Humidity

Universal8 · June 2020

Will be getting my first solid wood acoustic any day now. I’ve been reading up on humidity and the ideal range , which seems to be between 45-55%. I’ve had a hygrometer in the room I’d be playing and keeping the guitar in for a few days now to test it and it seem to be a consistent 59%. I know this is only slightly over the ideal but it’s still over. Do you think this would affect it or it’s not high enough to worry ?

crunchman · June 2020

In the UK I wouldn't worry.

The bigger issue is when it's cold in winter as the relative humidity indoors can get very low because of central heating. The relative humidity is dependent on the temperature difference with outside though. As long as you don't live in Scotland and have your heating set on 25C then it shouldn't be a problem.

If you live somewhere like Scandinavia or Canada where it could be -10C outside, it's very different from here, where most of the time it's going to be around 5C outside. You are talking about a difference of 30C rather than 15C if indoors is 20C. You would need to humidify with that kind of difference, or in a dry inland area of the US, but it's pretty damp here.

pjf · June 2020

Most (online) humidity concerns seem to originate from North America. They have reason for concern due to the vastly different humidity situations there - from deserts to swamplands to high up in the Rockies, etc. In the UK you'll be absolutely fine! And 59% is fine by any measure - if you were somehow getting low 20s or high 70s I'd maybe be concerned. But no need to stress about humidity, enjoy your new guitar

ToneControl · June 2020

it's been high humidity outside this last week
Up to 60% is fine

Basically when it's cold and dry e.g. snowing, icy weather, and you have central heating on (or a roaring log burner), internal humidity can get to 30% or below. Under 30% is bad. During those times, throw a wet towel on a radiator, or use a humidifier. Having the window open on drier days can bring it down a lot.

I keep mine around 45%-50%
at 40% or 55% they need retuning, and the action changes a little
at 36% or 60%, you will notice the action change, and more retuning is needed

Lewy · June 2020

Up to 60% is fine from the point of view of danger of damage, but a well built solid wood acoustic is unlikely to sound and play it's best at 60% so I personally would want to lower that using a dehumidifier. Over-humidification can make a guitar sound dull and lose snap in my experience.

eoinzy · June 2020

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