The biggest problem we see with guitars, by FAR, is lack of humidity. People just don’t realize that your guitars need water, just like we do. Ever felt your fret ends getting sharp, or sudden buzzing out of your acoustic, or even cracks appearing out of nowhere? Then you have experienced a guitar with lack of humidity.
Guitars are made of wood, right? What happens when wood gets wet?… it expands. When it gets dry… shrinks. Think of it like a sponge. And acoustic guitars are prone to this way more than their electric counterparts because the entire inside has NO FINISH on it. That means it is bare wood exposed to the elements.
These are just a few, but yet the most common signs you will see. If you experience any issues, feel free to bring them in and let us help you evaluate as to what next steps that need to be taken.
How do we fix it? SLOWLY! Literally give it a drink. We do this with humidifiers. There are many types of humidifiers out there, but they all work on the same principal… give the guitar water to drink. BUT, let it drink at it’s own pace. We don’t want to pour water directly on our guitar ever, and do NOT put it in the bathroom with you while you take a hot shower. To much water too fast can also be detrimental. SLOW SLOW SLOW!
One simple solution is to put a wet kitchen sponge in a sandwich bag with a few small holes poked in it. Wet the sponge and wring it out GOOD before putting it in the baggie. Now, put this INSIDE your acoustic… and wait. Check it tomorrow, is the sponge dry?…. then your guitar is thirsty. It literally drank all the water out of the sponge. Re-wet the sponge and check each day. Sponge still wet? This means your guitar is happy.
Rule of thumb is keep your guitars in a humidity range of 40% – 60%. You can monitor this with a simple hygrometer found anywhere.
Rule of thumb is to keep your guitar in an environment with the relative humidity (RH) is 40%-60%. In the winter time the wood stoves and home furnaces pull all the water our of the air, so it is VERY important to humidify your guitars during this period. Just keep an eye on your sponge, it will tell you everything you need to know.
120 S Osage Ave, Sedalia, MO 65301, United States
info@BackwoodsGuitar.com
call/txt: 660-851-2233
