What is the ideal humidity level for a guitar?Do all woods require the same level of humidity? Do laminates need the same levels?
A: With winter approaching, along with the ensuing use of dry heat to warm your house, it’s time to have a conversation about the potentially detrimental effects of humidity. Maintaining your guitar’s humidity level is key in avoiding lots of headaches, from a fluctuating setup to potentially expensive structural repairs.While it might sound like a hassle, it’s pretty simple to put into practice.The driest time of year varies from one area of the world to another, but most of us need to think about it when the heat goes on and the air in our homes is much drier.Did you ever wake up with a dry mouth or irritated sinuses in the winter?Imagine how unhappy that makes your guitar!
You can start by considering where you generally keep the guitar.In a way, it’s really safest to stash a guitar in its case—no enthusiastic tail wagging will knock it off it’s stand, no tipsy dinner guest will take it off the wall to show you their Chuck Berry impression.(Wait, that’s just
Acoustic Soundboard: Humidity—friend And Foe
Friends?)Personally, I find that I’m always more likely to pick up a guitar and play when I have one out and ready, and that’s the most important thing to me, so I keep my beat-up 1930s Kalamazoo hanging on the wall in my living room year round. But that makes it subject to the dry humidity.
It helps to know the relative humidity of the place where you keep your instrument.Buying an inexpensive digital hygrometer is a smart way to find that out- I keep one on a bookshelf near my hanging guitar.A good set of numbers to aspire to is 50 percent humidity at 70 degrees.Many of us would have a hard time making that a reality, so do what you can—generally 40-60 percent humidity is optimal.To help maintain that level, I keep an inexpensive humidifier running in that room in the driest months.Once you get into the habit, it’s not hard to remember to refill the humidifier each day—in fact, I notice that I feel better with a higher relative humidity in the air, too!
If you will be keeping your guitar closed in its case, the concerns are a little different.There are lots of great in-case humidifiers available and some cases even have them built in to the lid.The gel-based ones are fantastic in that you have to think about them less often—just be careful when refilling them, and be sure to check on them every once in a while to make sure none of the gel has tipped out.The sponge variety are probably the safest, but they absolutely need to be refilled every two to three days—you don’t want a dry sponge in your guitar sucking up the moisture, since that would be counterproductive.
Guitars And Humidity: What You Actually Need To Know — Haze Guitars
Yes, even solid-body electrics and acoustic guitars with laminate or composite back and sides need a helping hand. For one, they all have wooden necks and fingerboards—a telltale sign of dryness is your fret ends poking out when a fingerboard shrinks.Many newer guitars with composite backs and sides still have a solid wood top, a wooden bridge, and a wooden fingerboard—all of which can crack and separate when they fluctuate at different rates with humidity change.Some guitars will be more sensitive to humidity changes than others—those guitars, especially new ones constructed with kiln dried wood, go through a more sensitive first few seasons and then become more stable.
The takeaway is that, yes, you should humidify your guitar, and no, it’s not that complicated. Once you have that under control, you can get back to the good part: playing it.
Mamie Minch is the co-owner of Brooklyn Lutherie and an active blues player. She is the former head of repair at Retrofret Guitars.The Guitar Pages is reader supported. When you purchase products through the links on this site, we may earn commission. We appreciate the support! Learn More.
Amazon.com: D'addario Accessories Guitar Humidifier
Humidity is a term used to describe the amount of water vapor present in air. Ok, that’s pretty simple right? If there is very little water vapor in the air, then it will feel very dry outside and your skin might feel itchy. Same with a lot of water vapor in the air, you will probably feel like you’re in a hot jungle. We’re probably all familiar with the differences of these two and how much they can affect our bodies. Well a wood instrument is no different. Humidity has a huge impact on instruments, especially acoustic guitars, and it is important that we know how to care for our guitars properly, and catch the warning signs of improper humidification early.
According to Taylor, the American guitar maker, an acoustic guitar wants to be around 45 – 55% humidity [source]. Interestingly enough, ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) recommends keeping your home at 45 – 55% humidity. This is actually the most healthy humidity range as it is the least hospitable for bacteria, viruses, and other health issues. Check out this link for a great infographic on humidity and your home [link].
In the summers we have to look out for high humidity, and in the winters we have to be on the watch for low humidity. Especially if you heat your home with a wood stove. This saps moisture from the air and can cause serious damage to instruments if care isn’t taken. I spent years testing different types of humidifiers, bringing my guitars into the bathroom when I showered (yes, seriously), and worrying about how dry my guitars were without ever actually knowing the humidity. The best thing to do is pick up a hygrometer. Amazon has a bunch of great digital ones for around $10. They’re well worth the money so you’re not guessing anymore about whether to boil a pot of water on the stove, or sprinkle everything in a thin layer of salt. This will help not only your instruments, but also you health and the rest of your home.
Using A Guitar Humidifier And Other Guitar Humidity Tips
Relative humidity is the ratio of actual moisture in the air to the maximum amount of moisture the air will hold at its present temperature. Warmer air has the ability to hold more moisture. So if the temperature increases and the absolute moisture increases at the same ratio, the relative humidity will stay the same. In winter when the temperature decreases, the absolute humidity also decreases. However, this may not be a bad thing as the colder winter air has less ability to hold moisture. Remember, it is the ratio of water in the air to the air’s ability to hold water at a given temperature. It’s important to note that hygrometers measure relative humidity. So what you see on the meter should be used to determine if you need to humidify or not.
So again it is the hygrometer’s reading that is important here. If the temperature decreases and the relative humidity remains constant, then your guitar’s wood will not move around. Workshopcompanion.com has some awesome information about wood and how it reacts to humidity changes. According to them, quartersawn wood is the least susceptible to humidity changes. Thankfully, acoustic guitar tops are made of (typically spruce) quartersawn wood, and the nicer and more uniform the grain of the top wood, the less it’s going to move around with humidity changes. When wood shrinks, it does so mostly across the grain. So if you’re imagining a guitar’s top, it will tend to shrink in thickness more so than in length or width. If a grain is not perpendicular to the cut, it is more likely to move in a side to side manner and cause serious damage. Higher quality guitar tops are generally less likely to damage with humidity changes because of uniformity of perpendicular grain.
When a tree is alive, it is made up of roughly 72% water. As it dries out, the wood will settle between 4% to 11% water content. Once the wood dries, it will never exceed 28% water content no matter how high the relative humidity. Interestingly, wood gains or loses about 1% water content with every 5% of change in relative humidity. By the time our guitars are built, the wood has been well dried and even though 1% doesn’t sound like a lot of movement, it’s enough to cause damage if we don’t take care to properly humidify. [source]
High Action And High Humidity
According to Martin Guitars, “Martin keeps the factory at a constant 45-55 percent humidity and 72-77 degrees Fahrenheit. If either humidity or temperature get far away from these factory conditions, your guitar is in danger.” [source] Thankfully, the humidity that guitars are built in is the same as the recommended humidity for your home. Keep your home in the 45-55 percent humidity range, and your health and instruments will thank you.
Now, using a large humidifier in your home is a great idea when it’s dry out. However, this may not be enough to get the humidity in the magic range, especially if
Humidity is a term used to describe the amount of water vapor present in air. Ok, that’s pretty simple right? If there is very little water vapor in the air, then it will feel very dry outside and your skin might feel itchy. Same with a lot of water vapor in the air, you will probably feel like you’re in a hot jungle. We’re probably all familiar with the differences of these two and how much they can affect our bodies. Well a wood instrument is no different. Humidity has a huge impact on instruments, especially acoustic guitars, and it is important that we know how to care for our guitars properly, and catch the warning signs of improper humidification early.
According to Taylor, the American guitar maker, an acoustic guitar wants to be around 45 – 55% humidity [source]. Interestingly enough, ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) recommends keeping your home at 45 – 55% humidity. This is actually the most healthy humidity range as it is the least hospitable for bacteria, viruses, and other health issues. Check out this link for a great infographic on humidity and your home [link].
In the summers we have to look out for high humidity, and in the winters we have to be on the watch for low humidity. Especially if you heat your home with a wood stove. This saps moisture from the air and can cause serious damage to instruments if care isn’t taken. I spent years testing different types of humidifiers, bringing my guitars into the bathroom when I showered (yes, seriously), and worrying about how dry my guitars were without ever actually knowing the humidity. The best thing to do is pick up a hygrometer. Amazon has a bunch of great digital ones for around $10. They’re well worth the money so you’re not guessing anymore about whether to boil a pot of water on the stove, or sprinkle everything in a thin layer of salt. This will help not only your instruments, but also you health and the rest of your home.
Using A Guitar Humidifier And Other Guitar Humidity Tips
Relative humidity is the ratio of actual moisture in the air to the maximum amount of moisture the air will hold at its present temperature. Warmer air has the ability to hold more moisture. So if the temperature increases and the absolute moisture increases at the same ratio, the relative humidity will stay the same. In winter when the temperature decreases, the absolute humidity also decreases. However, this may not be a bad thing as the colder winter air has less ability to hold moisture. Remember, it is the ratio of water in the air to the air’s ability to hold water at a given temperature. It’s important to note that hygrometers measure relative humidity. So what you see on the meter should be used to determine if you need to humidify or not.
So again it is the hygrometer’s reading that is important here. If the temperature decreases and the relative humidity remains constant, then your guitar’s wood will not move around. Workshopcompanion.com has some awesome information about wood and how it reacts to humidity changes. According to them, quartersawn wood is the least susceptible to humidity changes. Thankfully, acoustic guitar tops are made of (typically spruce) quartersawn wood, and the nicer and more uniform the grain of the top wood, the less it’s going to move around with humidity changes. When wood shrinks, it does so mostly across the grain. So if you’re imagining a guitar’s top, it will tend to shrink in thickness more so than in length or width. If a grain is not perpendicular to the cut, it is more likely to move in a side to side manner and cause serious damage. Higher quality guitar tops are generally less likely to damage with humidity changes because of uniformity of perpendicular grain.
When a tree is alive, it is made up of roughly 72% water. As it dries out, the wood will settle between 4% to 11% water content. Once the wood dries, it will never exceed 28% water content no matter how high the relative humidity. Interestingly, wood gains or loses about 1% water content with every 5% of change in relative humidity. By the time our guitars are built, the wood has been well dried and even though 1% doesn’t sound like a lot of movement, it’s enough to cause damage if we don’t take care to properly humidify. [source]
High Action And High Humidity
According to Martin Guitars, “Martin keeps the factory at a constant 45-55 percent humidity and 72-77 degrees Fahrenheit. If either humidity or temperature get far away from these factory conditions, your guitar is in danger.” [source] Thankfully, the humidity that guitars are built in is the same as the recommended humidity for your home. Keep your home in the 45-55 percent humidity range, and your health and instruments will thank you.
Now, using a large humidifier in your home is a great idea when it’s dry out. However, this may not be enough to get the humidity in the magic range, especially if
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