Humidity Kills Guitars
Humidity kills guitars. No secret there; everyone knows that. What everyone doesn't know is what to do about it. If you get the chance to talk to an experienced luthier, ask them about humidification. Ask them to tell you the horror stories about owners thinking they were doing what's best for their instrument; what so many gadget marketing campaigns told them was best. They'll tell you about the cracks from being too dry, for sure. But the real horrors... the ones that give them bad dreams... those are from OVER humidification. Too much humidity, for too long, will do unspeakable damage to an acoustic guitar.
What causes too much humidity? Environment? Storage? Heat? Yes, of course. But the worst offender? In case humidification devices. People will say they've used them all their lives and never had an issue. Ok, good. Not everyone will. But, and it's a big but, when it goes wrong, it goes really, really wrong. Over humidification warps and softens woods, degrades glue bonds, mucks up finishes, rusts any metal parts, and, overall, destroys guitars.
Our clients often ask what the best way to store their guitars is. There are lots of opinions. We're not saying all of them are wrong and ours is right. We're just giving our opinion and our experience. The best is out of the case, hung by the neck in a high quality hook, in a properly humidified room (between 40-60%). Some prefer stands over neck hooks- ok, but be sure whatever padding on the stand is non-reactive to your finish (some stand padding can react with nitro over time, for example). If you have to, or want to store it in the case, it's wise to detune it at least a hair, and CONTROL humidity in the case.
The key word is control. Just adding or just subtracting isn't the answer. We tested a lot of different items that claimed to control humidity in a case. We sealed them each in a case with a wireless hygrometer and monitored the humidity over a week's time. We only found one that actually controlled humidity properly. After our test, we bought some more of them and put them in our own cases- so, this isn’t a “Do what I say, not what I do” scenario.
You may have guessed by now, but we’re talking about Boveda. They were not only the sole product that properly controlled humidity, but over the week, we never saw the humidity inside the case change to more than 51% or less than 49%- pretty much exactly what they claim to keep the humidity at. So, if you have to, or want to, keep your guitar in a case (wall cases too), it’s worth putting Boveda in there too. They’re not expensive, last a long time, and just may save your guitar from being one of those horror stories luthiers will tell you about… if you ask.
