Humidification problem (?)

[Canada310]

Hi everyone, I have a Martin that hasn’t belonged to me for too long that I always knew might need a neck adjustment and the action never felt right. So I took it in to a big box store locally that deals on Martin and other nice guitars and the repair and setup guy has always done a good job in my experience. The guitar also spends its down time in a case with my other guitars in a house reading about 44-46% humidity (getting into winter weather here).

Odd thing was he told me the guitar was very dry. He said the dryness caused the neck to bow a bit and I understand the science behind that. It was easily adjusted but he also said if it gets any more dry the top could crack. I’ve also read that a sign of dryness is feeling the grain on the top. You can in fact feel the grain in the finish however I always attributed that to the guitars makeup but maybe I’m wrong. I ordered a plant waves 2 way humidity system and also a ‘restore’ humidity pack for dry guitars. But, I placed a hygrometer in the sound hole in the case for 24 hours and it reads 46% humidity. Am I wrong then in thinking the humidity this guitar is housed in is pretty much on point?

So my question is, is the guitar dry and in need of the two way humidity pack (which I realize wouldn’t hurt either way and I will throw in), does it need the restore pack for restoring humidity to dry guitars, or was it just in need of a truss rod adjustment and fine at 46%? I’ve always made sure the house has properly humidified for the guitars but other than that never worried much and have never had a single issue with my other guitars over the years, so I’m curious if not concerned.

[Jaden]

Your location indicates Ontario which I assume becomes very dry indoors through the cold winters - I would use the 2 way humidipak envelopes if you’re comfortable with that product - if not the home made sponge (well rung out) in perforated bag. Not sure about the restore product you mention. Your humidity readings sound on the mark - not sure if I can offer any advice beyond this. Hope your guitar recovers - may be best to take it to another tech for another opinion.

[RalphH]

46% should be fine. Perfect even. As for dryness causing the neck to bow.. it may have been kept too wet before and had the truss rod compensated accordingly and now it's getting back to where it should be. There are half a dozen other different things that can change the neck bow aside from humidity. I would be looking at the top to decide if it was too dry.

Taylor have a good article here. The information is not taylor-specific. https://www.taylorguitars.com/suppor...oms-dry-guitar

edit: here's some wet guitar symptoms to pair with that: https://www.taylorguitars.com/suppor...oms-wet-guitar

[rmp]

I agree.. mid 40s RH is fine.

Neck bow and dry / wet guitar issues I'm not sure how tightly those are coupled. I don't think they are completely related.

it's not unusual as the seasons change to have to adjust the trust rod, in fact, it's pretty common.

to check for wet/dry guitar is mostly visible with the top, dry it will sink a bit, wet it will swell That Taylor link has some good tips on how to spot it.

[jazzguy]

You need to make sure you are humidifying the whole guitar, not just the sound-hole. I would use the planet waves, etc. Also - I might suggest putting a few wrung-out sponges in plastic soap boxes in your case. Drill out plenty of holes the soap boxes. Put one under the headstock and one near the heel if possible. Careful not to scratch the guitar with the boxes. I do this when the weather gets extreme where I am at. Given your location, that is likely all winter. Good luck.

[RalphH]

Originally Posted by Canada310

in a house reading about 44-46% humidity

If it's already in a 45% RH environment then stuffing it full of soggy sponges inside it is not going to be doing it any favours.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Canada310

…he told me the guitar was very dry. He said the dryness caused the neck to bow a bit and I understand the science behind that. It was easily adjusted but he also said if it gets any more dry the top could crack.

Hi C-310

You indicated it's a new (to you) guitar so if your place/case is maintaining 46%, you are not going to be drying it out more than it already is/was by increasing the humidity to abnormally levels.

Whenever I've added instruments to my herd, I always just add them and expect them to adjust to the safe levels of humidity we keep in our home.

Having to adjust the neck is not majorly concerning like a sunken top would be (which would probably need over humidification to bring it back from the brink). I have to adjust necks going into and out of winter every year because of the humidity drop, and the fact I keep my action low.

Unless you think the guitar is on the verge of 'CRACK-ing' I'd not recommend going overboard with the re-humidifying of the instrument to a sound level.

I would be interested how your experiment goes…and if you need to readjust the neck down the line as the guitar re-hydrates.

[Rockysdad]

Is it possible that the hygrometer is off ?

[musicman1951]

Originally Posted by Rockysdad

Is it possible that the hygrometer is off ?

I'm in Albany, NY and it's 29 degrees out. My music room with the humidifier fan speed on low is currently 36 (need to crank the fan a bit).

I don't know what kind of heating system you have, but that seems like pretty high humidity without adding any.

[Rockysdad]

another point, *if*, you haven't had the guitar *too long*, it may be the previous owner hadn't kept it properly humidified and it will take a bit of time for the guitar and case to come up to acceptable levels.

[Canada310]

Thanks for the input everyone. The guitar was my grandfather’s before I had it and no, he wouldn’t have paid much attention to humidity. However I’ve had it for a couple years in this environment. As far as my house humidity being at 46% I do have a humidifier system in place to keep the house at that level although I too am surprised about that level even still. In my previous house I had a hard time getting it near 40% in the winter but multiple hygrometers agree.

As far as the guitar itself I really wouldn’t worry about it being dry if not for the grain feel on the top. I can definitely feel it though I always have noticed this. Other than that though it doesn’t seem sunk and tech didn’t mention that either, no fret ends poking out, bridge seems fine. Really just the grain feeling has me concerned, coupled with the tech’s comments. I’m going to put in the packs and we’ll see if that changes anything, though aside from the top I wouldn’t expect much to change as it otherwise does feel and look well.