Neck Hump
 

So because of some circumstances that were out of my control, my Martin 000 was exposed to an environment with some very, very low humidity. It sat in this room for a few days and then to make matters worse, it sat in a car that was in below freezing temperatures for a few hours before I finally got it home. When I took it out, I noticed a hump in the neck where it meets the body.

1) I’m assuming that I need to just rehydrate my guitar in a closed case, correct?

2) I have it sitting in its case with some 84% Boveda packs, but I’m only getting it up to 41% according to my calibrated hygrometer...is this because the guitar is absorbing so much? Or am I looking at a leak?


Any suggestions on how to go about fixing this situation are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

I let an instrument sit in a controlled enviroment for anything from 2 days to a week, you cannot just use a humidity pack or something along those lines.

You need to let the guitar sit open in a room that is climate controlled at the least, so that way the fretboard, neck and everywhere else can relax, not just the body internals

Steve

It's quite possible it will return to it's former self. If the fret ends are sticking out now would be a good time to nip them off. Just follow Steve's advice. One way to get humidification is to set the guitar up on a stand in your bathroom after you take a shower and just close the door for several hours. You don't want beads of water all over it but it's a nice humid environment if you have no other way of dealing with it. If it's still real dry where you are then put it back in the case till you can do it again.

Why can’t you stick it in a case with a few packs spread throughout the case?

No airflow, localised humidity changes are bad for the instrument, best to allow the whole instrument be exposed to a humidity and gradually change it

Steve

Sounds like you got it dried out so bad that you need to hydrate the fretbaord and neck as well, yes moisture will travel through the finish on the neck. You need the full soak.

Why would you want to bring the humidity up to 84% anyway?? Not a good idea.

Check out this info:

http://www.handcraftedguitars.ca/201...9/guitar-care/

Also, even if humidity is kept "perfect", guitars with Martin style design will often develop a hump that requires correction in the fret surfaces if minor. If hump is medium, it can sometimes warrant fingerboard levelling then refretting, and if major could (but rarely) warrant fingerboard removal (but I've never seen the need for f.board removal in the client guitars I've worked on).

I’m only using 84% because the RH level isn’t holding correctly.

Makes sense...when I run a humidifier in my room on full blast, I still don’t see much of a rise if I set my hygrometer on the other side of the room.

So what’s the best method I should use here...run a hot shower and keep the guitar in there for a while? Set it up right next to a humidifier?

The room is too big then perhaps try a smaller room or closet.

I’m going to try the bathroom first. What RH % should I be aiming for?

I needed to hydrate a body and what I did was stick the body in a garbage bag with a plate of water. I had a small 3" fan from a computer and blew it onto the plate of water. Naturally the bag was closed and I put a couple of strategically placed sticks so the bag was a big tent rather than a vacuumed freezer bag (little joke). The humidity needed a kick start so I put hot water in the plate. The humidity never got much over 40%, the crack in the body closed up. It would be fun to have one of those big clear trash bags and watch the process enfold. (While on Valium)

Dont measure the guitar for a while, pick a room or a closet, get it to 50 percent humidity to start with, allow that area to stabilise, introduce your guitar to this area and let it sit for a day or two then check again.

Steve

I’ve got it in my bathroom. I ran a hot shower for 5 mins or so, put the guitar on a stand in the middle of the floor, shut the lights off (the lights are on the same switch as the fan), shut the door and covered the bottom of the door with towels. I’m guessing these are the best steps to take to try and stabilize the RH level...any suggestions are very welcomed.

I’ve gotten the neck to the point that the hump is very, very small...in fact it’s almost gone, but I’m still getting some buzz. So I’m wondering...how will I be able to tell that the hump is “gone”? When I can take a straight edge and have it not rock on the frets near the hump?

The hump may never go, if the board was fretted before being fitted to the guitar during its manufacturing process, then it will likely have always been there.

You dont want the guitar to be wet or dry, just a stable humidity for a few days to a week.

I think the process you are currently following will likely damage the guitar further

Steve