Quote:
Originally Posted by raysachs
....That guitar moved between the Arizona desert, the Olympic rain forest...and the Colorado Rockies for about 4-5 years, then lived in Seattle for several years.... I knew NOTHING about taking care of it and basically left it out on a stand or wall hanger in all of those places, subject to horrible swings in humidity and temperature, and I didn't wreck it. It needed a neck reset and a pro setup by the time I sold it 15 years ago or so, but it probably would have if I'd taken immaculate care of it too....
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Your story illustrates that maybe acoustic guitars are not quite as fragile as we make them out to be. If we maintain a temperature and humidity appropriate for our comfort, the guitars will most likely be OK too. I don't actively humidify the house here in Idaho but it seems like breathing, cooking and showering provide enough moisture. I use water beads in perforated soap dishes inside the cases for the three coldest winter months when full heat is running, but even then our house rarely dips much below 40% RH according to two hygrometers. My biggest clue to dryness is when I start getting static electricity shocks when wearing synthetics like Polar Fleece. The cat hates those, getting his nose zapped when I reach to pet him.
It is the prolonged extremes - very dry for very long - that causes the cracks and other issues. I believe that is especially true with newer less seasoned wood. BTW the neck reset was almost certainly due to age and prolonged string tension (distortion of the neck geometry) not from humidity swings.