Humidity and my Martin 00015M

t1000 · November 2016

Hi Guys and Girls
I'm after some advice with regards to humidity and my acoustic. Basically recently I've felt the action has become uncomfortable so I took it to a local tech, he gave me a call and thinks that the top has moved due to too much humidity. Now when he said this it sort of struck a chord if you excuse the pun as our house does suffer condensation problems, I never left the guitar in a case just on my stand. He said he would monitor the guitar for a few weeks and let me know if it settles any better. Well after 4 weeks he called me and it has not improved greatly. The humidity in his workshop is pretty much smack on 50% In the meantime I brought some cheap digital humidity meters and my house ranges from 60% to 80%. So I collected the guitar today and I'm a little concerned he showed me where at the back of the bridge there is a definite dip in the top. Now I suspect this has taken approx a year to move like this so I doubt 4 weeks would make a huge difference anyway. I'm keeping the guitar in the case, anyone else had a problem like this? I'm thinking about putting a (de)humidifier of some kind in the case can anyone recommend one only problem is that they all look like they work in the reverse of my problem i.e. to keep the moisture in the case which I don't need.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

richardhomer · November 2016

45-50% RH is the kind of range you should be aiming for.

In the winter, typically the levels are lower than this due to central heating drying the air.

It sounds like a dehumidifier might be needed - 80% is very high.

Keeping a guitar in a case protects it from rapid changes in humidity but it won't keep it at the right level if the room it's in is constantly too humid.

Lewy · November 2016

I had a Martin that needed a very early neck reset as a result of over-humidification. The top stopped bellying further and maybe went back a tiny bit after being in humidity-controlled environment for a while but the distortion of the top was pretty much permanent. After the reset it was all fine but had I known more about the effect of excess humidity at the time I'd have avoided the issue. I also wouldn't have sold a beautiful '57 Gibson Southern Jumbo that I felt had lost its liveliness but which in retrospect I now realise was probably just sounding muffled as a result of being overhumidified. Oh well, you live and learn.

Now I use a decent dehumidifier in my music room with an auto function that keeps the RH where I want it for as long as I want it. I don't run it all the time, but when I don't, my guitars are in their (virtually airtight) cases. My guitars go out to gigs and festivals where I have no control over the humidity and I don't obsess about that, but I make sure that they always come back to a nice controlled environment before too long.

markblack · November 2016

D'Addario do something called a Humiditrak.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/DAddario-PW-HTK-01-Humiditrak-Instrument-Humidity/dp/B019JD0XZ0

t1000 · November 2016

We had a dehumidifier but it recently gave up the ghost. I have brought a PIV system to hopefully resolve the issue once and for all In the house. I'm tempted with the humiditrak I must admit

RandallFlagg · November 2016

You may have exposed your guitar to too much humidity but in my experience, in a regular UK home, in a room away from direct sunlight and central heating radiators the humidity stays around 50% most of the year. Yes it will go up on very wet days and down a bit but unless you are running a laundry business or cooking with pans of boiling water all the time in your home it should never vary in fast extremes.

I keep my Martin D28 hung on the wall at home and the action crept up a bit after 4-5 months and I fitted a new Martin bridge saddle that I shaved down to get the action to where I wanted it.

I put this down to the top settling under string tension after manufacture and is something I have experienced wth every acoustic I have owned.

As for the top on your guitar, I would have expected a slight 'bellying' of the top rather than a dip if the action has increased?

I measured the action on my D28 from new at 7/64ths - 5/64ths and it crept up 1/64th after a few months. With the new bridge saddle fitted it is now nearer 6/64ths and has not changed. Did you measure the action from new and compare to now on yours?

CHRISB50 · November 2016

I've had similar problems in the past.

Where I live is situated between 2 reservoirs. It's really damp throughout most of the year but in winter time it gets really bad.

My house averages around 65-70% RH.

Buy a couple of hygrometers. They tend to be cheap, so 2 won't break the bank. Having 2 means you can make sure the readings are consistent with each other (they're not the most reliable piece of tech so it's worth having a couple).

Get a dehumidifier like Lewy suggested. I've done the same, and have one with a hydrostat that switches off the unit when the desired RH is reached. I tend to keep it set to 45% at this time of year. Once it goes on it takes about a day or two to sort the house out, where it runs pretty much constantly. Then it will just turn on as and when.

Dehumidifiers aren't cheap (decent ones), but they are a lot cheaper than buying a new guitar or getting one fixed properly.

You our should also find the air quality in your house improves, so it's a win win.

Hope you get the Martin sorted.

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Humidity and my Martin 00015M

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