Ben's one of the nicest , most professional dude's you'll ever meet ...he's respectful and appreciative whether you purchase a $5000.00 guitar , or a pack of strings .
When I first started playing guitar at 15 years old, I thought you just bought the instrument, and you were good to go. Living in Michigan with dry winters and wet springs and no knowledge of how to control humidity, the damage to my guitars soon became extensive. I also thought I was losing my chops since it was becoming so difficult to play them. I know better now after a humiliating education after taking them into the guitar shop I bought them at. There was no internet or guys like Rhett passing on helpful information in those way back times. You are doing a real service to those starting the journey, Rhett. Good job.
Same here. St. Clair Shores, right off the lake. Dry, cold, and the wind makes it colder. The basement doesn't get much warmer than 60-62 degrees from January through most of March. Not good for guitars.
@@mikecorey8370 I’m in Monroe, not too far from you lol I completely agree. It sucks cuz this time of year is when all the new products come out and I won’t have an instrument shipped to me for this very reason. I’ve had enough guitars mailed to me at this time of year to know that it will have terrible sprout and it will have neck pocket finish cracks. This is my buying used gear locally time of year lol
@@i8ittoo it’s crazy, because this guy just gives Rhett the best content!!! I love all of Rhett’s videos. And personally think he is the best guitar RUclips channel out there. Ben just gives him easy amazing content !
Yeah but in most of North America, it's much harder to over humidify than the other way around IMO. To over humidify, % has to rise above 60.. Whereas when it dips below 40-35% for extended periods of time you can get in trouble.
@@jfar3340 yeah I live in Houston, where I have to keep stuff in my cases to keep the RH% down most of the year. As a mainly acoustic player, we come up with all kinds of stuff to keep out guitars safe.
Blows my mind how easily he files and dresses those frets. Dude doesn't even tape off the fretboard, just goes in all casual and works magic. Must have masterful hands.
Because there’s no finish on a rosewood fretboard, you don’t have to tape it off sometimes. Still a good idea to tape off before addressing fret spout as you can get finish chips along the edge. That guitar didn’t look like it had much finish on the neck
It's really not that hard. I used a fret leveling file to do mine, and you can feel it riding on the metal so it's easy to tell you're done without doing damage. I planned on polishing the frets and neck edge anyway so that takes care of minor scratches. What he didn't tell us is that a fret dressing file usually has a rounded edge that rides against the wood. Only the side of the file is capable of cutting.
It's the tools he's using. They're designed to only "cut" on specific sides of the file, because they're designed for fret work. Don't try what he did with the wrong tools or you're gonna have a really bad time and a torn up fretboard.
if you want a serious 'large space' humidifier, I am pretty happy with the Aircare whole house humidifer. It's about $170 but it is really doing a good job keeping my whole house at 45% ish. Tired of the crappy ultrasonic ones that leave a white dust everywhere
Yeah buddy. I have a Honeywell whole house humidifier 2700 sqft. Works wonders here in Pittsburgh PA. My wife’s plant room (has its own humidifier) does better too.
I picked up an Aircare this winter, an MA800 Mini Console. It has my 2050 square foot home up to 43-45% humidity pretty constantly, and I live north of Toronto. It's a lot colder here than in Georgia. :) In fact, when the temperature hovers near freezing, it doesn't have to work too hard. We've had a few cold snaps down into the -10 to -20 celsius range this last month, though, and even then, it keeps up. It just has to work harder. My guitars and my mom's old piano are all much happier. :) So are all our noses and eyes. Not drying out so much.
Here in Alberta, 28% humidity in the house in the winter, 70% or higher humidity in the summer at times. Yup. We go from -45c in the winter to plus 38c in the summer at times. Room humidifier, sound hole humidifiers, and a large room DE-humidifier in the summer. Finished basement music room. And a humidity gauge in each guitar case to track things. Bit of work, but worth it, makes the house more comfortable for us humans too.
I've been playing guitar for 35 years and haven't come across this. Thanks for the heads up - I bought a couple of new guitars last year and suddenly the consequences of getting this wrong have risen exponentially. Thanks for the heads up!
Add a whole house humidifier if you have a central air and heating system. Cooling air will remove humidity quicker than heat. The definition of humidity...is latent heat. Everything in your home will absorb the humidity out of the air before the air is humidified.
It's weird... been playing for 56 years and I don't remember ever really having an issue with this, until this year. This winter I had 6 guitars (electrics) do this. I do all my own work so it didn't cost me anything but time and agravation but sheeze, this winter was really bad for some reason
The only time I ever had weird issues with my acoustics was when they were new, and I obsessed over their environment. Forty plus years later, they are well settled, even though they take turns traversing the continent north to south year round. I get them checked regularly, and they are pronounced as being happy and stable. I’m not messing with it.
In Siberia, I have a temperature difference from +30 in summer to -30 in winter. To keep things going well with the guitars, I have a hygrometer and a humidifier in my home studio. Maintain humidity ~45%. This Riley is important!
Just a word of caution on the ultrasonic humidifiers: if you have untreated hard water, make sure you get one that has mineral filtration so it will help remove the deposits. The filter media needs to be cleaned/treated every week or two. If you let it go too long, the mineral deposits stay in the water and get blasted into the room in suspension. You'll end up with an ultra-fine white dust all over everything. It will suck into your central air unit and clog up the filter. You'll breathe it in and you can end up with breathing problems and even heart palpitations. Use an evaporative humidifier if you can.
Hello from Michigan! Land of 0% humidity isn’t he winter and 100% in the summer. It’s brutal on guitars and maintaining humidity with heat or A/C kicking on all the time is a constant worry of mine. I actually paid a local luthier teach me how to address my own fret sprout because it happens so often (especially on lower end guitars with less cure time during manufacturing like Bullets from squire). Its about an hour long process that’s actually plenty fun to do. But totally agree that prevention is the key! I really recommend the D’Addario humiditrak systems to save electrics and acoustics. (There’s a video on them on my channel btw)
You can get into mold and condensation problems adding a humidifier to your room in very cold climates. I have a whole house humidifier which helps but my instruments will dry out during the depths of winter. Each of my guitars, basses, banjos , bouzoukis, and fiddles have humidifiers in them and I add more water weekly to the acoustic and semi-acoustic ones and bi-weekly to the solid body ones. They also stay in their case when I'm not playing them
I'm on my way I just bought a brand new Gibson les paul standard for a retirement gift to me all my other guitars were under a $1000 and weren't built like a les paul they were bolt on necks with plenty of coating I've only had it 6 months and could tell that it's not a cheaply made guitar I wished I had got one years ago but retiring at 55 isn't bad I can still Rock and enjoy life
Note on humidifiers - the cool mist ultrasonic types will make your air very dusty and you'll have to change your HVAC filters often, because the dissolved solids in the water go into the air. Warm steam vaporizers don't have this issue, but you have to clean off the mineral scale periodically. Using distilled or RO water in either types solves this.
Nice video, here in Brazil, as a tropical region, we suffer this kind of problem with less intensity but on short periods of time. I have guitars that I need to micro adjust the truss rod almost everyday.
Playing in Florida from my room to outdoor events, this is mandatory viewing. I ordered my Humidors for my Novo Solus, Serus J and Martin Acoustic before the vid was finished. Thanks
Living in Las Vegas I have a room dedicated (I am fortunate) just for storing my guitars. They are all in hard shell cases (the dust here is incredible), and there are 2 room humidifiers dialed in at 45% RH. All the acoustics also have Boveda packs in the case, as sometimes I forget to put water in the humidifiers (dummy!). Also have a small space heater to keep the room at 72F. If I take a guitar out to my studio, within hours the tuning will drop 1/4 to 1/2 step…. Drying out right before my very eyes.
If us citizen would take care of climate change and not live as you all do ( you need 5 earth planet of you you continue to live as you do !), you would do not need all this ! You are, or you especially but USA the worst ecological country after QATAR ( 9 planet a year of energy and ressources !!!!). When will you wake up ? Regards from France
@@belo1971 I completely agree that we need to do a much better job here in the USA combating climate change. Still, in France there is an unimaginable amount of nuclear waste being stored “safely”, your electrical needs have escalated to the point that you are back to burning coal fired plants, and building more nuclear plants despite the governments mandate to reduce dependence to this kind of energy production. People in glass houses should not throw rocks.
@@belo1971 Instead of trying to get U.S to change why dont you push for the major world polluters like china and india to fix its laws instead of force a country that is already in the process of becoming more green. also with france being maybe a 1/3 of our population you should realize that your solution wouldnt work for us.
@@belo1971 so it's America's job to fix the planet cuz we are the only ones polluting it?! France doesn't contribute at all to climate change? It's USA lifestyle u think that's causing humidity to affect guitars? Wow..u are completely out of touch...educate yourself...your statistics are very much bullshit...fix your own problems before blaming others..
@@belo1971 France is a shit show that owes the US a great deal...protected your asses since WW1....get off your high horse and make music..leave politics out of music...
I feel for you. There’s a balance between being “nutterly” fastidious about the humidity and temp, and the reality of where you live and store the guitars. I’m at the point where I have a (new England) cycle that I go through. Humidipacks and a room humidifier for the winter to maintain 40-45% humidity from November to April and heat at 68°F, and rely on central air from June to end of September to hope to stay 75°F at 50-55% humidity (especially for my Taylor and Martin acoustics). May and October tend to be static. But yesterday i grabbed my tele and had a little pull on two fret ends I hadn’t expected…Oy I just want to say that I learn a lot from your videos…thank you.
I bought my last guitar from Ben at Righteous a couple months back. I appreciated his patience and willingness to help find the right fit. Fantastic store if you're ever in the area.
Add me to this list. Went in to Righteous thinking about getting one thing for myself for a big birthday. After maybe half an hour or so of working with Ben he put something in my hands I would have never considered that just crushed it. Lucky to have him here locally.
50% humidity, 70 degrees F. is ideal, which a number of makers stress. Each of my guitars has a hard shell case with MusicNomad's Case Humitar and Humireader keeping the guitars and case woods happy. Last summer, my first all solid wood guitar shipped ground freight spent ten days on the road, New Jersey to Minnesota, through Texas and Arizona, closer to LA than Spokane. I was relieved to find no cracks, just fret sprout. which recovered after a couple weeks of the addition of a case Humitar and Humireader to the Cole Clark case. Thanks Ben! Guitar lessons...
Generally speaking, low temps are not so bad as long as the humidity is right and the low temp isn’t extreme. High temps are worse as glue starts to melt. I keep my studio at 24C/42% humidity (as close as I can, at least- 4 different humidity gauges, 2 humidifiers, a dehumidifier and air con. I live in a tropical environment.
Have you had any issues from over humidity? Where I live (in South-East Asia) it's hard to get the humidity below 55% even with aircon or a dehumidifier.
I really want to thank you for this video. It is one thing to see how to take care of your guitars and it is another to see what can happen if you don’t. And that it can literally happen to anyone. I commend your bravery. It has probably saved me money down the road.
Maybe I've just been lucky. Been playing a very nice Takamine for 34 years that I bought new. It's always hanging on the wall and played almost daily. Gets dragged around a few days a week to teach with. Recorded 2 albums with it. Even with all the use it gets it's always dusty as I live in Central Oregon where it's dry and the daily temperature changes are extreme. Had to adjust the truss rod once about 10 years ago, otherwise it just gets a fresh set of strings about once a month. Never thought about humidity.
I'm in Central Oregon as well. Dry high desert out here for sure, and this winter has really been something. Shirtsleeve weather lately, but I'll bet sub-zero temps are in the works!
@@johnsonjuice32 Hey, neighbor! I'm right down the road in Prineville. I haven't been playing much lately, since my playing buddy passed away, but garage sounds better than my playing! But, no matter the skill level, it's just fun as heck, so no harm, no foul!
The winter of 2011/2012 we had a really cold winter in New England. I worked in a repair shop and we had 4-5 guitars a week come in with split tops, separating binding, cracked bracing, etc. Many of those were the more affordable acoustics that had solid wood tops with laminated back and sides. The top would expand and contract while the laminated sides and backs didn't. They'd split from the sound hole to the bridge and or where the top meets the necks. The worst offenders were the Martin X-series. They had an scalloped A-bracing. They sounded really good but they were fragile.
Very lucky here (Scotland), I've never had to do anything seasonal with any of my guitars, in fact I've never heard of anyone having these issues here. Our climate is so temperate that we don't have such huge changes in temperature or humidity to warrant it.
I live on the Gulf Coast in Louisiana, we never have a low humidity problem, in winter our humidity is still 50% lol, we have severe high humidity all year, it will be 100% humidity most of time and not raining lol, dealing with dehumidification is hard enough, I feel bad for you guys that have to deal with both! Great video!
@@twiztedbullet going to colorado and getting nosebleeds randomly is a thing... low humidity is a challenge. That said, A/C in the summer in the south can easily drop into
I made that mistake last Winter. Same thing - new home, didn't realize how dry it would get. The top of my Martin HD-28 cracked, in line with the grain, all the way from the bridge to the endpin. I was devastated. Now I keep all of my acoustic instruments in their cases with individual humidifier packs, along with a small humidifier I keep running 24/7. On a cold day I'm still struggling at around 20% humidity but along with the individual humidifiers in each case, things have been fine and I've noticed the instruments in general sound better too.
I own a Gurian JM-150. I bought it new in Portland, OR in 1977. I immediately put it in a plane and moved to Oahu for 10 years. I moved back to Portland in '88 and I've had it here since then. No thought about any humidity problems whatsoever. No neck bows. No top bellies, nothin'. Had some neck finish issues once. That's it. Go figure. God takes care of idiots.
Been there done that. Bowed tops, necks warped, fret sprout. Went through neck resets. All of it expensive. I use Humidipaks now, and keep a humidifier going in the Winter. I have a Fender 65 Reissue Jazzmaster with fret sprout, wish I had a Luthier like the gentleman in this video. Next time I'm in GA, I will pay a visit. My only exception guitar is I own a 1966 Fender Jazzmaster, I've had it since I was 15. Never had the neck adjusted, no fret sprout. The only problem it's ever had is dried out foam pickup pads. Amazing! Excellent video, and advice!
Man, I feel for you! When I bought my $800 Taylor acoustic a few years back, I kind of went overboard with ensuring it would be protected, considering that I live in GA as well (Athens/Macon)…and the chaotic nature of our very fickle climate cannot be overstated. Sticking a little $5 humidifier in the case did it’s job, I suppose, as I’ve not had any issues.
I learned this the hard way. Years ago when I moved into a new place, My beautiful Gibson Howard Roberts Fusion developed all sorts of issues in the first winter. The binding chipped in several places along the bound neck and a surface crack formed on the back near the heel. Broke my heart!
I've been playing guitars for 29 years and that's the rule: I always store my guitar in the winter gigbags even at home when not playing them. I NEVER leave ANY of my guitars standing in the room or hanging on the wall when not used/played cause that's exactly the best way to ruin your instrument. Period.
Well i have 3 electric guitars on a stand. In the winter i turn on the humifier and in summer when its very humid, where i live it can get humid up to 65%, i even experience it higher above 65%. But i never encountered any problems with my guitars. Been playing for 18 years and never had any problems. I keep it in stands because i play a lot, everyday.
Had a similar issue with neck cracks and live in the same area. I’ve been pumping a gallon of H2O in my room every 24 hours with a humidifier just to keep it near 50% humidity with heat around 67 degrees.
I'm not all tht far from Atlanta . The weather is pretty similar so if a person wasn't aware it wldve been easy to neglect . Even easier to kept quiet about . Thks for the information.
A few well known luthiers/builders I listen to discussed this recently and said that 35% relative humidity is where they keep their shops. The main key is to not let things dip below 30% for extended periods of time. That is where you run into trouble. 45% is probably more than is actually needed. Your acoustics could also sound a bit better with slightly less moisture.
I like what Ben said about the issues being easy to remedy, but easier to prevent. Wise words. We spend serious money on instruments... we do ourselves a favor by taking care of them.
I literally have the same Levoit humidifier in my guitar room. CAUTION: the built in hygrometer does not work well, so be proactive in turning the humidifier on and off based upon a standalone hygrometer in the room. CAUTION #2: if you have hard tap water, use distilled water in the humidifier. Otherwise you’ll get white mineral dust settling on every surface, including your guitars.
@@PTRK490 demineralized water is definitely better than tap water because it won’t produce that white mineral dust. It might have some biological impurities (bacteria, mold spores) not present in distilled water, so you’ll still have to make sure you clean your humidifier regularly to prevent the growth of that stuff.
16 years ago I purchased my first nice acoustic. A solid wood bodied Larrivée D03R. Bought it in January. Gorgeous instrument. 1200 bucks with case. Today they are well over 2 grand. Within a couple of months here in New England the bridge dried out, split and lifted off the soundboard. Back to the dealer and off to Larrivée in Canada (at the time). 300 bucks and a couple of months later, all fixed. Learned my lesson. Stays in the case with a couple of humidifier tubes during the cold dry New England winters. Never had a problem since.
So what the hell did we all do before the humidifier came along?? 🤔 I'm in Denver. As I watched this I thought of the guitars I have had over the years, here. I am going to say i have been fairly lucky in regards to some of this. I do not keep my house at some 45% humidity. The near year-round 20% has been generally kind to my guitars over the years. My wife is always boiling water for something though. I'm sure that is in some way helpful for the guitars. My classical just turned 22, has never been kept in a case, it hangs on a wall and it gets love. It is a zero problem tank from spain. My main acoustic is a "budget" Breedlove. I've had her for about 3 years now. Again, not kept in case unless traveling, hangs, gets played. Again, knock on wood - no problems. My electrics are where it gets interesting. My oldest electric is a Dean les Paul clone. It is 21 years old. I will be first to say it has been played hard. Never in its case lest traveling. Hangs on a wall (it's signed by punk icon jello Biafra, so gotta show that off, right? It has had no problems over the years. It is another tank and it has been through serious temp swings over the years; much more than my others. No buzzes. No razor fret blooms. Just a tank. Plug and play away. My Reverend is another "I don't care about the weather" guitar - I'm not sure it even goes out of tune when the seasons change. It's the guitar I tune the absolute least when I pick it up. My US made g&l; I got that at the beginning of the pandemic. It came to me pre-owned and originally from Indiana. It is straight up the problem child in my collection. As I watched your video and then ran my fingers along the edge of the fret board, while not entirely razor fret, it has suffered as a result of the altitude and wild weather CO can have year round. I just found the whole video very interesting as I seem to have some very "stable" guitars that are unfazed by temps, humidity, or altitude; but one is kind of moody and not enjoying our weather or altitude here in Mile-high City. Do instruments get altitude sickness? 🤔 Maybe the g&l needs a little extra pampering than the other guitars I have. Guess off to a luthier the g&l must go for an annual check-up. Great video, Rhett! 🤘🔥🤘
I'm over in Denver and i bet our humidity has averaged 15-20% earlier this year. My three acoustics are kept in a room that's 45-55% humidity 80% of the time! It's a struggle out west, i agree! Peace.
Worried about getting trolled in the youtube comments? Here's one- you showing your mistakes potentially prevents hundreds of others from making the same one. People don't want perfect heroes, they want to learn & understand - that's what you do, Rhett. Keep on teaching. Everybody faces these issues, from the beginner to the touring musician. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Much respect.
Pro tip for home owners with central, forced air heating; a whole house humidifier is only $700-1000. When you look at the value of your guitars it's a no brainer.
I have a whole house humidifier for that purpose. Keeps the room my guitars are in at 45-50% humidity in the winter. I live in Denver, where single digit humidity is not uncommon. $800 for whole house humidifier and installation. Totally worth it
I'll third this comment - and if you are the least bit handy with basic tools, this can be installed by the homeowner. My unit cost about $150 with about another $50 of assorted supplies. This is the second season with it and the entire house is 40 - 45% RH. The fret sprout that I was seeing on 2 of my guitars is now history.
There’s something worse than low humidity for your instruments. if you have a practice space in a basement with a sump pump, make sure that you have a good working battery backup system. On the days that it rains the hardest you are at the greatest risk for a power outage and a basement full of water. Last Fall, I was running up the basement steps carrying my gear to safety after my battery backup crapped out during a storm with a power outage. I was able to get a gas generator going before things got critical and took out my furnace, water heater, and washer and dryer. Too much water is just as bad as too little. Be careful out there!
I agree. Personally imo I've been playing 25 years. I lived in utah most that time and 10 yrs in Arizona, needless to say we do get wild swings in the desert as well where it's 90 degrees one day and 10 degrees the next, having that said I've never ever had or seen friends with these issues. I think Rhett got taken to the bank. It's possible he had these issues but not likely( that's not even mentioning I've built a couple guitars and worked custom cabinetry and hardwood furniture for 20 years) idk, just sayin
@@Epochstudios this issues are common in Michigan. We have like 10 percent humidity in the winter and 80 percent in the summer. I don't think he was taken anywhere. It would take a guitar likely a week or more to dry out from low humidity and have the wood shrink, so if you only have a day difference I think that's why you don't experience it.
I keep two humidifiers going, 24/7. I live in far West Texas where it is bone dry in the winter. The roomful of Gibson, Fenders and Marshall stacks love it at 45% - stand alone hydrometer.
Yeah originally they were planet Waves DaDario bought the rights to them and you're absolutely right those humidipaks are fantastic. By the $30 investment up front and about 18 bucks for the refills depending how humid usually about every three to six months you got to change them out you can't beat it if you got a very fairly decent guitar. And it's so easy to check you don't have to fill with water you just simply squeeze the bag if it's soft it's good if it's hard it's time to change
@@truckerkevthepaidtourist Actually, Boveda make the humidipacks for DiAddario, and they can be bought with different humidity levels, but 40-50% is what you're shooting for.
Rhett, be sure to you distilled water, or if you have a water purifier for your house or kitchen fill the humidifier with that. I hear boiled water will work too. The idea is to prevent the white powder that will form everywhere, especially on electronics. The powder is made up of the minerals in your tap water. There are gizmos you can put in the tank which will reduce the powder problem but they can end up being expensive if using year around. Another alternative is a steam humidifier but they use a lot of electricity and should never be left unsupervised because of fire hazard.
I am definitely not disagreeing but how did all of these vintage guitars, acoustic, hollow body, semi hollow body, and solid body electrics survive all these years if all of this is necessary ? I have had UPS do more damage on a shipment of a guitar than Mother Nature has done in 50 years. LOL 😂
I guess it depends on how extreme the conditions are and I get the feeling that very dry climate is the most harmful to guitars, more than humid/really humid. I live in a fairly humid city and I never had fretboard issues and neck adjustments happen in intervals of a couple years.
I bought a Gibson Les Paul Smartwood Studio from Ben, and it’s the best playing guitar that I have at the moment. I’ve built a few partscasters with roasted maple necks and those necks have been very stable over the last few winters, but the Gibson had needed some tweaking and adjustment to keep it playing great. I bought another Les Paul Smartwood as well but it doesn’t play quite as good as the one from Righteous Guitars. Great shop, and this video contains some great advice and tips on setting up a guitar to play great.
Before everyone goes out and buys humidifiers for their guitars, let's clarify the realities. A guitar is most comfortable living in the same environment (humidity-wise) it was born in. That is to say, if it was built in a desert, it prefers deserts. If it was built in a rainforest, it prefers rainforests. Also, it's the construction that is affected, not the wood itself. The wood doesn't really care about humidity. Finally, it's only when humidity "dramatically" changes from its "birth" humidity that problems may arise. You may want to keep your guitar at higher humidity if it was built at higher humidity. You may want to keep it at lower humidity if it was built at lower humidity.
Pretty terrible advice. It is true with the exception that almost all guitar builders will regulate humidity in their shop these days. 45% is the general consensus for a very good reason.
I'm in Connecticut and 45% humidity in the winter is impossible. I have a whole house humidifier and I can keep it set around 35%. Much more when it's cold outside and I get a ton of condensation on the windows. And I have good windows and 6" walls. So far no issues with electrics or acoustics other than a bit of fret sprout. Knock on wood!
I don't know why they say to depress a string at the first and twelfth fret to check string clearance - as if we play with a capo on the first fret. More likely, I believe, it is because the average nut height is too high which means that all of the strings are too high off the frets when we are playing. Hence, I've always been an advocate of zero frets. Hey, it was good enough for Chet! Lately, however, I've installed brass Guykker nuts on all my guitars and I can adjust string height anytime I want in just a few seconds. Purists say you should only use bone or antler or other special material. That makes no sense to me since only 6 notes are played over these materials - the other 120 or so notes are played over fret metal; so what's the point. When you think of all the expertise, time, effort and tools it takes to cut a nut it is far easier to use the adjustable nuts instead.
I hear ya. I have never babied my guitars but this year seems to have been exceptionally dry (Boston area.) My oldest guitar, a '79 Yamaha SG2000, which has always seemed solid as a rock, has developed a crack in the ebony fingerboard. I think it's not fatal and I plan to have an experienced luthier check it out. In the meantime I'm kinda freaked out now and I have all my guitars in one room with a tabletop humidifier going constantly. I will be much more diligent in the future.
Well this makes me feel a lot better about fighting the dryness this winter here in Canada. I had my new Tele go from perfect to razor blade fret sprout and higher action in no time lol. Ordered a Honeywell warn mist humidifier immediately. I'd be so stressed out if I owned any expensive acoustics right now.
Yes we do in northern Georgia. I have the burst water pipes to prove it. 😮 Certainly not a winter by Canadian standards, but still... We had lots of winter storms in the 1970's, 1980's. Several nasty ice storms. Ice, then snow, then more ice. My dad would put chains on the tires of our '60's Volkswagen Beetle for snow fun! 😃
QUESTION:!!! So if your room is not adequately humidified and you experience fret sprout and you cure the fret sprout by shaving the edges…. Say you then put that guitar into an adequately humidified room and the wood/neck adjusts… will/can the frets then be too tight? I don’t know the correct terminology and metal will not shrink and expand as wood does.. what happens then????
Just want to throw out a suggestion Rhett - get yourself a whole house humidifier. You can get one that is tied in to your HVAC and plumbing (more expensive, but significantly easier to maintain - just clean out and replace a few filters a year), or a cabinet unit like the large Essick Air units (they take up floor space but are easy to start with, cover 1200-1500 sqft. each on their own, but you do have to fill it up - 5 gallons of water - at least once daily, and replace filters every 3 months or so). In Richmond, VA - not too far from you - our house has radiator heat and it gets super duper dry in the winter. 18% indoor humidity. Under 30% or so, you start feeling dry and you're more liable to get sick. Also, the lower the humidity, the harder your heating has to work to keep you warm, increasing your utility costs. So... invest in a whole home humidifier. It's 100% worth it. And, bringing this back to the video - you don't have to worry about humidity drops in the winter anywhere near as much.
Good information and thanks for showing you’re human just like the rest of us. I keep my acoustics stored in cases with humidity packs. I haven’t noticed any problems so far with my electrics but you convinced me a humidifier is worth the cost.
I do the same. Acoustic in a case with an Oasis humidifier. I refill with distilled water every 3-5 days. it's kept my guitar healthy. In a recent very bad cold winter, I had to use a 2nd Oasis. I even keep the electrics in the case most of the time, only taking out the one I am playing. This year I got a mid sized AirCare MA0800 mini console whole home humidifier. It has done a splendid job, and I live just north of Toronto.
My Martin OM-28 has cracked due to improper hydration and is in the shop going through what I see your tech doing day; don't cry! Misery loves company, you are not alone.
Great video. Live in Ontario - its a swamp here in the summer and a desert (inside) in the winter. Here most all homes have forced air furance systems, and gas furnaces have bypass drum or pad style humidifiers. These are basically a chamber on the side of the furnace outlet plenum that uses warm air, passes it through a wetted drum or pad, and draws it back to the inlet plenum (bypassing the house). Almost everyone has one, but lots of people neglect them. The pad or drum is just a big foam buffer and they fifill up with minerals from the water as it evaporates, and then don't absorb water to work. MAINTAIN YOUR HUMIDIFIERS FOLKS. My house has a heat pump and heat pumps operate with lower temperature gain. For this reason, I needed a steam humidifier. It still needs maintenance (effectively it has a small boiler or kettle inside that needs replacement every couple years) but it keeps the whole house - all through the coldest cold snaps - nice and humid. Its 21° F outside today, and 50% RH inside. This house has healed guitars. Eiither way, for a few hundred bucks (or maybe 3x that for the steam units) you can avoid having only one room that you condition and keep your gear in.
If you can’t afford a humidifier or whole house humidifier, put a pan of water near each vent duct. You may not be able to control percentage of humidity, but it helps for the short term.
lol I hope most people commenting on this channel can afford at least a bedroom-sized humidifier considering some of the guitars and gear you hear about some people buying.
It does help a bit. But I found that didn't really keep up this winter, which has been colder than average for the Greater Toronto Area, so I went the whole home humidifier route.
I wonder if the wood was dried for a longer time, before assembled to a guitar in the old days, let's say before the 80ś... Almost all guitars that I have bought in the last 8-10 years have some defect due to the dry climate that we have in the north of Sweden during the winter. For electrics it is a matter of fixing the fret sprout, so not a big deal. For acoustics it is a different matter... I bought a 12-string Takamine in the US. After 6 months in my climate it was unplayable. Bought a Martin 6-string which ended up the same... Thought I would let them rest a few years and settle and then make the fret board level again. However, I recently bought a Taylor guitar from a friend. He used a simple humidifier in the sound hole, so I guessed I need to maintain that. After reading the Taylor user manual and learning what will happen to a guitar that is too dry I though I might try to add humidifiers in the Takamine&Martin guitar too - funny enough, it took about 2 months until these two guitars were perfect again! wow - I suddenly got 2 "new" guitars! Even though I hate to treat the guitars like babies forever, the lesson learned is that it is never too late to try a humidifier in your acoustic guitar, if you have issues with it!
14:00 the problem with this boring vibration is a common problem. it is a bracing that has partially unglued due to continuous fluctuations in humidity. it is resolved (at home level) first of all by identifying the low-cut point, with a mirror and a flashlight to put in the guitar hole. then it is prepared by shaping a sponge for washing dishes with scissors, in the shape of the bracing. finally, the sponge is soaked several times with glue (vinavil or titebond) and passed over the offending point.
Brilliant, and Right On Time, for someone like me. I have MOSTLY kept my guitars in case (lately have added 2-way humidity regulating devices). I have opportunity to build/rebuild my music lab. I’d LOVE to have many/all on stands - we all know, “If I see ‘em, I play ‘em…”, ri? Have wrestled these last few months whether to get an hygrometer and an humidifier. This video, “a gift of yummy goodness”, CONFIRMS for me that the answer is an unquestionable, YES. Thanks, Man!
Thank you for shining a light on this important topic. The morale of your video is that Simple preventive measures can save musicians from a ton of grief down the road. You are definitely not an idiot.
I feel you Rhett, I have had an heirloom guitar, 1976 Martin D-28 dreadnaut that my late grandfather passed down to me develop belly warp and lifting bridge due to moving from AZ to California. Sad realization to have to find some one around here i trust enough to fix my prized possession. Thanks for all your content. It has expanded my musical ability beyond what i have ever thought possible.
These all-natural guitar horror videos are always neat to watch. Doing it on your own... your results may vary! But the fact is, a good pro tech or luthier is your best bet to keeping your axe in optimal playing shape so it can continue to inspire you to play. I'm in my 45th year owning my guitar repair biz here in New England, and our shrink & swell cycle are just about as brutal as they come. Many repairs in my shop right now for fret sprout, loose frets, neck humps, loose braces, binding delam, cracks and for our winter pro set-ups. Come on by! Guitartec Repair in MA
Hi Rhett I watched this video with interest. I live in the UK and my entire guitar collection of some 18 guitars are hanging on the walls of my studio and my house. I have no air conditioning or humidifiers and I have never had any problems with any of my guitars as you mentioned. It must be a totally different climate where you are in the US to the UK. I hope you managed to resolve the problem. 🤘🤘🇬🇧
Been there done that The strap on my $6500 1946 Epiphone Deluxe broke. The guitar slid down my body, hit the floor and the neck came off. Lucky for me it was a minor repair and my Luthier was able to fix it for $400. I never played it standing again
Living in Phuket Thailand, it's hot and humid all the time. Guitar issues here revolve around the destructiveness of corrosion. Uncoated strings begin to rust in a few weeks. Elixers are mandatory. We're not concerned about humidifying guitars just stopping them from rotting
I'm in Illinois, 2 humidifiers and still have to oil my fretboard religiously, necks are staying straight, but been cold out and dry in. Informative video
Ben kind of alluded to it in the video, but just keeping the guitars in their cases goes a long way toward smoothing out some of the swings over the course of a few hours or days. I’ve also had damage before I figured that out, had a crack in the top of a much loved older dreadnaught of mine that I had to have repaired.
I have a custom-made acoustic, and it developed a loose brace and some bridge pull-up after around 25 years of ownership. This happened despite me using a whole-house humidifier to keep my house with RH in the 30s of percent range in the winter, and a case humidifier to make up the difference. It's an Olson SJ guitar, and my local luthier (also a custom builder) told me that with lightly-braced thin-top guitars, the top moves enough even with modest changes in humidity that this kind of repair is more or less inevitable over a long time frame. So at some level, depending on the type of guitar you have, you can expect to have to do this kind of repair eventually, even if you're careful about RH. A few years ago I got a (used) Journey Overhead carbon-fiber travel guitar. It's been life-changing in a modest way. It's essentially immune to weather. I just leave it out on a guitar stand, and not only does it not flex with humidity and temperature changes, it also stays in tune miraculously well. Having a good guitar that I can just leave out without concern, even in dry winter weather (and when I'm visiting family with non-humidified homes) has not only been a relief in terms of concern about weather effects. It also means I always have a good guitar *right there*, ready to pick up and pick and strum, even if it's just for a minute. So I've been playing more since I got it. -Tom
Thanks Rhett you alway's present such valuable content for both guitar knowledge and all that goes along with the musician life style; I always appreciate your insight and personal approach to every aspect of each program. Sincerely: David Paul Rivera
Excellent video. Even with a central humidifier in my house, in the winter, I can't get the house higher than 30-35% humidity, so the separate unit in the music room helps me maintain 45-50%. The white dust is annoying as heck. Maybe will try distilled water next winter.
My guitar room is quite dry in the winter (about 30%) but the room temp never fluctuates from 73°. I don’t have any issues (so far). I’ve had a J-45 for 12 years and never had an issue. This video was stressful and now I’m worried about all my guitars. 😟
Hey Rhett, I was also reluctant to do my own fret filing work until I came across the "Buzz Off" kit. Not paid by the luthier who put it together, but just have been using it for many years and it served me well. Technically it's just a few steel dowels and a sanding block cut for fret sanding. 3M 200 and 400 grit sand paper and some 0000 Steel Wool. You could buy all of this at the hardware store and build your own sanding block, but the Buzz Off kit makes it easy. I don't like using Steel Wool on my electrics, so when I have to do this I usually us the 400 and 200 grit then finish with Lizard Spit's Fret Polishing system.
Excellent video! I have 3 humidifiers in my place and still have to run the showers on hot for a few minutes to emit steam into the place to keep the humidity around 45%. It is rough when you are in a small home where the heater runs all the time when it is below freezing outside. Without the humidifiers, the humidity can easily drop below 20%! Place humidity gauges in different parts of your home for a real eye opener.
Pianos are also strongly affected by temperature and humidity. You can add a Dampp-Chaser / Lifesaver system, one model dehumidifies, another dehumidifies and humidifies as needed to keep humidity within %40 to %50. It's highly recommended to extend the life of the piano, and it also doesn't go out of tune as fast. But if you have your whole room humidity controlled within that range, you don't need the system. Always watch out for too high humidity as well as too low.
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Ben's one of the nicest , most professional dude's you'll ever meet ...he's respectful and appreciative whether you purchase a $5000.00 guitar , or a pack of strings .
👆👆 Potential winner of the year 🎁🏆🎁
This is 100% true.
“Because you didnt humidify your guitar properly”
Brb, watering my Taylor
When I first started playing guitar at 15 years old, I thought you just bought the instrument, and you were good to go. Living in Michigan with dry winters and wet springs and no knowledge of how to control humidity, the damage to my guitars soon became extensive. I also thought I was losing my chops since it was becoming so difficult to play them. I know better now after a humiliating education after taking them into the guitar shop I bought them at. There was no internet or guys like Rhett passing on helpful information in those way back times. You are doing a real service to those starting the journey, Rhett. Good job.
I’m a Michiganander too. You ain’t kidding about how dry winters can get.
Same here. St. Clair Shores, right off the lake. Dry, cold, and the wind makes it colder. The basement doesn't get much warmer than 60-62 degrees from January through most of March. Not good for guitars.
@@mikecorey8370 I’m in Monroe, not too far from you lol I completely agree. It sucks cuz this time of year is when all the new products come out and I won’t have an instrument shipped to me for this very reason. I’ve had enough guitars mailed to me at this time of year to know that it will have terrible sprout and it will have neck pocket finish cracks. This is my buying used gear locally time of year lol
Traverse City, MI for me - see my post above. A $500 plus repair just to my Larrivee acoustic!
I thought that too (Illinois for me-still 95rh in summer and probably 15rh in the winter). Like you, pre-internet, didn't know what I was doing.
God I wish this guy had a RUclips channel. I could watch him talk guitar for days 😂
Yes , everytime Rhett goes there it's a treat. He is really charismatic
Absolutely
@@benkenobi561 yup!! We need it asap!
@@i8ittoo it’s crazy, because this guy just gives Rhett the best content!!! I love all of Rhett’s videos. And personally think he is the best guitar RUclips channel out there. Ben just gives him easy amazing content !
He has a you tube channel.
Over humidified guitars can also get issues. I had the glue on a face brace lose its adhesion because it had too much humidity.
Yeah but in most of North America, it's much harder to over humidify than the other way around IMO. To over humidify, % has to rise above 60.. Whereas when it dips below 40-35% for extended periods of time you can get in trouble.
@@jfar3340 yeah I live in Houston, where I have to keep stuff in my cases to keep the RH% down most of the year. As a mainly acoustic player, we come up with all kinds of stuff to keep out guitars safe.
When you combine cold with humidity, you get oxidation on your metal parts
Blows my mind how easily he files and dresses those frets. Dude doesn't even tape off the fretboard, just goes in all casual and works magic. Must have masterful hands.
That's what I was thinking! The man is a wizard
Because there’s no finish on a rosewood fretboard, you don’t have to tape it off sometimes. Still a good idea to tape off before addressing fret spout as you can get finish chips along the edge. That guitar didn’t look like it had much finish on the neck
It's really not that hard. I used a fret leveling file to do mine, and you can feel it riding on the metal so it's easy to tell you're done without doing damage. I planned on polishing the frets and neck edge anyway so that takes care of minor scratches. What he didn't tell us is that a fret dressing file usually has a rounded edge that rides against the wood. Only the side of the file is capable of cutting.
It's the tools he's using. They're designed to only "cut" on specific sides of the file, because they're designed for fret work. Don't try what he did with the wrong tools or you're gonna have a really bad time and a torn up fretboard.
if you want a serious 'large space' humidifier, I am pretty happy with the Aircare whole house humidifer. It's about $170 but it is really doing a good job keeping my whole house at 45% ish. Tired of the crappy ultrasonic ones that leave a white dust everywhere
yup I have a different mile coming but cost me the same for 1000 ft.²
Yeah buddy. I have a Honeywell whole house humidifier 2700 sqft. Works wonders here in Pittsburgh PA. My wife’s plant room (has its own humidifier) does better too.
Exactly. I grabbed one from Menards (like Lowes or Home Depot here in the midwest) that my luthier uses. It's for 1000+ sq. ft but use it in a
I picked up an Aircare this winter, an MA800 Mini Console. It has my 2050 square foot home up to 43-45% humidity pretty constantly, and I live north of Toronto. It's a lot colder here than in Georgia. :) In fact, when the temperature hovers near freezing, it doesn't have to work too hard. We've had a few cold snaps down into the -10 to -20 celsius range this last month, though, and even then, it keeps up. It just has to work harder.
My guitars and my mom's old piano are all much happier. :) So are all our noses and eyes. Not drying out so much.
oops, I meant “different model” - a 2-gallon Vornado Element A2 Air + Steam Humidifier
Here in Alberta, 28% humidity in the house in the winter, 70% or higher humidity in the summer at times. Yup. We go from -45c in the winter to plus 38c in the summer at times. Room humidifier, sound hole humidifiers, and a large room DE-humidifier in the summer. Finished basement music room. And a humidity gauge in each guitar case to track things. Bit of work, but worth it, makes the house more comfortable for us humans too.
I've been playing guitar for 35 years and haven't come across this. Thanks for the heads up - I bought a couple of new guitars last year and suddenly the consequences of getting this wrong have risen exponentially. Thanks for the heads up!
👆👆 Potential winner of the year 🎁🎁
Sorry to hear that man. Hope it gets fixed effectively, especially with how valuable of a guitar that is.
I have 2 humidifiers running all day in my studio and can't get higher than 35% on cold days.
Same !!!! Really taking its toll on my equipment.
And you have a lot of nice guitars, so a lot of humidity needed.
@@marander512 Link ?
That's why i keep my nice martin in its case with in case humidifiers
Add a whole house humidifier if you have a central air and heating system. Cooling air will remove humidity quicker than heat. The definition of humidity...is latent heat. Everything in your home will absorb the humidity out of the air before the air is humidified.
It's weird... been playing for 56 years and I don't remember ever really having an issue with this, until this year. This winter I had 6 guitars (electrics) do this. I do all my own work so it didn't cost me anything but time and agravation but sheeze, this winter was really bad for some reason
depends on where you live and what you live in, i'm in the UK and my place seems to have a fairly stable temp / humidity thing going on.
what happened to your electics? He had a problem with his brace; electrics don't have X bracing....
@@jfar3340 that's right they don't. But they have necks with frets that pop and sprout when they're too dry.
@@dondenson3542 gotcha; fret sprout is annoying, but an easy fix compared to acoustic bracing repair
The only time I ever had weird issues with my acoustics was when they were new, and I obsessed over their environment. Forty plus years later, they are well settled, even though they take turns traversing the continent north to south year round. I get them checked regularly, and they are pronounced as being happy and stable. I’m not messing with it.
In Siberia, I have a temperature difference from +30 in summer to -30 in winter. To keep things going well with the guitars, I have a hygrometer and a humidifier in my home studio. Maintain humidity ~45%. This Riley is important!
👆👆 Potential winner of the year 🎁🎁
hope you didnt get drafted into the war bro
Just a word of caution on the ultrasonic humidifiers: if you have untreated hard water, make sure you get one that has mineral filtration so it will help remove the deposits. The filter media needs to be cleaned/treated every week or two. If you let it go too long, the mineral deposits stay in the water and get blasted into the room in suspension. You'll end up with an ultra-fine white dust all over everything. It will suck into your central air unit and clog up the filter. You'll breathe it in and you can end up with breathing problems and even heart palpitations. Use an evaporative humidifier if you can.
Yup! I have the white dust on my guitar cases and other things in my room. I used bottled distilled water, too.
Yay! Rhett is human and makes mistakes just like the rest of us. Thanks for sharing this it is a real encouragement.
Hello from Michigan! Land of 0% humidity isn’t he winter and 100% in the summer. It’s brutal on guitars and maintaining humidity with heat or A/C kicking on all the time is a constant worry of mine.
I actually paid a local luthier teach me how to address my own fret sprout because it happens so often (especially on lower end guitars with less cure time during manufacturing like Bullets from squire). Its about an hour long process that’s actually plenty fun to do. But totally agree that prevention is the key!
I really recommend the D’Addario humiditrak systems to save electrics and acoustics. (There’s a video on them on my channel btw)
And what's always funny is that the crappy instruments never have this happen to them. only the boutique and 5000 dollar ones.
lmao absolutely not
Nope, but you just don't care on the crappy instruments. LOL
they absolutely do. its just not as noticeable because they arent fine tuned to a high degree in the first place
👆👆 Potential winner of the year 🎁🏆🏆
Kind of true.... because cheap guitars are made with laminate...not real wood.
You can get into mold and condensation problems adding a humidifier to your room in very cold climates. I have a whole house humidifier which helps but my instruments will dry out during the depths of winter. Each of my guitars, basses, banjos , bouzoukis, and fiddles have humidifiers in them and I add more water weekly to the acoustic and semi-acoustic ones and bi-weekly to the solid body ones. They also stay in their case when I'm not playing them
👆👆 Potential winner of the year 🎁🎁
I’ll bet everyone after watching this video went and checked all of their guitars for these issues. I know because I literally just did it.
I'm on my way I just bought a brand new Gibson les paul standard for a retirement gift to me all my other guitars were under a $1000 and weren't built like a les paul they were bolt on necks with plenty of coating I've only had it 6 months and could tell that it's not a cheaply made guitar I wished I had got one years ago but retiring at 55 isn't bad I can still Rock and enjoy life
Note on humidifiers - the cool mist ultrasonic types will make your air very dusty and you'll have to change your HVAC filters often, because the dissolved solids in the water go into the air. Warm steam vaporizers don't have this issue, but you have to clean off the mineral scale periodically. Using distilled or RO water in either types solves this.
Nice video, here in Brazil, as a tropical region, we suffer this kind of problem with less intensity but on short periods of time. I have guitars that I need to micro adjust the truss rod almost everyday.
A fellow tupiniquim! As minhas também precisam de regulagens diárias/semanais.
My guitars also need minor adjustments daily or weekly
In Brazil we have cold mornings, scorching afternoons and rainy nights depending on the region. Guitars don't like that at all!
@@carloshc88 hahaha tamo junto
That has to be frustrating.
@@mikecorey8370 not that much. The adjustment is like 1/16 of turn. Dont hurts that much and made me quite good on telling neck reliefs
Playing in Florida from my room to outdoor events, this is mandatory viewing. I ordered my Humidors for my Novo Solus, Serus J and Martin Acoustic before the vid was finished. Thanks
Living in Las Vegas I have a room dedicated (I am fortunate) just for storing my guitars. They are all in hard shell cases (the dust here is incredible), and there are 2 room humidifiers dialed in at 45% RH. All the acoustics also have Boveda packs in the case, as sometimes I forget to put water in the humidifiers (dummy!). Also have a small space heater to keep the room at 72F. If I take a guitar out to my studio, within hours the tuning will drop 1/4 to 1/2 step…. Drying out right before my very eyes.
If us citizen would take care of climate change and not live as you all do ( you need 5 earth planet of you you continue to live as you do !), you would do not need all this ! You are, or you especially but USA the worst ecological country after QATAR ( 9 planet a year of energy and ressources !!!!). When will you wake up ? Regards from France
@@belo1971 I completely agree that we need to do a much better job here in the USA combating climate change. Still, in France there is an unimaginable amount of nuclear waste being stored “safely”, your electrical needs have escalated to the point that you are back to burning coal fired plants, and building more nuclear plants despite the governments mandate to reduce dependence to this kind of energy production. People in glass houses should not throw rocks.
@@belo1971 Instead of trying to get U.S to change why dont you push for the major world polluters like china and india to fix its laws instead of force a country that is already in the process of becoming more green. also with france being maybe a 1/3 of our population you should realize that your solution wouldnt work for us.
@@belo1971 so it's America's job to fix the planet cuz we are the only ones polluting it?! France doesn't contribute at all to climate change? It's USA lifestyle u think that's causing humidity to affect guitars? Wow..u are completely out of touch...educate yourself...your statistics are very much bullshit...fix your own problems before blaming others..
@@belo1971 France is a shit show that owes the US a great deal...protected your asses since WW1....get off your high horse and make music..leave politics out of music...
I feel for you. There’s a balance between being “nutterly” fastidious about the humidity and temp, and the reality of where you live and store the guitars. I’m at the point where I have a (new England) cycle that I go through. Humidipacks and a room humidifier for the winter to maintain 40-45% humidity from November to April and heat at 68°F, and rely on central air from June to end of September to hope to stay 75°F at 50-55% humidity (especially for my Taylor and Martin acoustics). May and October tend to be static. But yesterday i grabbed my tele and had a little pull on two fret ends I hadn’t expected…Oy
I just want to say that I learn a lot from your videos…thank you.
I bought my last guitar from Ben at Righteous a couple months back. I appreciated his patience and willingness to help find the right fit. Fantastic store if you're ever in the area.
I did, too. Ben was great. Awesome guitar shop!
Add me to this list. Went in to Righteous thinking about getting one thing for myself for a big birthday. After maybe half an hour or so of working with Ben he put something in my hands I would have never considered that just crushed it. Lucky to have him here locally.
50% humidity, 70 degrees F. is ideal, which a number of makers stress. Each of my guitars has a hard shell case with MusicNomad's Case Humitar and Humireader keeping the guitars and case woods happy. Last summer, my first all solid wood guitar shipped ground freight spent ten days on the road, New Jersey to Minnesota, through Texas and Arizona, closer to LA than Spokane. I was relieved to find no cracks, just fret sprout. which recovered after a couple weeks of the addition of a case Humitar and Humireader to the Cole Clark case. Thanks Ben! Guitar lessons...
Generally speaking, low temps are not so bad as long as the humidity is right and the low temp isn’t extreme. High temps are worse as glue starts to melt. I keep my studio at 24C/42% humidity (as close as I can, at least- 4 different humidity gauges, 2 humidifiers, a dehumidifier and air con. I live in a tropical environment.
Have you had any issues from over humidity? Where I live (in South-East Asia) it's hard to get the humidity below 55% even with aircon or a dehumidifier.
I really want to thank you for this video. It is one thing to see how to take care of your guitars and it is another to see what can happen if you don’t. And that it can literally happen to anyone. I commend your bravery. It has probably saved me money down the road.
Maybe I've just been lucky. Been playing a very nice Takamine for 34 years that I bought new. It's always hanging on the wall and played almost daily. Gets dragged around a few days a week to teach with. Recorded 2 albums with it. Even with all the use it gets it's always dusty as I live in Central Oregon where it's dry and the daily temperature changes are extreme. Had to adjust the truss rod once about 10 years ago, otherwise it just gets a fresh set of strings about once a month. Never thought about humidity.
I'm in Central Oregon as well. Dry high desert out here for sure, and this winter has really been something. Shirtsleeve weather lately, but I'll bet sub-zero temps are in the works!
Cheers from Redmond. I play in the garage (I am married) but never leave any gear there.
@@johnsonjuice32 Hey, neighbor! I'm right down the road in Prineville. I haven't been playing much lately, since my playing buddy passed away, but garage sounds better than my playing! But, no matter the skill level, it's just fun as heck, so no harm, no foul!
The winter of 2011/2012 we had a really cold winter in New England. I worked in a repair shop and we had 4-5 guitars a week come in with split tops, separating binding, cracked bracing, etc. Many of those were the more affordable acoustics that had solid wood tops with laminated back and sides. The top would expand and contract while the laminated sides and backs didn't. They'd split from the sound hole to the bridge and or where the top meets the necks.
The worst offenders were the Martin X-series. They had an scalloped A-bracing. They sounded really good but they were fragile.
Very lucky here (Scotland), I've never had to do anything seasonal with any of my guitars, in fact I've never heard of anyone having these issues here. Our climate is so temperate that we don't have such huge changes in temperature or humidity to warrant it.
Aye, same for New Zealand.
@@petesorensenguitar my part of Canada goes from -30 in the winter to +30in the summer with every type of weather in between. Issues are all we have
Same went for Germany before the climate crisis knocked on the door 😂 wait a couple of years and it'll probably be the same for Scotland 😭
I live on the Gulf Coast in Louisiana, we never have a low humidity problem, in winter our humidity is still 50% lol, we have severe high humidity all year, it will be 100% humidity most of time and not raining lol, dealing with dehumidification is hard enough, I feel bad for you guys that have to deal with both! Great video!
Wow. Here in Denver the humidity is 15-20 % on a humid day. 💧
@@SuperBroncosguy I would dry out like a fish out of water lol
@@twiztedbullet going to colorado and getting nosebleeds randomly is a thing... low humidity is a challenge.
That said, A/C in the summer in the south can easily drop into
I made that mistake last Winter. Same thing - new home, didn't realize how dry it would get. The top of my Martin HD-28 cracked, in line with the grain, all the way from the bridge to the endpin. I was devastated.
Now I keep all of my acoustic instruments in their cases with individual humidifier packs, along with a small humidifier I keep running 24/7. On a cold day I'm still struggling at around 20% humidity but along with the individual humidifiers in each case, things have been fine and I've noticed the instruments in general sound better too.
My Martin Backpacker guitar cracked on me. It's a cheap guitar, but still.
I own a Gurian JM-150. I bought it new in Portland, OR in 1977. I immediately put it in a plane and moved to Oahu for 10 years. I moved back to Portland in '88 and I've had it here since then. No thought about any humidity problems whatsoever. No neck bows. No top bellies, nothin'. Had some neck finish issues once. That's it. Go figure. God takes care of idiots.
Been there done that. Bowed tops, necks warped, fret sprout. Went through neck resets. All of it expensive. I use Humidipaks now, and keep a humidifier going in the Winter. I have a Fender 65 Reissue Jazzmaster with fret sprout, wish I had a Luthier like the gentleman in this video. Next time I'm in GA, I will pay a visit. My only exception guitar is I own a 1966 Fender Jazzmaster, I've had it since I was 15. Never had the neck adjusted, no fret sprout. The only problem it's ever had is dried out foam pickup pads. Amazing! Excellent video, and advice!
Man, I feel for you! When I bought my $800 Taylor acoustic a few years back, I kind of went overboard with ensuring it would be protected, considering that I live in GA as well (Athens/Macon)…and the chaotic nature of our very fickle climate cannot be overstated. Sticking a little $5 humidifier in the case did it’s job, I suppose, as I’ve not had any issues.
👆👆 Potential winner of the year 🎁🎁
I learned this the hard way. Years ago when I moved into a new place, My beautiful Gibson Howard Roberts Fusion developed all sorts of issues in the first winter. The binding chipped in several places along the bound neck and a surface crack formed on the back near the heel. Broke my heart!
I've been playing guitars for 29 years and that's the rule: I always store my guitar in the winter gigbags even at home when not playing them. I NEVER leave ANY of my guitars standing in the room or hanging on the wall when not used/played cause that's exactly the best way to ruin your instrument. Period.
Well i have 3 electric guitars on a stand. In the winter i turn on the humifier and in summer when its very humid, where i live it can get humid up to 65%, i even experience it higher above 65%. But i never encountered any problems with my guitars. Been playing for 18 years and never had any problems. I keep it in stands because i play a lot, everyday.
Had a similar issue with neck cracks and live in the same area.
I’ve been pumping a gallon of H2O in my room every 24 hours with a humidifier just to keep it near 50% humidity with heat around 67 degrees.
Ultrasonic humidifiers work fine if you use either distilled or RO water (reverse osmosis)... no white dust. Thanks for sharing Rhett.
Osmosis, as a demineralized water? I can't get distilled water so i'm using demineralized water. Is that okay?
@@PTRK490 Pretty well the same thing. Demineralized means no calcium, the biggest culprit re: white dust.
I'm not all tht far from Atlanta . The weather is pretty similar so if a person wasn't aware it wldve been easy to neglect . Even easier to kept quiet about . Thks for the information.
A few well known luthiers/builders I listen to discussed this recently and said that 35% relative humidity is where they keep their shops. The main key is to not let things dip below 30% for extended periods of time. That is where you run into trouble. 45% is probably more than is actually needed. Your acoustics could also sound a bit better with slightly less moisture.
I like what Ben said about the issues being easy to remedy, but easier to prevent. Wise words. We spend serious money on instruments... we do ourselves a favor by taking care of them.
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I literally have the same Levoit humidifier in my guitar room. CAUTION: the built in hygrometer does not work well, so be proactive in turning the humidifier on and off based upon a standalone hygrometer in the room. CAUTION #2: if you have hard tap water, use distilled water in the humidifier. Otherwise you’ll get white mineral dust settling on every surface, including your guitars.
I use a hot steam humidifier, (the cool mist ones create all that white dust). Once a month it gets a vinegar soak.
I can't get distilled water so i'm using demineralized water. Is that okay?
@@PTRK490 demineralized water is definitely better than tap water because it won’t produce that white mineral dust. It might have some biological impurities (bacteria, mold spores) not present in distilled water, so you’ll still have to make sure you clean your humidifier regularly to prevent the growth of that stuff.
16 years ago I purchased my first nice acoustic. A solid wood bodied Larrivée D03R. Bought it in January. Gorgeous instrument. 1200 bucks with case. Today they are well over 2 grand. Within a couple of months here in New England the bridge dried out, split and lifted off the soundboard. Back to the dealer and off to Larrivée in Canada (at the time). 300 bucks and a couple of months later, all fixed. Learned my lesson. Stays in the case with a couple of humidifier tubes during the cold dry New England winters. Never had a problem since.
Probably one of the greatest videos you have done this year, thank you.
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So what the hell did we all do before the humidifier came along?? 🤔
I'm in Denver. As I watched this I thought of the guitars I have had over the years, here. I am going to say i have been fairly lucky in regards to some of this. I do not keep my house at some 45% humidity. The near year-round 20% has been generally kind to my guitars over the years. My wife is always boiling water for something though. I'm sure that is in some way helpful for the guitars.
My classical just turned 22, has never been kept in a case, it hangs on a wall and it gets love. It is a zero problem tank from spain. My main acoustic is a "budget" Breedlove. I've had her for about 3 years now. Again, not kept in case unless traveling, hangs, gets played. Again, knock on wood - no problems.
My electrics are where it gets interesting. My oldest electric is a Dean les Paul clone. It is 21 years old. I will be first to say it has been played hard. Never in its case lest traveling. Hangs on a wall (it's signed by punk icon jello Biafra, so gotta show that off, right? It has had no problems over the years. It is another tank and it has been through serious temp swings over the years; much more than my others. No buzzes. No razor fret blooms. Just a tank. Plug and play away.
My Reverend is another "I don't care about the weather" guitar - I'm not sure it even goes out of tune when the seasons change. It's the guitar I tune the absolute least when I pick it up.
My US made g&l; I got that at the beginning of the pandemic. It came to me pre-owned and originally from Indiana. It is straight up the problem child in my collection. As I watched your video and then ran my fingers along the edge of the fret board, while not entirely razor fret, it has suffered as a result of the altitude and wild weather CO can have year round.
I just found the whole video very interesting as I seem to have some very "stable" guitars that are unfazed by temps, humidity, or altitude; but one is kind of moody and not enjoying our weather or altitude here in Mile-high City.
Do instruments get altitude sickness? 🤔
Maybe the g&l needs a little extra pampering than the other guitars I have.
Guess off to a luthier the g&l must go for an annual check-up.
Great video, Rhett! 🤘🔥🤘
I own 4 acoustic guitars and live in western Colorado. I cannot emphasize the trouble I go through. Still, they move, change, get messed up.
I'm over in Denver and i bet our humidity has averaged 15-20% earlier this year. My three acoustics are kept in a room that's 45-55% humidity 80% of the time! It's a struggle out west, i agree! Peace.
Worried about getting trolled in the youtube comments? Here's one- you showing your mistakes potentially prevents hundreds of others from making the same one. People don't want perfect heroes, they want to learn & understand - that's what you do, Rhett. Keep on teaching. Everybody faces these issues, from the beginner to the touring musician. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Much respect.
Pro tip for home owners with central, forced air heating; a whole house humidifier is only $700-1000. When you look at the value of your guitars it's a no brainer.
I have a whole house humidifier for that purpose. Keeps the room my guitars are in at 45-50% humidity in the winter. I live in Denver, where single digit humidity is not uncommon. $800 for whole house humidifier and installation. Totally worth it
I'll third this comment - and if you are the least bit handy with basic tools, this can be installed by the homeowner. My unit cost about $150 with about another $50 of assorted supplies. This is the second season with it and the entire house is 40 - 45% RH. The fret sprout that I was seeing on 2 of my guitars is now history.
I do this too, with the whole house humidifier... but then have issues with ice on the windows.
@Hoyt Christian mine is from carrier, same as the furnace.
There’s something worse than low humidity for your instruments. if you have a practice space in a basement with a sump pump, make sure that you have a good working battery backup system. On the days that it rains the hardest you are at the greatest risk for a power outage and a basement full of water. Last Fall, I was running up the basement steps carrying my gear to safety after my battery backup crapped out during a storm with a power outage.
I was able to get a gas generator going before things got critical and took out my furnace, water heater, and washer and dryer. Too much water is just as bad as too little. Be careful out there!
A loose brace isn't that big of a deal to fix. It shouldn't have to happen, but it's not nearly the end of the world.
I agree. Personally imo I've been playing 25 years. I lived in utah most that time and 10 yrs in Arizona, needless to say we do get wild swings in the desert as well where it's 90 degrees one day and 10 degrees the next, having that said I've never ever had or seen friends with these issues. I think Rhett got taken to the bank. It's possible he had these issues but not likely( that's not even mentioning I've built a couple guitars and worked custom cabinetry and hardwood furniture for 20 years) idk, just sayin
@@Epochstudios You guys get wild swings in temperature from day to night. I spent quite a bit of time out there in your area.
@@Epochstudios Agreed.
@@Epochstudios this issues are common in Michigan. We have like 10 percent humidity in the winter and 80 percent in the summer. I don't think he was taken anywhere. It would take a guitar likely a week or more to dry out from low humidity and have the wood shrink, so if you only have a day difference I think that's why you don't experience it.
I keep two humidifiers going, 24/7. I live in far West Texas where it is bone dry in the winter. The roomful of Gibson, Fenders and Marshall stacks love it at 45% - stand alone hydrometer.
Always keep humidifier packs in your acoustic guitar and it’s case! I like the Daddario ones since they’re easy to use and don’t require any water.
Yeah originally they were planet Waves DaDario bought the rights to them and you're absolutely right those humidipaks are fantastic.
By the $30 investment up front and about 18 bucks for the refills depending how humid usually about every three to six months you got to change them out you can't beat it if you got a very fairly decent guitar.
And it's so easy to check you don't have to fill with water you just simply squeeze the bag if it's soft it's good if it's hard it's time to change
@@truckerkevthepaidtourist Actually, Boveda make the humidipacks for DiAddario, and they can be bought with different humidity levels, but 40-50% is what you're shooting for.
Rhett, be sure to you distilled water, or if you have a water purifier for your house or kitchen fill the humidifier with that. I hear boiled water will work too. The idea is to prevent the white powder that will form everywhere, especially on electronics. The powder is made up of the minerals in your tap water. There are gizmos you can put in the tank which will reduce the powder problem but they can end up being expensive if using year around. Another alternative is a steam humidifier but they use a lot of electricity and should never be left unsupervised because of fire hazard.
There is a third alternative which is one that uses a cardboard pad and fan. Also avoids the dust. Search for “technology connections humidifier”
I am definitely not disagreeing but how did all of these vintage guitars, acoustic, hollow body, semi hollow body, and solid body electrics survive all these years if all of this is necessary ? I have had UPS do more damage on a shipment of a guitar than Mother Nature has done in 50 years. LOL 😂
I guess it depends on how extreme the conditions are and I get the feeling that very dry climate is the most harmful to guitars, more than humid/really humid. I live in a fairly humid city and I never had fretboard issues and neck adjustments happen in intervals of a couple years.
Hard agree. It's just more new stuff for modern guitarists to research and throw their money at instead of just practicing their guitar.
Rhett, at least you didn't sit on an acoustic guitar like I did ! Life happens ! Thanks for sharing.
5000th's of an inch?! the imperial system is a joke
5/1000ths but yes I agree
I bought a Gibson Les Paul Smartwood Studio from Ben, and it’s the best playing guitar that I have at the moment. I’ve built a few partscasters with roasted maple necks and those necks have been very stable over the last few winters, but the Gibson had needed some tweaking and adjustment to keep it playing great. I bought another Les Paul Smartwood as well but it doesn’t play quite as good as the one from Righteous Guitars. Great shop, and this video contains some great advice and tips on setting up a guitar to play great.
Before everyone goes out and buys humidifiers for their guitars, let's clarify the realities. A guitar is most comfortable living in the same environment (humidity-wise) it was born in. That is to say, if it was built in a desert, it prefers deserts. If it was built in a rainforest, it prefers rainforests. Also, it's the construction that is affected, not the wood itself. The wood doesn't really care about humidity. Finally, it's only when humidity "dramatically" changes from its "birth" humidity that problems may arise. You may want to keep your guitar at higher humidity if it was built at higher humidity. You may want to keep it at lower humidity if it was built at lower humidity.
Pretty terrible advice. It is true with the exception that almost all guitar builders will regulate humidity in their shop these days. 45% is the general consensus for a very good reason.
I'm in Connecticut and 45% humidity in the winter is impossible. I have a whole house humidifier and I can keep it set around 35%. Much more when it's cold outside and I get a ton of condensation on the windows. And I have good windows and 6" walls. So far no issues with electrics or acoustics other than a bit of fret sprout. Knock on wood!
Note to self; don’t do that
I don't know why they say to depress a string at the first and twelfth fret to check string clearance - as if we play with a capo on the first fret. More likely, I believe, it is because the average nut height is too high which means that all of the strings are too high off the frets when we are playing. Hence, I've always been an advocate of zero frets. Hey, it was good enough for Chet! Lately, however, I've installed brass Guykker nuts on all my guitars and I can adjust string height anytime I want in just a few seconds. Purists say you should only use bone or antler or other special material. That makes no sense to me since only 6 notes are played over these materials - the other 120 or so notes are played over fret metal; so what's the point. When you think of all the expertise, time, effort and tools it takes to cut a nut it is far easier to use the adjustable nuts instead.
Ok, now I'm subscribing. It takes character to post stuff like this. Kudos, Rhett!
I hear ya. I have never babied my guitars but this year seems to have been exceptionally dry (Boston area.) My oldest guitar, a '79 Yamaha SG2000, which has always seemed solid as a rock, has developed a crack in the ebony fingerboard. I think it's not fatal and I plan to have an experienced luthier check it out. In the meantime I'm kinda freaked out now and I have all my guitars in one room with a tabletop humidifier going constantly. I will be much more diligent in the future.
Well this makes me feel a lot better about fighting the dryness this winter here in Canada. I had my new Tele go from perfect to razor blade fret sprout and higher action in no time lol. Ordered a Honeywell warn mist humidifier immediately. I'd be so stressed out if I owned any expensive acoustics right now.
I live in Canada, this is the first I've heard of winter in Georgia. Must just be a figure of speech. Can you even buy winter tires in Georgia?
Yes we do in northern Georgia. I have the burst water pipes to prove it. 😮 Certainly not a winter by Canadian standards, but still... We had lots of winter storms in the 1970's, 1980's. Several nasty ice storms. Ice, then snow, then more ice. My dad would put chains on the tires of our '60's Volkswagen Beetle for snow fun! 😃
Thanks so much, I live in Tennessee and we have similar temperature and humidity swings. Really appreciate you doing this episode.
QUESTION:!!! So if your room is not adequately humidified and you experience fret sprout and you cure the fret sprout by shaving the edges…. Say you then put that guitar into an adequately humidified room and the wood/neck adjusts… will/can the frets then be too tight? I don’t know the correct terminology and metal will not shrink and expand as wood does.. what happens then????
I've never humidified my guitars and they all sound like shit... Wait a second.
Just want to throw out a suggestion Rhett - get yourself a whole house humidifier. You can get one that is tied in to your HVAC and plumbing (more expensive, but significantly easier to maintain - just clean out and replace a few filters a year), or a cabinet unit like the large Essick Air units (they take up floor space but are easy to start with, cover 1200-1500 sqft. each on their own, but you do have to fill it up - 5 gallons of water - at least once daily, and replace filters every 3 months or so).
In Richmond, VA - not too far from you - our house has radiator heat and it gets super duper dry in the winter. 18% indoor humidity. Under 30% or so, you start feeling dry and you're more liable to get sick. Also, the lower the humidity, the harder your heating has to work to keep you warm, increasing your utility costs.
So... invest in a whole home humidifier. It's 100% worth it. And, bringing this back to the video - you don't have to worry about humidity drops in the winter anywhere near as much.
Good information and thanks for showing you’re human just like the rest of us. I keep my acoustics stored in cases with humidity packs. I haven’t noticed any problems so far with my electrics but you convinced me a humidifier is worth the cost.
I do the same. Acoustic in a case with an Oasis humidifier. I refill with distilled water every 3-5 days. it's kept my guitar healthy. In a recent very bad cold winter, I had to use a 2nd Oasis. I even keep the electrics in the case most of the time, only taking out the one I am playing.
This year I got a mid sized AirCare MA0800 mini console whole home humidifier. It has done a splendid job, and I live just north of Toronto.
My Martin OM-28 has cracked due to improper hydration and is in the shop going through what I see your tech doing day; don't cry! Misery loves company, you are not alone.
Great video. Live in Ontario - its a swamp here in the summer and a desert (inside) in the winter. Here most all homes have forced air furance systems, and gas furnaces have bypass drum or pad style humidifiers. These are basically a chamber on the side of the furnace outlet plenum that uses warm air, passes it through a wetted drum or pad, and draws it back to the inlet plenum (bypassing the house). Almost everyone has one, but lots of people neglect them. The pad or drum is just a big foam buffer and they fifill up with minerals from the water as it evaporates, and then don't absorb water to work.
MAINTAIN YOUR HUMIDIFIERS FOLKS.
My house has a heat pump and heat pumps operate with lower temperature gain. For this reason, I needed a steam humidifier. It still needs maintenance (effectively it has a small boiler or kettle inside that needs replacement every couple years) but it keeps the whole house - all through the coldest cold snaps - nice and humid. Its 21° F outside today, and 50% RH inside. This house has healed guitars.
Eiither way, for a few hundred bucks (or maybe 3x that for the steam units) you can avoid having only one room that you condition and keep your gear in.
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If you can’t afford a humidifier or whole house humidifier, put a pan of water near each vent duct. You may not be able to control percentage of humidity, but it helps for the short term.
lol I hope most people commenting on this channel can afford at least a bedroom-sized humidifier considering some of the guitars and gear you hear about some people buying.
It does help a bit. But I found that didn't really keep up this winter, which has been colder than average for the Greater Toronto Area, so I went the whole home humidifier route.
I wonder if the wood was dried for a longer time, before assembled to a guitar in the old days, let's say before the 80ś... Almost all guitars that I have bought in the last 8-10 years have some defect due to the dry climate that we have in the north of Sweden during the winter. For electrics it is a matter of fixing the fret sprout, so not a big deal. For acoustics it is a different matter... I bought a 12-string Takamine in the US. After 6 months in my climate it was unplayable. Bought a Martin 6-string which ended up the same... Thought I would let them rest a few years and settle and then make the fret board level again. However, I recently bought a Taylor guitar from a friend. He used a simple humidifier in the sound hole, so I guessed I need to maintain that. After reading the Taylor user manual and learning what will happen to a guitar that is too dry I though I might try to add humidifiers in the Takamine&Martin guitar too - funny enough, it took about 2 months until these two guitars were perfect again! wow - I suddenly got 2 "new" guitars! Even though I hate to treat the guitars like babies forever, the lesson learned is that it is never too late to try a humidifier in your acoustic guitar, if you have issues with it!
14:00 the problem with this boring vibration is a common problem. it is a bracing that has partially unglued due to continuous fluctuations in humidity. it is resolved (at home level) first of all by identifying the low-cut point, with a mirror and a flashlight to put in the guitar hole. then it is prepared by shaping a sponge for washing dishes with scissors, in the shape of the bracing. finally, the sponge is soaked several times with glue (vinavil or titebond) and passed over the offending point.
Brilliant, and Right On Time, for someone like me. I have MOSTLY kept my guitars in case (lately have added 2-way humidity regulating devices). I have opportunity to build/rebuild my music lab. I’d LOVE to have many/all on stands - we all know, “If I see ‘em, I play ‘em…”, ri? Have wrestled these last few months whether to get an hygrometer and an humidifier. This video, “a gift of yummy goodness”, CONFIRMS for me that the answer is an unquestionable, YES. Thanks, Man!
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Thank you for shining a light on this important topic. The morale of your video is that Simple preventive measures can save musicians from a ton of grief down the road. You are definitely not an idiot.
Sorry to hear that happened to you and your guitars. Now we all know what to do. Thank you for the warning. 🎸❤️
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Ha! Good on you for the brutal honesty Rhett. Valuable reminder received, and I'm thinking about how I can improve my situation here.
I feel you Rhett, I have had an heirloom guitar, 1976 Martin D-28 dreadnaut that my late grandfather passed down to me develop belly warp and lifting bridge due to moving from AZ to California. Sad realization to have to find some one around here i trust enough to fix my prized possession. Thanks for all your content. It has expanded my musical ability beyond what i have ever thought possible.
These all-natural guitar horror videos are always neat to watch. Doing it on your own... your results may vary! But the fact is, a good pro tech or luthier is your best bet to keeping your axe in optimal playing shape so it can continue to inspire you to play. I'm in my 45th year owning my guitar repair biz here in New England, and our shrink & swell cycle are just about as brutal as they come. Many repairs in my shop right now for fret sprout, loose frets, neck humps, loose braces, binding delam, cracks and for our winter pro set-ups. Come on by! Guitartec Repair in MA
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Hi Rhett
I watched this video with interest. I live in the UK and my entire guitar collection of some 18 guitars are hanging on the walls of my studio and my house. I have no air conditioning or humidifiers and I have never had any problems with any of my guitars as you mentioned. It must be a totally different climate where you are in the US to the UK.
I hope you managed to resolve the problem. 🤘🤘🇬🇧
That's a good advice but this humidifier so close to the amps didn't make me fell any confident.
Living in New England I constantly have to tweak my necks... I don't even put truss rod covers on them anymore
I feel your pain! I broke my $2000 Collings OM 15+ years ago. They repaired it for so well you couldn’t even tell it had ever been broken.
Been there done that The strap on my $6500 1946 Epiphone Deluxe broke. The guitar slid down my body, hit the floor and the neck came off. Lucky for me it was a minor repair and my Luthier was able to fix it for $400. I never played it standing again
Living in Phuket Thailand, it's hot and humid all the time. Guitar issues here revolve around the destructiveness of corrosion. Uncoated strings begin to rust in a few weeks. Elixers are mandatory. We're not concerned about humidifying guitars just stopping them from rotting
I'm in Illinois, 2 humidifiers and still have to oil my fretboard religiously, necks are staying straight, but been cold out and dry in. Informative video
Oh ya I have this same problem temp change sways I did get humidifier recommended by my luthier. Glad you shared this video 🤙 keep rocking
Ben kind of alluded to it in the video, but just keeping the guitars in their cases goes a long way toward smoothing out some of the swings over the course of a few hours or days. I’ve also had damage before I figured that out, had a crack in the top of a much loved older dreadnaught of mine that I had to have repaired.
I have a custom-made acoustic, and it developed a loose brace and some bridge pull-up after around 25 years of ownership. This happened despite me using a whole-house humidifier to keep my house with RH in the 30s of percent range in the winter, and a case humidifier to make up the difference. It's an Olson SJ guitar, and my local luthier (also a custom builder) told me that with lightly-braced thin-top guitars, the top moves enough even with modest changes in humidity that this kind of repair is more or less inevitable over a long time frame. So at some level, depending on the type of guitar you have, you can expect to have to do this kind of repair eventually, even if you're careful about RH.
A few years ago I got a (used) Journey Overhead carbon-fiber travel guitar. It's been life-changing in a modest way. It's essentially immune to weather. I just leave it out on a guitar stand, and not only does it not flex with humidity and temperature changes, it also stays in tune miraculously well. Having a good guitar that I can just leave out without concern, even in dry winter weather (and when I'm visiting family with non-humidified homes) has not only been a relief in terms of concern about weather effects. It also means I always have a good guitar *right there*, ready to pick up and pick and strum, even if it's just for a minute. So I've been playing more since I got it. -Tom
Thanks Rhett you alway's present such valuable content for both guitar knowledge and all that goes along with the musician life style; I always appreciate your insight and personal approach to every aspect of each program.
Sincerely: David Paul Rivera
Excellent video. Even with a central humidifier in my house, in the winter, I can't get the house higher than 30-35% humidity, so the separate unit in the music room helps me maintain 45-50%. The white dust is annoying as heck. Maybe will try distilled water next winter.
Get a humidifier that isn’t ultrasonic and you won’t have the dust. Search RUclips for technology connections humidifier.
My guitar room is quite dry in the winter (about 30%) but the room temp never fluctuates from 73°. I don’t have any issues (so far). I’ve had a J-45 for 12 years and never had an issue.
This video was stressful and now I’m worried about all my guitars. 😟
Hey Rhett, I was also reluctant to do my own fret filing work until I came across the "Buzz Off" kit. Not paid by the luthier who put it together, but just have been using it for many years and it served me well. Technically it's just a few steel dowels and a sanding block cut for fret sanding. 3M 200 and 400 grit sand paper and some 0000 Steel Wool. You could buy all of this at the hardware store and build your own sanding block, but the Buzz Off kit makes it easy. I don't like using Steel Wool on my electrics, so when I have to do this I usually us the 400 and 200 grit then finish with Lizard Spit's Fret Polishing system.
I love watching this guy work!
Excellent video! I have 3 humidifiers in my place and still have to run the showers on hot for a few minutes to emit steam into the place to keep the humidity around 45%. It is rough when you are in a small home where the heater runs all the time when it is below freezing outside. Without the humidifiers, the humidity can easily drop below 20%! Place humidity gauges in different parts of your home for a real eye opener.
Pianos are also strongly affected by temperature and humidity. You can add a Dampp-Chaser / Lifesaver system, one model dehumidifies, another dehumidifies and humidifies as needed to keep humidity within %40 to %50. It's highly recommended to extend the life of the piano, and it also doesn't go out of tune as fast. But if you have your whole room humidity controlled within that range, you don't need the system. Always watch out for too high humidity as well as too low.
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