|
|
#1
09-09-2011, 04:14 PM
|
|||
|
|||
Does your truss rod require seasonal adjustments?
For those of you who live where there are seasons and who do not have a humidity controlled room for your guitars, do you need to make any seasonal adjustments? Or is a humidity variation from 35-40% in the winter to 50-60% in the summer not enough to make a difference?
I'm asking because it seems like the neck relief on my cheap Tak has increased this summer from what it was in the early spring when I got the guitar. I say "seems" because my measurement technique (feeler gages) is still somewhat subjective ("did that string move when I stuck the gage under it or not?") 
|
|
#3
09-09-2011, 04:35 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
In Ohio the simple answer is yes, except on my Carbon guitars.
Steve
__________________
Steve 2020 McKnight Grand Recording - Cedar Top 2005 McKnight SS Dred 2001 Michael Keller Koa Baby 2014 Godin Inuk 2012 Deering B6 Openback Banjo 2012 Emerald Acoustic Doubleneck 2012 Rainsong JM1000 Black Ice 2009 Wechter Pathmaker 9600 LTD 1982 Yairi D-87 Doubleneck 1987 Ovation Collectors 1993 Ovation Collectors 1967 J-45 Gibson 1974 20th Annivers. Les Paul Custom
|
|
#4
09-09-2011, 04:48 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Hi lmacmil…
Yes mine need seasonal adjusting to keep the neck relief proper.
__________________
Baby #1.1 Baby #1.2 Baby #02 Baby #03 Baby #04 Baby #05 Larry's songs... …Just because you've argued someone into silence doesn't mean you have convinced them…
|
|
#5
09-09-2011, 07:25 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
I live in Minnesota.......simple answer..yes...all require a tweeek except my electrics but they have very light guage strings. My resos are usually good to go also but they are generally pretty bullet proof. My winter settings are generally better playing than my summer settings. Same guitars but two different guitars......weird that way.
Blues
|
|
#6
09-09-2011, 07:30 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
and...
yes for me. We have a bit of humidity towards the end of summer and the neck changes (and requires adjustment) then and when we get into our winter - another change. I keep my guitar in the case and use a hygrometer and make sure they stay within the manufacturers recommended range. A good local guitar tech have been very helpful to me. Along with adjusting necks and doing setups, he provides good informal education on acoustic guitars. Well worth what I pay.
john
__________________
Idaho John Martin OM-15m custom Opinions subject to change due to experience... 
|
|
#7
09-10-2011, 04:44 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
yes sometimes
|
|
#8
09-10-2011, 05:37 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
the only adjustments I make are the use of a humidifier. I use it in the winter and not in the summer. I've done this in MN, IL, OH and KY. my guitars do stay in their cases when not played. they don't even stay in a stand overnight. it can be a nightly routine. put kids to bed, clean up, get trash ready, put guitar in case.
__________________
I'm into acoustic guitars, MM & PRS, my kids, Technics decks, Titleist, Reggae music, KY Bourbon, fine rum and chrome pans from Trini.
|
|
#10
09-10-2011, 08:28 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
No doubt here in southern Ohio. We have summertime temps often in the 90's with high humidity and winter temps often in the 20's and below so the home heating dries the air inside. I use case humidifiers but still have to tweek the rod at times.
|
|
#11
09-10-2011, 11:31 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Up here in Alberta we get EXTREME seasonal swings. It can go from 35degC (in the 90s or higher) with nearly 100% RH in the summer to MINUS 60 with zero RH (there might be some moisture in the air but it's FROZEN). That is like a 150 degree Fahrenheit swing.
My acoustics' necks handle it (RH is a bit more stable indoors) fine but...while it didn't happen last year. sometimes I'd grab my '94 PRS CE-24 (VERY long and thin bolt on neck) from the case and the strings would be laying on the neck!! I'd loosen the truss and six months later I'd pull it out and the strings are six feet off the neck...tighten up time. I blamed it on humidity but it didn't seem to occur on any specific weather or humidity change. Like I didn't notice it happening on a damp day that followed a dry spell or vise versa. It's been stable for the past 2 years or so. Everytime we have some time off though and the guitar has been it it's case for a week or two I'm always ready for a "surprize" when I open the case but..it's been ok lately. I've owned and own a lot of guitars. The CE24 is the only guitar I've ever owned that has had such drastic shifts. Weird. I suppose it's possible that it had nothing to do with RH. No idea what else could have caused it though. I always use the same strings.
|
|
#12
09-10-2011, 12:12 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
For me it depends on the individual instrument - some are more sensitive in that regard than others. I have a few instruments that never seem to need to have their truss rods touched (or will go for years between needing adjustments) and others that move around more.
I suspect it has to do with not only how stiff the neck of the wood happens to be, but also how much the top responds to seasonal changes. I know it's mainly the response of the top that affects the movement on my mandolins. These typical require setups twice a year: once when the snow on the ground has come to stay, and again in the spring when the snow has gone to stay. So it depends on the instrument itself, to a very large measure. Wade Hampton Miller
|
