Am I negligent?

[BeYou]

I am concerned I have not been giving my Martin D35 proper care. The Martin is out of the case alot because I play it alot but guilty as charged I frequently leave it out of the case in a stand in my living room.

Have I been a negligent owner or is this just random bad luck. Any thoughts on care moving forward. I bought the guitar to play it not store it like an heirloom. I frequently play jams outdoors that can last 12-14 hours with wide variety of temperature and humidity. Are they really this fragile? If so what is a good everyday knock about that has great sound but can take some abuse (long playing sessions in a variety of environments) every now and again?

Thanks in advance.

[Goat Mick]

All of my guitars are on either hangers or stands in my den. The only time they go into a case is when I'm going somewhere with them. Just make sure the room humidity stays in acceptable range and put the stands somewhere they won't get accidentally whacked and you should be fine.

[Jdogblues]

I wish I had 12-14 hour outdoor jams to neglect my guitar at

[619TF]

Just case it when you don't play it and invest in a decent hygrometer so you know the RH in there. Guitars aren't "so fragile" but they're wood and can be damaged by humidity not to mention other critters in the home. It's all well and good to want your guitar out to play it but I leave the case where I can see it and then I get Christmas every day when I reveal the contents and start playing.

[rmp]

if you're locale goes from bone dry in the winter (low 20s) to mid 70s in the summer, and all the "in betweens" month to month, that would be one of the main concerns with keeping things manageable for the long term health.

I was just at my repair techs place today, not quite half, but close to it, of the acoustics there are in for "Dry acoustic guitar" problems

Cracked tops, lifted bridges, fret sprout, we're in the North East, near Boston.


Around 30% RH in most of the rooms in my house (too dry)

45 ~ 55 % RH is where I think it needs to be to not worry about casing and re-charging the sound hole humidifiers regularly. if you're living stays in that range, than you should have no problems that are based from climate change/control.

[bufflehead]

In terms of jams and gigs I play outdoors more often than indoors. My first guitar, a 1973 Guild D-25 was my sole guitar for more than thirty years, and it travelled widely. It was a well-built guitar but I ultimately wore it out, and bringing it back into playing shape was going to cost more than replacing it with a guitar of equal quality.

While I felt that I more than got my money's worth from that Guild, I replaced in with several guitars, including a stage guitar. I gotta tell you, spreading the wear and tear over multiple guitars greatly reduces the stress put on a single guitar. When I need my Martin dread, it's there. When I'm going to play plugged in at a festival, it stays home and the acoustic/electric takes the stage.

[jmjohnson]

Just put hangers up to hang my guitars - not on outside walls and in a room with a humidifier. Used to use stands, but a couple family visitors have kids, so try to avoid usign them and making sure the door is closed.

I definitely enjoy them more when they are out of the case.

Without knowing what the humidity is would bother me. I KNOW its gonna be too low in winter.

[Kyle215]

Yeah I’d just get yourself some humidity readings in that room. If it gets to the low 30’s or lower, an evaporative humidifier is a relatively inexpensive investment that will keep your guitar safe.

I keep a guitar out most times and generally only need to humidify the room December through early March.

[ALBD]

In my professional opinion your are not being negligent

[Ed66]

I'm in NC, but on the coast and have kept all my guitars out on stands or hangers for years with zero ill effect. I never have more than a week in the winter that humidity drops below the mid 30's. I do keep hygrometers placed around the house, but I always know when my guitars sound the best the %'s are getting close to the thirty's

[j38guitar]

Is there an issue with the guitar? From I read, it seems like something has gone wrong with the guitar.

[nbs2005]

Having had a nice guitar get a top crack because I left it out, I now keep my music room at 45-50%. In the winter when I can't keep that humidity, they go into their cases at the end of the day with hydro packs. Aside from that care, my guitars go everywhere with me and get played at least an hour every day. No need to baby, just keep them hydrated.

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by Kyle215

Yeah I’d just get yourself some humidity readings in that room. If it gets to the low 30’s or lower, an evaporative humidifier is a relatively inexpensive investment that will keep your guitar safe.

I keep a guitar out most times and generally only need to humidify the room December through early March.

^^^ cheap peace of mind. All my instruments are out in this room.



note to self - time to dust

[Mycroft]

"Negligence" is a failure to exercise the due care that would be exercised by a reasonably prudent person.

The question then, is what is reasonably prudent?

[blindboyjimi]

Negligent is not following the “Care & Feeding” brochure that came with your guitar. Your guitar will be covered under warranty if you do. We are all guitar nerds here so take all advice with a grain of salt.

The ideal is 45% which Martin maintains at the factory. My humidifier clicks on at 40% and I live in San Diego with very moderate temperatures. So my guitars are always at a range of 40%-60% and problems don’t occur until you’re below 30% or above 70% for a long time. Cracks occur at low humidity and loose braces occur as the top swells in high humidity. 12 hours, unless in a black case, on a 90-degree day with 20% or 80% humidity or in a car (think babies) will be ok. Normally if you are comfortable, your guitar is too.