Humidity and the Guitar with Luthier Gary Lee
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- čas přidán 3. 11. 2023
- As we head into the winter months in the Northern Hemisphere an important thing for guitarists to consider is humidification. In this video luthier Gary Lee talks about why humidity is important, how to take care of your instrument to keep it properly humidified, and what tools you'll need.
This is just one lesson from a full Masterclass course with Gary Lee entitled: A Player's Guide to Guitar Mechanics. If you would like to take the full course you can do so by becoming a member of Classical Guitar Corner Academy:
www.classicalguitarcorner.com...
Classical Guitar Corner Academy is an online school for classical guitar and features some of the best educators in the world.
Gary Lee is a luthier based in Wayne, New Jersey (USA). His guitars are played by Ben Verdery and Fred Hand.
If you'd like to learn more about humidity and how to keep your guitar well humidified, also check out our blog at the link below:
www.classicalguitarcorner.com... - Hudba
Just new to guitars. Heard about them being affected by humidity. My guitar came with an humidifier. Just to find out if I need to use it. I purchased a £7 digital hydrometer from Amazon. My Guitars are in case but not sealed cases. The guitar is maintained at 50 to 54% humidity naturally in the case without using the humidifier. I live on the UK South Coast.
Hi there, if your hygrometer is reading 50% humidity without the humidifier in the case then you're in a pretty humid environment and your guitar will be just fine. Do be sure to continue monitoring with the hygrometer, however, as the RH (relative humidity) can and does change daily.
New York in the winter is a big problem. Humidity in my condo gets down to 20%. So when not in use, I store my guitar in its case with the Addario Humidipak and store the (permeable) case in a non permeable plastic sealed storage bag. A pain in the butt, but I'll often be out of town for a few weeks. It seems to work. When I open the case, the Humidipaks are still soft and not flattened. Then of course when I am in town I humidify the condo.
Glad you've found solutions that work for you, Harvey! 20% is dangerously low. I used to fight the humidity on my guitars when I lived in NYC as well. -Dave B
Can't find the D'Addario Bluetooth Hygrometer. Everywhere says it's discontinued or out of stock. Neither can I find the D'Addario Humidipaks that hang from the strings like you show - just the old clunky double pouch hanging system.
Hi there, both are available on Amazon, but you can also find them both on Strings by Mail. Peace
@ClassicalGuitarCorner Those were the first places I tried. Could you please provide a link?
Some links --
2-way humidication system:
www.stringsbymail.com/daddario-pw-hpk-01-two-way-humidification-system-4959.html
www.amazon.com/sspa/click?ie=UTF8&spc=MToxNTAyODQ1NDczNTAxNjcyOjE2OTkxMjMyMjc6c3BfYXRmOjIwMDA1OTUzMDgyOTY5ODo6MDo6&url=%2FDAddario-Guitar-Humidifier-System-Maintenance-Free%2Fdp%2FB000OMG0KI%2Fref%3Dsr_1_1_sspa%3Fcrid%3D33405SJ70D0SY%26keywords%3Dd%2527addario%2Bhumidipak%26qid%3D1699123227%26sprefix%3Dd%2527addario%2Bhumidi%252Caps%252C71%26sr%3D8-1-spons%26sp_csd%3Dd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY%26psc%3D1
D'Addario Hygrometer:
www.stringsbymail.com/daddario-humidity-and-temperature-sensor-1166.html
www.amazon.com/Planet-Hygrometer-Humidity-Temperature-Sensor/dp/B0002D000K/ref=sr_1_14?crid=33405SJ70D0SY&keywords=d%27addario+humidipak&qid=1699123227&sprefix=d%27addario+humidi%2Caps%2C71&sr=8-14
Weird, but simple trick. Take the guitar case in the bathroom when showering. Keep the bathroom door closed when showering and afterwards. It's not ideal, but it does allow the guitar to be in a highly humid atmosphere for a little while.
You definitely want to be careful with this one. I have heard many stories from luthiers of guitarists who have done just this and have loosened all the glue joints on their instrument from over-humidification! Remember that low humidity is the main thing to look out for but too much humidity can equally cause damage to our guitars. Best wishes and thanks for the comment!
@@ClassicalGuitarCorner Thanks for some sound advice! Since I reside in an area where heating makes it almost impossible to keep ambient humidity at an optimal level, a bit of boost is needed. Excess is, of course, never a good idea: neither my guitars, nor I, spend the whole day in the shower.