rags Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 So, the back story is I moved into an older apartment building this summer, and brought my guitars along. During the summer, it was blistering hot in NC, and thusly didn't use the heater any. But it's starting to get chilly, and I'm wanting to seek refuge from those frigid mornings. I've been afraid the steam furnaces we have here in this building might not be good for my acoustic guitars, I haven't used them too much...especially after finding my Martin severely out of tune, which has never happened before. I thought it might be messing with the amount of humidity in the room. The guitars are on the opposite side of the very large room, but should I maybe remove them from the room for the winter? Or do you think that maybe they would be okay in their cases? Thanks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
anthony Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 My suggestion is just to monitor it. Buy one of those small humidity gauges made for cigars and keep track of what is going one, humidity-wise. You wanna be 40%-50%. If it dips, you can use a small room humidifier (like the kind for sick people), or one of those planet waves soundhole dealy-bobs. If it is too humid, look at those de-humdifier thingys. Silica gel packs do the same thing. Whatever the huimidity, always good to keep in case. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
In a little rowboat Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 Acoustics certainly react to the conditions you describe as a organic material, but your real concern is heat, not humidity...in fact a fair amount of humidity will actually be healthy for you acoustics as long as you keep them away from the heat source, and even worse, dry heat is the devil... Better to hang on a wall than hold in a case...you will nead to retune occasionally, nature of the beast... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ralph Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 What part of NC? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmait Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 >Better to hang on a wall than hold in a case Why is that? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
In a little rowboat Posted November 6, 2008 Share Posted November 6, 2008 >Better to hang on a wall than hold in a case Why is that?3 reasons, all a bit subjective: 1) Most people believe that guitars 'open up' over time...the only way for this to happen is to have a guitar exposed to the elements (air, light, normal humidity), wood is a living material in this regard...but the most important way to open them up is to play them 2) If they're in the case, they don't get played as much. The ones on the wall are the ones you will grab and play.Some of the floor stands for two and more guitars are NOT stable and make expensive noises when they fall over. 3) I do it because it looks terrific and any girl who walks in can't help but get excited. I used to have them in stands but that takes up a lot of floor space and I was always worried about damaging them when they were at foot level. If you have some awesome guitars then why would you ever want them in a case where no one can see them? It's really not a question of functionality or safety, it's more of a display thing. Just be careful when hanging them and if you screw them securely in to a stud then you really have nothing to worry about. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rags Posted November 6, 2008 Author Share Posted November 6, 2008 Yeah, I've got them all mounted up on the walls...my roommate has an asshole cat that doesn't mix well with unstable objects. I'll just play it by ear and see how it goes. I live in western Raleigh, right by NCSU campus. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Golden Smoghead Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Please tell me you sing "Wagon Wheel" at the top of your lungs whenever you're driving on I-95 back towards school. ( ) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rags Posted November 8, 2008 Author Share Posted November 8, 2008 Sounds a hell of a lot like growing up around here. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rags Posted December 21, 2008 Author Share Posted December 21, 2008 An update: we've had a typical North Carolina December so far, with really fluctuating temperatures, and I don't think the conditions have been the finest for guitars. I've noticed one of them in paticular (the Martin, augh!) being sharp after a while, and maybe it's just me worrying but it looks like the soundboard is moving a little under the bridge. The action is definitely off, I just had it set up a month or so ago. I'm considering running it down the street to the tech to see if he can assuage my worries. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
In a little rowboat Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 An update: we've had a typical North Carolina December so far, with really fluctuating temperatures, and I don't think the conditions have been the finest for guitars. I've noticed one of them in paticular (the Martin, augh!) being sharp after a while, and maybe it's just me worrying but it looks like the soundboard is moving a little under the bridge. The action is definitely off, I just had it set up a month or so ago. I'm considering running it down the street to the tech to see if he can assuage my worries. weird, if the soundboard is lifting a bit from weather, usually the guitar goes flat not sharp...mmmm, do what you can to protect those babies j Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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