Does your guitar sound better with lower humidity?

[Rosewood99]

I swear my guitars sound better now that the humidity (I live near the SouthEast Coast) has lowered and the weather finally gotten cooler. It's currently 70 degrees in my house (the heat is running) with 50% humidity.

[Vol46]

I think my guitars sound better and play a bit easier with the humidity at 45-50%.

[Judson]

Absolutely ... I like 45-49% RH the best.

[GuitarLight]

Yes all my guitars seem to sound best at a 45% to 50% humidity level. High humidity above 55 or 60% will not harm your guitar, but around there and on up...mine start to sound grumpy and mumbly.

[llew]

Yep...mine do too.

[fazool]

yes. Ive posted about this previously. I keep my guitar room at 45% but when it drifts to 35-40 my guitar sound best. I dislike the muddiness when humidity gets above 48% (-ish).

I don't keep my guitars that low - its not optimally safe but they sound best there.

[gregg]

Originally Posted by paulzoom

I swear my guitars sound better now that the humidity (I live near the SouthEast Coast) has lowered and the weather finally gotten cooler. It's currently 70 degrees in my house (the heat is running) with 50% humidity.

If you can keep the guitar in a place where the humidity is maintained at 45% it just might sound great all year round. If a guitar is built in a shop at 45% humidity, and then you bring it to the East coast and store it at 70, 80, or 90% humidity..... yeah, it is going to sound like it is full of socks March-October. Remember, even on the East Coast there are times when the humidity can drop into the 15-25% range, good idea to humidify in that case as this lack of moisture can cause serious problems. Excessive moisture can be problematic too.

[Bingoccc]

Absolutely. I live on the coast and summer and early fall are nightmares.

[mwalk]

Abs oh lute lee

[jseth]

Absolutely! They really start to ring and bark in a whole new strata when the humidity gets down in the 30's and lower...

Of course, the downside is that I have to start putting the soundhole humidifiers in them and keeping an eye on them more closely...

...sigh... there's always a trade-off!

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by paulzoom

I swear my guitars sound better now that the humidity (I live near the SouthEast Coast) has lowered and the weather finally gotten cooler. It's currently 70 degrees in my house (the heat is running) with 50% humidity.

Hi pz…
Mine sound their best when humidity is 35-45%

[JTFoote]

I'm not much help. I've got a dehumidifier and a humidifier, so nothing ever gets below 40% RH or above 60%, and the temperature remains fairly constant. So everything always sounds good, all the time, no truss rod tweaking or alternate saddles required.

This is not by accident, but by design. It saves me from avoidable grief, like worrying about room conditions, from temp to RH levels, and possible expensive repairs. The guitars are out in a road stand, against an inside wall, and everything has been copacetic for years. The only time I need to case them is if the power might go out, and never has that lasted more than a couple of hours, in the last twenty years.

If more people bought a couple of appliances like this, and prepared for the weather, life would be less stressful, especially on the AGF. And their guitars wouldn't sound like they were stuffed with socks for half the year, and sing like they are about to implode the rest. IMHO.

... JT

[Montesdad]

Yes - when left out for a while at 35-40% they all seem to come alive - but that only lasts until they get put back in the cases.

[MBE]

Isn't there a quote from someone about guitars sounding their best when they're about to implode?

Yes, all my guitars sound better when they are drier...though I never let them go below 35% (aim for 40%) for fear of damage. I had a Taylor 114ce crack on me while hanging on a basement wall in winter. That sound still haunts me...the most expensive "KERRANG!" I've yet heard.

Oh, and that day had been the best-sounding day in that guitar's life...

[Mobile1]

Mine sound best at 35%.