Humidity and Electric guitars

veji

veji

Active member
Do Humidity for example during the cold dry winter months and humid hot summers--do they effect the electric guitars?
I have a few electric guitars -- survived long dry winters and hot humid summer with no issues other than a truss rod adjustments. No sprouted frets or warped pickguards... now i have some recent guitars that have sprouted/sharp frets and warped pickguards.
I had a discussion with several guitar techs and their seems to conflicting ideas on this.

---you dont need to do anything with electric guitars all year round, if you humidify them you will corrode the electronics and pickups
or
----you have to humidify your electric guitars all year round or the wood would shriink. Electric guitars are as sensitive to humidity changes as acoustic guitars
thoughts? advice and what do you do to maintain your electric guitars?
 
They're 100% susceptible to humidity/temp changes. I moved into a new house with a brand new high efficiency furnace, and the first winter I had bad fret sprout on every guitar. I had to put them all into cases with humidity packs for weeks. Now I close the vents in the room during the winter and make sure I leave the door open.
 
Depending upon where you live, humidity can have an effect on any guitar. I have a good whole home humidification system for the winter and a dehumidifier in the basement for the summer months. I use a room humidifier to help supplement to keep it at an acceptable level in the winter months when it gets colder. If you start feeling fret ends, then you know it's too dry. Usually I will put those guitars into their cases with some type of small case humidifier.
 
PBGas said:
Depending upon where you live, humidity can have an effect on any guitar. I have a good whole home humidification system for the winter and a dehumidifier in the basement for the summer months. I use a room humidifier to help supplement to keep it at an acceptable level in the winter months when it gets colder. If you start feeling fret ends, then you know it's too dry. Usually I will put those guitars into their cases with some type of small case humidifier.
Click to expand...
What small case humidifier
 
I have 17 guitars on the walls in the music room - both acoustic and electric, as it is so much easier to play all of them with them out and let's face it - it looks pretty cool. I live in Arizona, so I have a room humidifier going all year round, keeping the relative humidity at 45%. I have never had an issue with fret sprout or any type of corrosion on the metal parts. If you look at what most manufactures recommend, it is between 40%-50%.
 
High humidity (like here in Louisiana) will wreck frets and hardware quite quickly in my experience

I'm on my third floyd rose on my oldest guitar :(
 
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veji said:
What small case humidifier
Click to expand...

I used one of these cheap Herco units. You just have to soak it every couple of weeks to keep the moisture level up but it works decently when in the case. My PRS that has a roasted neck doesn't move at all so all good as I have at least one guitar on the wall ready to play.
herco-guitar-humidifier-themusicstandca-261902_500x.jpg
 
I bought a J frog strat. Frankenstein graphic. Came from Arizona. Really dry. Next was twisted. So it goes both sides the sword
 
Being in Florida (moving real soon)
I understand guitars & humidity rather well.
You might as well ‘couple’ speakers & humidity along with it,
because if it’s humid enough to affect the guitars
intonation,
then it’s definitely affecting the speaker cones.
That sound and feeling makes me feel like I’m crawling in my own skin
( and I can’t get out )
My comment pertains to the playing a outdoor gig with a live band in Florida component of it.
-Due to performing HELLSCAPING,
(landscaping) in Florida for decades,
everytime I hear the song
More Human Then Human,…,
I just cringe and sorta’ chant:
“More Humid then Humid” over & over..,
hoping & PLEADING with Mother Nature that
this year the humidity won’t be as bad as last years humidity…....?-





Wishful thinking.
 
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Dino 939 said:
Being in Florida (moving real soon)
I understand guitars & humidity rather well.
You might as well ‘couple’ speakers & humidity
because if it’s humid enough to affect the guitars
intonation,
then it’s definitely affecting the speaker cones.
That sound and feeling makes me feel like I’m crawling in my own skin
( and I can’t get out )
Due to performing HELLSCAPING,
(landscaping) in Florida for decades,
everytime I hear the song
More Human Then Human,…,
I just cringe and sorta’ chant:
“More Humid then Humid” over & over..,
hoping & PLEADING with Mother Nature that
this year the humidity won’t be as bad as last years humidity…....?





Wishful thinking.
Click to expand...
I don’t know how you do the Florida thing. I went there once when I was a kid and hated it. Take a shower, feel clean for about 15 minutes, then start sweating again. Just terrible.
Glad your moving! Congratulations!
 
Dino 939 said:
Being in Florida (moving real soon)
I understand guitars & humidity rather well.
You might as well ‘couple’ speakers & humidity along with it,
because if it’s humid enough to affect the guitars
intonation,
then it’s definitely affecting the speaker cones.
That sound and feeling makes me feel like I’m crawling in my own skin
( and I can’t get out )
My comment pertains to the playing a outdoor gig with a live band in Florida component of it.
-Due to performing HELLSCAPING,
(landscaping) in Florida for decades,
everytime I hear the song
More Human Then Human,…,
I just cringe and sorta’ chant:
“More Humid then Humid” over & over..,
hoping & PLEADING with Mother Nature that
this year the humidity won’t be as bad as last years humidity…....?-





Wishful thinking.
Click to expand...

Your post rings to me like some really decent death-metal lyrics. Great writing skills LOL
 
I live in Arizona and it’s absolutely required to humidify electrics. The humidity this time of year is less than 10% daily. You’ll get fret sprout, hardware misalignment issues, and other issues. A humidifier plus some distilled water is much cheaper than treating a dozen dried out guitars later.
 
My guitars are in the basement. Winter I run a humidifier and summer I run a dehumidifier. I try to keep the humidity around 40-50%. Honestly, it’s usually around 40% in the winter and 50% in the summer. I’m fickle with my guitars and I always adjust the truss rod based on the humidity, string height, etc. I like my guitars to play right. I check them each time I play and adjust as necessary.
 
gtrwun said:
I don’t know how you do the Florida thing. I went there once when I was a kid and hated it. Take a shower, feel clean for about 15 minutes, then start sweating again. Just terrible.
Glad your moving! Congratulations!
Click to expand...
There are worse places. I spent several years as a kid in Florida but the absolute worst humidity I have felt was in Louisiana. Like no contest, it was noticeably more taxing to breathe the air it was so heavy with moisture and fucking hot and still.
 
You know, all guitars will be susceptible to changes in humidity but you will find some are way moreso than others. I don’t know if some woods specifically or just varies guitar to guitar, but in my experience maple necks SEEM less prone to extreme shifts than mahogany, but I still definitely notice changes. Where I live in Southern Appalachia the problem is more from lack of humidity in the cooler months from running the heat.
 
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