Gah - acoustic ding!!

stickyfiddle · July 2019

jellyroll said:

I thought humidity was just a US and exotic place problem too....until the frets started poking through the edges of my fretboard on my £4000 acoustic....

I had the binding pop off my custom la cabronita a few years back following our move the Middle East. I assume that was due to humidity, since we have AC keeping everything between 21 and 24 all the time, but that does dry the air at the same time. No issues with acoustic yet, but I’ve had several necks tending towards needing truss rods to be loosened.

BahHumbug · July 2019

jellyroll said:

I thought humidity was just a US and exotic place problem too....until the frets started poking through the edges of my fretboard on my £4000 acoustic....

It’d be interesting to hear About what conditions led to this. Where in the world, time of year, weather etc.

jellyroll · July 2019

BahHumbug said:

jellyroll said:

I thought humidity was just a US and exotic place problem too....until the frets started poking through the edges of my fretboard on my £4000 acoustic....

It’d be interesting to hear About what conditions led to this. Where in the world, time of year, weather etc.

London. Winter. We don’t go mad with central heating - we probably have it on for a few weeks each year - but we live in a terrace so it’s usually quite warm. Guitar kept in case. But the guitar dried out. I reversed it using a wet sponge in a bag - replaced when dried out (usually after about 1 week). After a month or two the guitar was fine, so I probably caught it early. But it is a warning.

thomasross20 · August 2019

Eeerrrr.... if your instruments are insured, doesn't insurance cover the cost of accidental body damage....?

ToneControl · August 2019

thomasross20 said:

Just fyi hygrometer showing 60% with range 58-63%

I think that's the high end of normal for an acoustic
NB: look at the humidity outside over a day: in the summer it is often high from 4am-8am, so if you have all the windows open then, and do a check, be aware it will not cover the whole day

AFAIK 40%-60% cause no harm, but affect the action
tbh UK summers are unlikely to trouble any guitar

Below 30% is bad
below 25% can really damage an acoustic a lot
These humidities happen in non-leaky, non-rising-damp houses or shops that have heating on in the winter during cold dry spells (e.g. icy/snowy + blue skies)

ToneControl · August 2019

thomasross20 said:

Eeerrrr.... if your instruments are insured, doesn't insurance cover the cost of accidental body damage....?

For dings, the repair cost would be less than the normal "excess", so you'd end up paying yourself

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Gah - acoustic ding!!

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