What humidity best for electric guitar

All things guitar, Les Pauls, Strats, Teles, Tokai, Ibanez etc. etc. etc.

Moderators: Slowy, Capt. Black

Post Reply
wifiabc
Stagg
Stagg
Posts: 37
meble-kuchenne.warszawa.pl
Joined: Tue Sep 22, 2009 1:11 pm

What humidity best for electric guitar

Post by wifiabc »

What is a good humidity for electric guitars? In Auckland, the humidity is between 75% - 85% most times and sometimes higher than 90%. Is this going to be a problem?

User avatar
Bg
Site Admin
Posts: 44517
Joined: Fri Sep 05, 2003 12:13 am
Location: Sunny Nelson
Has liked: 2412 times
Been liked: 4317 times

Re: What humidity best for electric guitar

Post by Bg »

Ive never noticed a problem
Its not enough that we succeed, we still need others to fail

User avatar
alanp
Vintage Post Junkie
Vintage Post Junkie
Posts: 4637
Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 10:51 am
Location: Wanganui
Has liked: 4 times
Been liked: 11 times
Contact:

Re: What humidity best for electric guitar

Post by alanp »

Close enough for rock 'n' roll, eh, BG?
Capt. Black wrote:Call me if you're looking for the sound of a sows ear made from a silk purse with a side of hot bitches and alcohol

User avatar
Zaulkin
Vintage Post Junkie
Vintage Post Junkie
Posts: 5590
Joined: Thu Nov 27, 2008 4:01 pm
Has liked: 822 times
Been liked: 597 times

Re: What humidity best for electric guitar

Post by Zaulkin »

I always heard it was around 45 - 55%. I think some good tips would be:

Keep your guitar stuff out of places like cupboards where it gets very cold and damp as it could cause damage in the long term.
Keep the guitar in its case when you don't use it and stick some of those silica gel packets in the case. You can buy them from camera shops so I've heard, I have just collected them over time from guitar cases and shoe boxes. They need to be recharged every one in a while which you can do by leaving them in the heater cupboard overnight.
Don't leave your gat in the sun or in your car - it could get warped by or fall apart from the heat.
If your case gets wet on the way home from the gig, make sure its dry before putting it away.

Dehumidifiers are pretty handy to bring down moisture levels, and you can buy big bags of silica gel if where you're storing them is really bad.

I think the thing to remember is that you want to avoid any extreme or sudden temperature changes... In other words.. Very very hot or cold rooms are not going to be good, and taking your instrument from your toasty warm house out into the snow is probably a bad idea too. So spend some time opening the case to let some air in before you bring it out to play.

Some things can't be avoided of course!

User avatar
Bg
Site Admin
Posts: 44517
Joined: Fri Sep 05, 2003 12:13 am
Location: Sunny Nelson
Has liked: 2412 times
Been liked: 4317 times

Re: What humidity best for electric guitar

Post by Bg »

alanp wrote:Close enough for rock 'n' roll, eh, BG?
I just mean 'use a bit of common sense'

I do 99% of my own setups and maintenance, my guitars ar just fine. I don't keep them in the dungeon or out on the sun deck. Easy really ;)
Its not enough that we succeed, we still need others to fail

User avatar
ash
Vintage Post Junkie
Vintage Post Junkie
Posts: 7505
Joined: Mon May 10, 2004 4:01 pm
Location: Auckland, NZ
Has liked: 3 times
Been liked: 5 times

Re: What humidity best for electric guitar

Post by ash »

What Zaulkin says pretty much covers it.

Ideal - the same conditions the guitar was made in and has lived in all its life.

Realistic - 45-55% RH. Chances are this is what the conditions were for manufacture.

Practical - As close to 50% as you can consistently keep it. Sudden and dramatic changes in temperature nad humidity are what will do the real damage.

Just get a MUD-III de/humidifier from a music shop and worry less.
http://ashcustomworks.com for custom built electric guitars hand made in new zealand

Post Reply