Dead guitar overhumidified??

[CottonPickin]

My Taylor 310, purchased a few weeks ago, has died. Remarkable loss of tone just in the last week. Case: Taylor original hardshell.

I have 2 humidifers in the case. I started with 1 Planet Waves in the soundhole in week 2. I was skeptical about how much humidity that little sponge was providing so last week I placed a larger sponge in an open plastic container under the head. I didn't wring it out much. (It's y'alls fault, telling scary stories about what happens to unhumidified guitars.)

My house is not humidified; temperature 50-60. Hygrometer in another case read 20% prior to humidification. Cases are kept closed at all times.

I also noticed buzzing today on just 1 string---5th.

Is this instrument perhaps over- or underhumidified?

Another guitar kept in the same room has not been affected. That guitar has one humidifer, an open sponge under the head.

String history: Purchased with old, unidentifed strings; sounded pretty good. Replaced with Elixirs, sounded terrible. Replaced with d'Addario phosphor bronze mediums about 2 weeks ago. Sounded much better than the Elixirs. Have played about 30 minutes a day since then. Suddenly today I realized the guitar had gone dead.

[Mike_A]

your Taylor came with those humidification documents right? so its says if its overhumidified the top and back should be bulging, the action high, and the fretboard has a step where it connects to the neck.

if underhumidified, the opposite then, top sunken in, fret wires sticking out and action really low with buzzing, possibly some cracking somewhere.

im sure someone can bring it back to life...

oh, and why do i have this feeling that Taylors are much more sensitive to humidity than most guitars? i've got to get that out of my head, so i wont worry so much...

[CottonPickin]

None of those radical symptoms . . . yet.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by CottonPickin

My Taylor 310, purchased a few weeks ago, has died. Remarkable loss of tone just in the last week. Case: Taylor original hardshell.

Hi …CP

Many possible reasons for loss of liveliness in a guitar. You really need to monitor the levels of humidity in the case in question not another case. Then you will be able to diagnose it.

Also, what strings are on the guitar, and how old are they? Deteriorating/dead strings contribute greatly to dead/bad sounding guitars.

Hope you track it down...

[DenverSteve]

You don't show where you and your guitars are. Unless you are in an usually high-humidity area, it's unlikely that your guitar is over-humidified. However, you can leave it out for a couple of days and see if it appears to be coming back to its former self.

I've played Taylors for years and have not found that their guitars are any more or less sensitive to humidity than any other guitar.

[CottonPickin]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

Also, what strings are on the guitar, and how old are they?

See string history in first post.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by CottonPickin

See string history in first post.

Hi CP…
Non coated strings - I'd have outplayed their usefulness in two weeks...and I wipe them down after I play every time.

It's a cheap way to check on the condition/sound of the guitar.

If you are not wiping the strings down after you play them, they will deteriorate pretty quickly. If you are over humidifying the case, the strings will deteriorate pretty quickly. If you have hands which react and kill strings more quickly than usual...two weeks is a while.

I don't know if it's the issue, but I'd sure put a fresh set of D'Addario phosphor bronzes on it and see what happens. If that is not it, you have fresh strings on it to keep diagnosing...

[JTFoote]

Here is a link to help you diagnose what might be wrong: Guitar Humidity Education


... JT

Some guitars may start to sound "bad" before showing signs of over humidification.