Affordable Guitar for High Humidity

[heyhsia]

Hi everyone,

I'd like to gift a friend an acoustic guitar (dread or GA size) that will be able to handle a high humidity environment. My budget is $1k. For various reasons using desiccants to keep the guitar dry is not an option. Carbon fiber guitars at that price point may be too heavy.

I'd be grateful for any suggestions. I've heard that certain tone woods handle humidity better than others, and that laminated back and sides may also help.

Thanks

[KevinH]

Originally Posted by heyhsia

Hi everyone,

I'd like to gift a friend an acoustic guitar (dread or GA size) that will be able to handle a high humidity environment. My budget is $1k. For various reasons using desiccants to keep the guitar dry is not an option. Carbon fiber guitars at that price point may be too heavy.

I'd be grateful for any suggestions. I've heard that certain tone woods handle humidity better than others, and that laminated back and sides may also help.

Thanks

What a nice friend!

There have been some good reviews of the Enya guitars in the carbon fiber forum. They're well under your price limit.

There are also people on the forum that have reported no issues with their laminated wood guitars in high humidity environments, which is easier to deal with than low humidity. How high are we talking?

Is your friend starting out on the guitar? If so, you might leave a little room in the budget for a setup, which would help a beginner out a lot.

If you want to stick with wood, there are good starter guitars from Yamaha and Eastman in about your price range.

[heyhsia]

Hi KevinH, thanks for your reply! The guitar is for a friend who lives in Cambodia, a worship leader who can't afford his own. He plays well, albeit on loaned guitars, so not a beginner. I was looking at Taylor 114 and 214 which if used, falls within budget.

At your suggestion, I just checked Enya X4 Pro is on a huge sale. I'll check that out.

Thanks again for your input and suggestions!

[tinnitus]

In the OP's context of seeking a humidity-resistant guitar for worship services, I remember test-driving something random a few weeks ago that surprised me. This was in a shop with an equal distribution of guitars above and below the $5,000 waterline. Without looking at price tags, I grabbed an odd one off the wall (perhaps because of its outlandish appearance) and instantly liked the action. My son and his wife both commented on how "loud and clear" it was.

https://www.lavamusic.com/

I assume it wasn't one of their wood top offerings because it was white and weighed nothing. Prices vary on the website.

Snobby AGF house-brand preferences aside, I was impressed.

[abn556]

I spent 8 years on active duty in the military and I drug inexpensive Yamaha FG-335s all over the place. From the hot humid summers in Georgia and North Carolina to the hot humid temps in Central America. Then up to the cool, damp climate in Monterey, CA, then over to the cold and wet climate in southern Germany. After the Army, I took them to South America and Russia and had friends take them to SE Asia. Never once did I get a body crack or a loose brace or have any structural issues whatsoever.

Find you a good Yamaha for $500-800 and it will be plenty tough enough to handle what you can throw at it.

[LAPlayer]

People have been playing guitars in all types of climate conditions for ..... 100+ years. In most of the humid areas they've done so without silica packs or dehumidifiers. Is it optimum? No. I think a laminated Taylor would be very much appreciated.

[donlyn]

Affordable Guitar for High Humidity

I favor large body 17" Jumbo guitars, and the best sounding ones for me are all-solid-wood spruce over rosewood. However they can sound a bit muffled and wonky if the humidity gets wicked high.

My solution is to use laminated back and sides guitars for such overly humid periods. My choices for such a fall-back position consist of:

'94 Epiphone EJ-200 Jumbo
Alvarez AJ60S (16.4") Jumbo
Sigma GS-200 Jumbo
Guild F-2512 Arch-back 12 string Jumbo

Except for the Sigma which was a bit higher, the others were all at or under $500. The EJ-200 was dirt cheap, but needed quite a bit of work (+$) to restore it to playing quality. And while I have played out with all of them, the Epiphone and Sigma get a lot of alone-time play too.

My smaller Grand Concerts seem to do pretty well too.

As does the all-solid-wood spruce/maple Epiphone IBG J-200, maybe due to the maple back and sides. But it is usually a back-up. Still tinkering with it a bit. Would be open to suggestions if anyone else has any good ideas for it. It's not quite as deep as my other J-200 body guitars, like 4.5" versus 5" for other Jumbo guitars.

The Grand Orchestra is a deep Jumbo with a slightly wider waist.

I fingerpick all my guitars using my nails as picks.

Be well and play well,

Don
.

[catdaddy]

With regard to handling high humidity well, I've had good luck here in Florida with guitars that have laminated backs & sides. The guitars I've owned which performed really well under these conditions include a Seagull S6 (original) and a Voyage Air VAD-04, both of which are fine guitars, and the Voyage Air has the additional advantage of folding up for ease of travel/transport.

[martingitdave]

Another vote for Yamaha. When they designed their current offerings they tested them in various demanding temperature and humidity conditions. Those that are laminate back and sides fair even better. Taylor doesn't advertise any special durability regarding their 100 and 200 series. [Edit] Per above, I now recall Seagull guitars does pressure test their solid wood tops. So, I would believe they could hold up better to the stresses of high humidity. Laminate back and sides remain a better choice.

[Rpt50]

Yamaha for sure. I've seen Yamaha FG guitars used as student guitars in GA school systems survive for years shoved in storage rooms or trailers with limited or even no HVAC. This is in addition to the abuse they survive as dished out by middle, high school, and college students. Coastal GA (the low country) summers are as hot and humid as it gets in the states.

You might consider something like an LL6 or LS6, which has laminate back and sides, and comes with a pickup and pretty decent hard bag.

[Aspiring]

Another vote for the Enya. I really like my X4 pro. Only really downside is the weight.

[SFCRetired]

I sent one of those Yamaha's to my nephew when he was in Iraq. Obviously different climate but they hold up well in any environment.

Another one to consider is an Ovation. You can get them with solid tops or laminate.

[heyhsia]

Thanks everyone for your input and suggestions

[Jimi2]

My solution for the wide humidity swings in New England over the course of a year is an all-HPL Martin OOO x series. Indoors it can be below 20% in the winter or above 70% in the summer. It has a 1 3/4 nut and sounds great - like a real Martin - for around $500. Mine hasn’t been humidified or dehumidified in the two years I’ve had it, and hasn’t had any problems nor needed any adjustments. I think the only actual wood is the braces.

Martin makes several variations of these in different sizes, and some with solid tops.