So after playing some cheaper acoustics for years I finally upgraded to a nice entry level Taylor last fall and wow this thing sounds beautiful! I really want to take care of it though and have been reading that humidity levels matter quite a bit, which makes sense as it's wood duh. Well my humidity has been about 28-30% in my closet where I keep the guitar in its soft case. Is it gonna crack? I looked it over today and it all seems perfectly fine, but I went ahead and ordered a humidifier to place in the bag/strings meant for acoustics. Am I being too careful? How long can guitars survive poor conditions? Not sure if it matters, but it has a walnut back (model 114CEW).

Here's a pic of the gee-tar

https://www.amazon.com/Dampit-...it+guitar+humidifier

I also keep my house well humidified in the winter.

One guitar can survive decades of poor conditions while another will experience issues. I have a mid-1990s Guild D4 which has never been in a properly conditioned space yet there are zero issues with it. I see guitars all the time which need neck resets, which are not specifically humidity-related, but the wood did move from the original build.

The in-case humidity thing, the sponge thing? That can't hurt and would probably help. It will help keep the strings at a consistent action through the seasons (some players have a winter bridge saddle and a summer bridge saddle) and also keep the top happy. Less chance of bridge separation or top crack.

Playing guitars at a local shop, their better guitars are in a small room with the humidifier running all the time. They seem to sound better properly humidified. Direct experience - a dry violin will change tone markedly to the better when introduced to a properly humidified environment.

Natatoriums are great places to play. Fine acoustics. And the chicks dig it.

Your house is a little drier than is ideal, but not a crisis level of dryness. 45 to 55% humidity is perfect.

The in-case sponge things help, but check on them frequently - you'll be surprised how fast they dry out. The best solution is a humidified storage cabinet, but that isn't always a real option for one guitar unless it is a pre-war Martin worth $75K.

My in-case humidifiers are 35mm film canisters with a bunch of holes drilled in them with a piece of sponge.

Nice guitar. I also have a Taylor. Mine is 25 years old now.

My father has a 1961 D28, a 1953 SJ45, a few other newer Martin D's, a 1975 ES335, various Strats and Teles and Les Pauls...

He has never done anything special about the humidity surrounding his guitars. They live in their cases in a room in their house.

Now, we live in Georgia so its quite humid outside pretty much all of the time...

That's drier than you'd like but I do not believe it would be likely to cause problems with such little exposure.

Sounds like other members have humidification techniques covered so I'll chime in with something else: be careful not to let the guitar change temperatures suddenly. If it sits in your car outside overnight in the cold and you bring the guitar inside, let it acclimate to the inside temperature before opening the case. Sudden temperature changes can cause cracking or finish checking.

I've been playing guitar for 26 years now with a stable of 3 Martins (D-15, D-28, D-18) and a Yamaha. Haven't had an issue with humidity but then again we typically don't here in Florida.

Big topic that has come up before:
Basically, guitars sound best bone dry (my opinion ? ....but I see it repeated elsewhere). But some guitars can't take the stress if they were built in a more humid environment.
Controlled humidity is "safer", but I have never had the patience to piss around with that, and I live in Utah (humidity usually about 8% in winter) . My guitars all sit out on stands and I have only ever had problems with one of them.
I actually did start humidifying my house, but only a few years ago, and for my own skin health, not the guitars.

As I understand it, anything >30% is what you're looking for. As has been said though, it kind of depends on the guitar.

I have two Martins (6 and 12 string). The six string is well lacquered (or whatever coating they put on it) and is essentially unaffected by humidity even with the woodstove in the winter. The twelve string, on the other hand, will start to warp on top if I don't keep it in the case with a humidifier in the winter. It doesn't have that lacquered finish and, of course, there is much more tension on it.

I have a couple of Taylors and I use this as my humidifier on both. I like that it contained and unlikely to leak.

https://www.amazon.com/Oasis-O...ds=guitar+humidifier

This may sound crazy but in the winter I will put my guitar in the bathroom when I am going to fill up the Jacuzzi and soak my old bones. The room gets steamy and all the glass and mirrors are soaked. I do this for an hour or so every couple of weeks. I had a guitar instructor that said to put the guitar outside in the summer under the protection of the porch when it gets humid and we have a thunderstorm. It does swell the wood, I have never had any of our guitars split and I'm the only one in the family (6 guitars) that does this.

quote:

Originally posted by LincolnSixEcho:
Is it gonna crack? I looked it over today and it all seems perfectly fine, but I went ahead and ordered a humidifier to place in the bag/strings meant for acoustics. Am I being too careful? How long can guitars survive poor conditions?

First off, welcome to the Taylor club!

Second, Bob Taylor has imparted a fair amount of panic into the guitar community about humidification levels for acoustics in his efforts to educate. They've recommended or produced a number of different humidifiers over the years, but the truth is most soundhole humidifiers, properly maintained, will do an admirable job of keeping your guitar in good shape. Planet Waves humidifier is what my circle seems to prefer and recommend.

IIRC, and if things haven't changed, the 100 series doesn't come with a hardshell case. You want one as that's the best protection for the guitar against rapid heat and humidity changes.

I highly recommend against following anecdotal internet advice about leaving your guitar on a sunny porch or taking it into a sauna. Hell, Bill Rice himself was telling me about a solid top Takamine that he bought in the 70's and let it sit in a recording studio and wouldn't let anyone play it or touch it until it had soaked up a decade's worth of sound waves "and was properly seasoned and broke-in." That's not how guitars work or break in. If it sounds extreme and unreasonable, it likely is.

In conclusion, get a hardshell case, use and monitor your humidifier, pay attention to swelling or warping top, and don't worry too hard about it. Generally, your first clue is going to be a change in the action, which means the neck or the top have moved and thrown off the geometry between the bridge and fretboard.

To combat that, it's more important to follow this rule: If you wouldn't leave a toddler there, don't leave your guitar there, i.e. in a parked car or in the trunk, outside in the heat, or anything else like that. When you take the guitar somewhere in your hardshell case, leave it in there as long as you can to acclimate. It's not so much the temperature or humidity level that causes problems with guitars, but the rapid changes in them will warp necks or tops, or cause finish checking.

What you don't want to do is neglect it, and in the efforts to not neglect it, you also don't wanna over-humidify it. For what it's worth, I lived in Cocoa Beach, Florida when I got my 2009 414CE, and we struggled to keep our apartment from feeling like a swamp at times. I've never owned a case humidifier, even though I probably should. I haven't had it out of the case more than a handful of times in the last five years in the Puget Sound area, which despite "all the rain" (), the air is really dry. My guitar shows no signs of either dryness or underhumidification. It lives in the case, though.

Enjoy your new Taylor.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
I have two Martins (6 and 12 string). The six string is well lacquered (or whatever coating they put on it) and is essentially unaffected by humidity even with the woodstove in the winter. The twelve string, on the other hand, will start to warp on top if I don't keep it in the case with a humidifier in the winter. It doesn't have that lacquered finish and, of course, there is much more tension on it.

In point of fairness, every Martin 12 string, if it lives long enough to tell the tale, the action is going to creep ridiculously high, and for several reasons that a Taylor won't.

The first, is the neck joint. Taylor neck joints are bolted. Martins are hide glue. Traditional, but so is the neck creep. The second reason is it's the same issue with the glue on the bracing and bridge. Vintage Martin 12 strings that become unplayable generally need to go back to Martin for a neck reset and often a bridge reset and bracing work to accompany, as the string tension pulls everything apart when the glue gets soft, and since new Martins are made much the same way as the 60's and 70's vintage guitars I've had through my hands, it stands to reason that they do, and will have the same problems. And those things have more to do with the construction of their instruments than any ambient humidity level, and what you would have to do with a Martin to keep it playable, you wouldn't have to worry as much about with a Taylor. Taylors also have a bit stronger bracing, from what I remember, and even after I stopped paying attention, they changed their bracing again to further strengthen the top.

Heat is the much bigger enemy of all acoustic guitars than is humidity. You can gently re-humidify a dry acoustic that's been neglected and sometimes fix what went wrong. A Martin that's gotten warm enough to soften the glue and let the neck or bridge shift from string tension is going to generally have to go back to the factory to be made right again.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
As I understand it, anything >30% is what you're looking for. As has been said though, it kind of depends on the guitar.

I have two Martins (6 and 12 string). The six string is well lacquered (or whatever coating they put on it) and is essentially unaffected by humidity even with the woodstove in the winter. The twelve string, on the other hand, will start to warp on top if I don't keep it in the case with a humidifier in the winter. It doesn't have that lacquered finish and, of course, there is much more tension on it.

Remember that no guitar is finished inside the body. They can all absorb and give up a lot of moisture to outside conditions. As someone noted, some guitars seem to be less sensitive than others. There is no accounting for which is which.

Some less expensive guitars have laminated sides and backs. I believe they might be more resistant to cracking given that build process. However, the top is probably solid, making it susceptible to cracking.

Kyser sound hole humidifier

check out this place...

http://americanmusicfurniture.com/

I am getting one

quote:

Originally posted by 6guns:
Some less expensive guitars have laminated sides and backs. I believe they might be more resistant to cracking given that build process. However, the top is probably solid, making it susceptible to cracking.

Taylor 100 series is solid top and laminated back and sides. You don't get into all solid woods until the 300 series.

Good advice guys. Looks like I'm not in that bad of shape and the guitar should be okay though I ordered a hard case and a humidifier so I'll be extra safe in storage. Thanks to all who chimed in.

Yeah man, don't overthink it, just play it and enjoy it.

Also, you inspired me to break mine and out mess around with it some today, so thanks for posting in that regard.

^^^^right on man!