ukes, and mandos you can imagine it's a chore to keep everyone hydrated. I use the products you have along with humidpacks, etc. I also use an in case bluetooth hygrometer in most of the guitars. That helps keep everything in check for me and I can see what may need more humidity without even opening the cases.

Hey, Andy. I live in the desert in Arizona, where, during the summer, the humidity can be as low as 5-6%! Since I own about a dozen wooden instruments that are generally out on their stands, I invested in a whole-house humidifier. The poor thing struggles during the really dry times, but it does manage to keep the relative humidity in the house around 24-27%.

I use Boveda or D'Addario humidipaks. During extremes, I add Oasis humidifier with them. I find hard guitar cases hold moisture well, with Calton cases the best. Gig bags are better than nothing but in one location the humipaks dried up in 2 weeks.

I am lucky enough to live in a very old house with very thick brick walls, which makes it easy to keep the humidity fairly consistent all year round to begin with. The weather here in Vienna, Austria is temperate most of the time, but can get extreme for a few days both in winter and in summer. I keep track of the conditions with 3 different hygrometers and thermometers in the area of my living room, where my guitars usually sit in the open, but with the D'Addario humidpacks in the sound holes. And there is a pretty high quality electric humidifier in another corner of the room, usually set to 40 %, which means it produces about 55 % in a 3 meter radius. That way, the area around the guitars stays at about 45 % almost all of the time. The dangerous times are those 5 or 8 days in winter, when we get arctic cold combined with beautiful sunshine. Open the windows for 5 minutes, and the RH can drop to 25 % in a heartbeat. So, that has to be avoided and the guitars have to be moved somewhere else.

I used to use Jim Dunlop but then I found the Oasis gives an easier read on when it needs topping up as it creases up. Funny enough I just got a set of hygrometers and I also recently got a new Gibson Hummingbird which came with the Humidipak but it's a bit too early to know how effective but they have good reviews. But having the hygrometers I noticed that currently the readings in the case of all the guitars is around 59/60 which is a bit above the recommended 45/55 range, so your tip about the Kontrol crystals is a good one I shall get some to reduce the moisture so thanks for that tip

Hi Andy. I keep mine on a wall hanger on an outside, north facing wall, which can be a little cold and damp sometimes. However, this is compensated by the fact that it’s right over a radiator and in the prevailing sunlight from the large window opposite. Balances out nicely. 😎

Hiya, a point on D'addario humidipaks,according to a guy at Guitar Guitar, 10/15% either side of 45% humidity, then the humidipaks aren't going to work. My ceo7 martin went in for a set up, Andertons rang me to say ' guitar had a humidity reading of 78%' that was with humidipaks inside guitar and case

I have a small room where I store my stringed instruments. I start humidifing with a room humidifier as soon as the heater has to be used to keep the house comfortable. Usually rel. Hum. Is 50%, temp is approx. 68 degrees..stays that way till spring.

Freaking love that Collings. If you ever consider selling it :)

My instruments live in a room that maintains 70 degrees and 40 % humidity. My mandolins like this climate and sound wonderful. I use a room humidifier George in Montana

I use a whole house humidifier in the winter, which has the added benefit 0f keeping our skin from drying out. So my guitars are happy and so is my wife.

I keep my guitars in a small bedroom (15 feet by 15 feet). I have a humidifer which I use in the winter and a de-humidifier which I use in the summer. I try to keep the RH between 40 and 50%. Last week it was very cold where I live and the humidifier was useing about 4 liter of water per day to keep the humidity above 40 %. I could barely keep up so I cased my guitars for a while. Today the RH is about 46% in the bedroom so I don't need to do anything. I really think you need extreme conditions for several days to damage your guitar

Can the desiccant pouch reduce the humidity within the case too much?

thanks man.

Thank you. What are the two thresholds - high humidity/low humidity when you would use your dessicants or sponges, respectively. ? Presumably much of the time not much is needed in UK?

Music Nomad all the way. Don't bother with cheap Dumpit or Planet Waves junk! Assuming we all know any, and all acoustic guitars need humidification. Right?!