Guitars vs Humidity | Guitar Tech Tips | Ep. 56 | Thomann

Humidity is something we guitar and bass players like to ignore. But only until something bad happens to our instrument. Let's be aware of humidity and its effects before it's too late.
Learn all about it in this episode of Guitar Tech Tips. Enjoy!

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Interesting bits and pieces:
0:00 Introduction
0:35 What is humidity
0:56 What happens to a guitar if it's too wet?
1:30 What happens to a guitar if it's too dry?
1:51 How to dehumidify a guitar?
2:58 How to humidify a guitar?
3:52 Time for a test ride
4:27 Outtakes

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[zicon]

Just to add to the humidity conversation: the percent humidity he is talking about is called "Relative Humidity". Depending on the temperature, air can hold more or less water. This is why it gets so muggy in the summer if you live by a lake, river, etc, because higher temperature air can hold more water, making the air feel dense and uncomfortable.

At a given temperature, there is a maximum amount of water the air can hold (100%). If the temperature goes down, it cannot hold all that water anymore, and has to let some of it go (rain, condensation on a cold glass, etc).

Humans are generally most comfortable when the indoor humidity is somewhere between 40% - 60%. Apparently, guitars are a little more fussy!

Great video guys, it's a topic guitarists don't consider enough.

[stoicsceptic]

I ignored humidity and stored my Martin DX on a stand in a room with high humidity ( 70% to 80% frequently experienced ) .
The top swelled in a bulge behind the bridge, and lifted the string action to 4.5mm at F12 !
Store it in a case with reuseable silica gel to maintain a drier ( 45%-55% RH) atmosphere .
Mine is slowly flattening out on the top, and if I’m lucky, the action will return to something like normal and something like playable.
At least it didn’t crack !

[erickmo]

You can create a diy humidifier for your guitar cases by buying bar soap travel containers (soap sized plastic containers), drill 8- 10 .25” or 6 mm holes in it. Put a clean sponge inside and then add distilled water. Just enough the the sponge doesn’t drip when turning it upside down. Leave in case for a week and repeat as needed. I do this every winter and refill the sponge about twice a month.

[johnviolette]

1) your hard case needs humidity too. Never use a D’addario humidipak until your guitar and case are at normal humidity levels. Otherwise, the humidipak will dry out quickly trying to bring both the guitar and case to the optimal humidity level.
2) never listen to someone one the internet who say they never worry about humidity. They might live in a part of the world with perfect humidity conditions and totally different than your conditions. Always use a hygrometer and the advice of a local luthier. In fact a hygrometer is most important because you will never know if you need to add or remove humidity until you measure it.

[josephhughes]

Kris,
This show was very informative for me. I live in a very humid state in the US. I don't currently own a acoustic but I have plenty of electric guitars. Great information Kris. As always it was great seeing your show.

[johnriley]

This is a GREAT topic because FAR too many musicians do NOT truely understand what humidity can do to your instrument!!! People just don't take it seriously enough IMO. Humidity will reek Havoc on your instrument if left unchecked. "Why's my guitar fret buzzing all of a sudden?" or "Why's my acoustic cracking at the seam?" are just a few ????'s that pop up. Summer time is way to humid where i live, and winter time is usually dry as a bone. I keep my guitars (especially acoustics) in a case with proper controllers(humidifiers, etc...) at ALL TIMES. I know alot of people say Keep it out because if ya see it you'll play it, but that;s simply not the best idea at all. Enjoying the series and a future show idea for me would be...what to do if your Truss-Rod is all the way adjusted out or in...many on making adjustments, but hardly any on this matter... Guess because i know the answer lol, but some may not!!! Stay Safe and ... PEACE

[jjzorolowski]

If high humidity would be so dangerous for guitars all my instruments should be destroyed in a short time. I live on Corn Island, a tropical island in the carribean sea. The relative humidity is normal between 60 and 85% with temperatures 26 - 32° Celsius. I have two renaissance lutes, two classical and four electric guitars. All instruments are outside their cases and working fine. I only needed to adjust the necks of the electric guitars. I spoke with different luthiers for the acoustic instruments before I went from Germany to Corn Island. They all told me the instruments will probably not be damaged, only the sound of the instruments would be a little bit worse and it's possible the neck comes a bit to the front (but this didn't happened). That may happen, but it probably doesn't. All luthiers told me it's very more dangerous for the instruments when the humidity is too low.

[PTRK]

the humidity in my bedroom where my guitars are hanging on the walls, changes drastically.. when i turn on the humidifier, it goes up very slow and when i turn off the humidifier, it goes down within an hour or less. either my room sucks dry or the hygrometer is lying. You can't always rely on hygrometers.

[BehroozCompani-fksx]

I have 6 classical guitars of highest quality. Have had some of them for decades (50 years for my Ramirez). I have loved in Indiana, Tehran, Colorado, Atlanta, California with my guitars. Have not used a humidifier and the guitars are fine. Lucky?

[boomerbassmeme]

Good tip! I live in a humid environment and have to adjust my necks every now and then. Nothing extreme, but the action does raise a bit over time.

[richardlowe]

One thing I never see mentioned is laminated top guitars aren’t as susceptible to humidity. I had two laminated top guitars in my house for 13 years no problems. Bought a Taylor this year a non laminated spruce top and it swelled up while the other guitars were fine.

[Galacticgospel.]

Thank you for sharing this information 😊

[qjarman]

Phenomenal video man… some great information imparted, I have a Taylor Baby with terrible high action and it’s showing 75% humidity…omg!

[ArturBrzozowski]

Because humidity is boring until you see something crack, I'll change topic a bit

I don't know what smokes the editor but maaan, keep going 🤣

[AvnerRosenstein-ULTRA-LXV]

lmao...guess where my instruments have been in my house for the past 5 years? The Laundry room lol. That's no joke either.

[greatsouthernpansy]

"Metal doesn't shrink" is very 80s statement :D

[tylerrosier]

DampRid is also a great cheap product for humidity. 👍

[AndersNilssonfotoanders]

Is it bad to use a Oasis humidifier in a gigbag when the home is dry? Does a gigbag leak humidity?

[davidpersonneacousticcover]

How can you control humidity if you're playing an outdoor venue?
Thanks

[ViktorStockmann]

Thanks for this Episode @kris and the Rest of the Thomann crew! I was really scared of the invisible monster...now I'm off buying a hygrometer to make the monster visible! 👻