Leaving my acoustics out all the time?

[Chipotle]

Originally Posted by Robin, Wales

London's humidity seasonally varies between 60% and 80%. Unless you have a draft free house and run dehumidifiers you don't need a humidifier.

Except be aware that indoor humidity of heated air will be lower than the outside unheated air. The RH goes down as the air warms, unless you add extra moisture.

For example, using this calculator, on a cold winter day at 5C and 60% RH, if you heat the air to 20C the RH drops to only 23.5%!

That, my friends, is why we need humidifiers.

[JC.]

London Righty here - so you should probably invert my comments 180 degrees.

I keep one guitar out only because that's the deal I with my wife, otherwise they'd all be out.

Re humidity - guitars in the UK CAN be affected. I have had two that have. Counter intuitively, the problem time (for me anyway) is winter.....because of central heating.

I've had two high end guitars where I've started to feel the fret ends (ie fretboard shrinkage). Easily reversed with a DIY humidity pack (aka a wet sponge in a bag) in the case.

Those guitars were kept in cases, not near a radiator.

The guitar that I keep on a stand has never had a problem. Could be THAT guitar or it perhaps its getting better ventilation through being out.

My advice - wherever you keep your guitars - don't be overly anxious but do monitor your guitars for humidity related issues.

[jaymarsch]

For me, it is all about tone and keeping my instruments sounding their best. In northern California (besides the occasional earthquake rock and rattles), we have more stretches of time at higher humidity than lower. Sometimes, the RH in my place is in the mid-to high 60s for a few weeks. This is why I keep my guitars in cases which usually stay between 45% and 50%. When I bring my guitars out to play them, they sound better. If I leave them out for days in 60%+ RH, they can start to sound a bit tubby.
As others have said, it is a personal preference depending on your habits and needs. I live in a small place, storing my guitars in their cases does not make them less accessible to me at all.

Best,
Jayne

[Fresh1985]

I live in the midlands and very rarely have an issue regarding humidity.

Our winters in the uk are generally pretty moist so you probably could leave your guitar out without an issue but still best to get a hygrometer just to keep track of RH levels.

I would also keep a soundhole humidifier device just in case. Occasionally in the summer humidty can drop quite low particularly at night.

The humidity where I live in derby has been sitting around 44-48% over the last month or so, so all good at present.

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by Chipotle

Many people leave their guitars out. It's just fine. Just make sure you dust them occasionally!

Aside from protection (do you have rambunctious animals or children in the house?), another reason people leave guitars cased is for humidification. I imagine London is in general a bit damper than many other locations. As long as the relative humidity (inside--not always the same as out, especially in winter!) doesn't drop below, say 40% for extended periods, you don't need to worry about that either.

Many people who leave guitars out have room, or even whole house, humidifiers to keep appropriate humidity levels for the guitars.

This is my credo...40%

I understand the need for humid-paks or sponges or whatever in arid situations. Barring that...overkill. If the room RH says 40-55 %, leave ‘em out.
YMMV.

[rmp]

As everyone is pretty much saying "Moister control" is the thing to watch out for.

We're located in Central Massachusetts. My house right now is around 20% RH, which is about right for this time of year.

Guitars are cased, and I'm recharging my sound hole humidifiers about twice a week. Then again, I never let them get bone dry.

[mawmow]

A guitar at hand is probably played more often than a guitar in a case.
To me, the most SECURE place is in case.
If you leave it on a short stand : DANGER !
But if you HANG PROPERLY a guitar, no problem either.

[Dbone]

Originally Posted by fazool

I will save you the search function time.

This is the Internet so this is what will happen:

50% of the people will vociferously tell you that you MUST leave them out at all times and that anyone with a differing opinion is negligent, stupid and evil.

50% of the people will vociferously tell you that you must NOT leave them out at all times and that anyone with a differing opinion is negligent, stupid and evil.

And then the thread will ramble for a while and run out of gas, until next time.

Love it. That about sums it up

[619TF]

As stated, a guitar that is easy to access is going to get played. Also, a guitar that is kept in a case is much safer for it. That's why I put my guitars in cases where I can see them. The 15 seconds it takes to get them out doesn't deprive me of "easy access".

Not a problem for you in England but here in earthquake country hanging them on a wall is probably one of the most dangerous things I could do.

[Londonlefty]

Thank you for all the responses- certainly food for thought- will get a cheap hygrometer to check the humidity. No pets in the house and kids are older now, in fact my son’s Guild M120 is always out on a stand too.

[Rpt50]

Originally Posted by Londonlefty

Thank you for all the responses- certainly food for thought- will get a cheap hygrometer to check the humidity. No pets in the house and kids are older now, in fact my son’s Guild M120 is always out on a stand too.

Ha Ha you're falling into the same trap I did. After leaving guitars out my entire life and not worrying about it (and living in various northern, mid-western, and southern US states), I started reading this forum and developed an anxiety about my guitar storage practices.

The first step was buying a hygrometer.

The readings of the hygrometer were alarming and caused me to buy guitar humidifiers and some more cases.

The cases and humidifiers resulted in a bunch of muddy sounding ill-actioned guitars.

I'm back to my old ways. Want to buy some cases and humidifiers? I'll keep the hygrometer as it's fun information to know.

I'm sure there are extreme climates (Phoenix, AZ??) where you do need to take precautions, but not apparently anywhere where I have lived.

[619TF]

Originally Posted by Rpt50

Ha Ha you're falling into the same trap I did. After leaving guitars out my entire life and not worrying about it (and living in various northern, mid-western, and southern US states), I started reading this forum and developed an anxiety about my guitar storage practices.

The first step was buying a hygrometer.

The readings of the hygrometer were alarming and caused me to buy guitar humidifiers and some more cases.

The cases and humidifiers resulted in a bunch of muddy sounding ill-actioned guitars.

I'm back to my old ways. Want to buy some cases and humidifiers? I'll keep the hygrometer as it's fun information to know.

I'm sure there are extreme climates (Phoenix, AZ??) where you do need to take precautions, but not apparently anywhere where I have lived.

"Alarming" readings and then "muddy sounding" guitars? Sounds like either the hygros were faulty or you simply took the pendulum to the other extreme (did you monitor the in case humidity or just the room?). Kept in the proper range guitars shouldn't muddy up nor should they crack from dryness. It's not exactly a "goldilocks" range though as it's a pretty wide spectrum.

[tailsawaggin]

Central California's San Joaquin Valley, here, in what could generously be described as a "semi-arid region," so our humidity is lower than preferred more often than not. This is easy to deal with, though - a couple of cheap digital hygrometers, checked with the "damp salt and tupperware" method to determine their degree of error, and placed where they can easily be seen . . . and a pot of water on the stove top. When the humidity goes below 50 we turn the stove on, and when it reaches 50, we turn it off.

We keep the guitars hanging on the wall, out of reach of pets and out of the way of random bumps, and since the Mrs. sees the guitars as works of industrial art worthy of display, everybody wins.

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by Londonlefty

Hi All
Seen a few threads on this, but wanted to delve further.
I basically leave my Martin D15, Larrivee 0M3 and Guild D150 on stands all the time, sometimes I play all 3 in a day.

I read so much about people leaving only beaters out, with everything half decent kept in cases, but I’ve got electrics in cases I haven’t played in 3 years.

Sure the acoustics get a bit dusty, but is leaving them out shortening their lifespan?

Live just outside London so don’t have the extremes of say a Wisconsin winter and summer and the house is at a pretty standard 18-21C. Humidifiers??? - a whole new world to me- do I need them for the UK?
Many thanks in advance

Hi Londonlefty,

I'll resist asking you if you are a cuddiewhifter or a corbynite!

(I'm left handed - playing righty - nuff said!
I too grew up just outside London, now on the south coast.

Good info about your normal temps in the house. RH CAN be a factor:

Gas fired central heating - radiators? (Usually OK but RH needs monitoring).
Hot air electric heating? - (often bad news for guitars).
Double glazed windows? - (good - more regulated temps and less dramatic temp/RH changes)

During the coldest times with windows closed and heating going - RH can get to levels that negatively affect your guitars - not dramatic cracks that our North American pals experience, but changes in action with possible sinking of tops.

Here's what I do with too many guitars and a small house with D/G windows and doors, gas fired radiator system, and insulated brick walls.

Typically, I have kept most of my guitars in cases in cupboards - mainly beacise that means I can grab whatever I want as I played mostyl out of the house - clubs, pubs rehearsals etc.

I've always kept one guitar on a stand in the lounge and a couple upstairs in my little office.
I have HYGROMETERS around the house and inside my cases. Usually anywhere between 38-56 ish is OK.
If they below - put them in cases with a humidifier(s)
If the get higher then put them in cases with some bags of reuseable silica gels AND monitor!

I play out far less now and have been monitoring RH in my house this winter (which is/has been VERY wet but not extremely cold) - so 50% RH is fine.

I've decided to hang some guitars on a bare wall - as they (and I) don't get out so much!)

I'll use some Hercules hangers and add some extra cork insulation on that wall as well.
I also intend to add some blinds on the nearby windows.

Another point - the better the guitar the more likely they are to "change" unfavourably with low temps.

Check out ebay or whatever for humidifiers (I like guitar nomad)

I also have small thermometer/hygrometers in each case - look for things like this :

[Pura Vida]

Originally Posted by maxtheaxe

As I'm sure others have pointed out, it's fine to leave your acoustics out as long as you monitor the ambient RH in the room. I've been leaving mine out on a rack for years with nary a problem.

I also have both a humidifier and a de-humidifier set up, ready for use as indicated by the reading on my hygrometer, which is mounted on the side of the rack. I check these every day without fail, even if I'm not playing, and maintain the RH between 45 and 55% RH, preferably on the lower end of that range for best tone.

It is even OK to exceed the "safe" range for short periods of time, and guitars are unlikely to show the effects of excessive dryness or wetness unless one allows this to persist for a long time.

Yes, they do get a little dusty after a while...another excuse to putter around in my studio, detailing guitars, which inevitably leads to playing same.

I'm aligned with this response. I'm in Northern CA's Central Valley, where the outside RH can swing 40% within a day, but the inside RH remains fairly stable. My house has an open floor plan, so I have two humidifiers set at 40%, and I've added a dehumidifier, which kicks on at 50%, so I keep my guitars, house, and inhabitants within an ideal range.

As for guitar safety, I've had more case and latch incidents than I've had from my Hercules stands and racks, so I am happy to keep them out. And it enables me to play them all more often (and switch up more frequently). But I understand those who prefer to keep them in cases.

Full disclosure: I have two kids and four cats, and nobody bothers the instruments.