Has this ever happened to you???: You pick up your guitar and think, this sounds so muffled and dull and soft.. Then a few days later you pick up the same guitar and it sounds fantastic!!
Yes, I regularly dance with Madame Humidity and her devilish ways all the time... :arrow
Definitely!! :crying: Some guitars more than others.
One thing I discovered is that humidity can affect how we hear things as well. So, even if the guitar was kept in a humidity controlled case and, when we pull it out it's in the same state as the last time we played it, the atmosphere in the room may be different so we hear it differently and think something is off with the guitar. This is another reason I prefer whole-room humidification.
I'll never forget changing string brands, gauges, and materials all the time, chasing down the ideal tone that seemed to be eluding me. How could a guitar be so shimmering day and a wet cardboard box the next? Once I got the room humidity stable, things like that became much less important and I started using the same strings more often.
Absolutely! Some days it almost seems like I'm playing an entirely different guitar. My guitar also hates to be played outdoors. Just absolutely hates it. It turns into a much worse version of itself than its indoor self.
I once read a comment from a luthier (maybe it was on this forum?) and he said that guitars sound amazing right before they are about to implode from extreme dehydration.
Definitely!! :crying: Some guitars more than others.
One thing I discovered is that humidity can affect how we hear things as well. So, even if the guitar was kept in a humidity controlled case and, when we pull it out it's in the same state as the last time we played it, the atmosphere in the room may be different so we hear it differently and think something is off with the guitar. This is another reason I prefer whole-room humidification
:+1:
This thread reminds me of the old Steven Wright joke. He said "I put a dehumidifier and a humidifier in the same room, turned both of them on and let them fight it out."
The relative humidity in my guitar room currently sits at 46% and the room temperature is 77 degrees. The house has central air and I have a Levoit room humidifier in my guitar room and all of my guitars stay in their cases when they aren't being played. My guitar that is impacted the most by humidity is my 1976 Martin D-35 with a non-adjustable truss rod but it is holding up fine. Perhaps the wood used for the Sitka Spruce top and East Indian Rosewood back and sides built up a tolerance to humidity changes prior to being harvested.
As an interesting side note, my newest guitar is a 2024 Larrivee, all mahogany 00-24 that is kept in an archtop case where it fits like a glove. It spent last week in a cottage with me on Georgian Bay in Ontario and sounded and played great. We came home a day early because of torrential down pours on Friday. Over the weekend, I played two of my Martins (D-35/OM-35) and my Larrivee electric Baker T-Pro at home without any issues. The ultimate test will be when I pull my all mahogany, 12 string LV-03 out later today which hasn't been out of her case for two weeks.
In closing, I'm glad that the Larrivee family puts so much emphasis on locating, selecting and preparing the woods they use to build their guitars. Anyone who jumped onboard the Forum VII train will have a great ride later this year.
Quote from: teh on June 30, 2025, 05:02:47 AMThis thread reminds me of the old Steven Wright joke. He said "I put a dehumidifier and a humidifier in the same room, turned both of them on and let them fight it out."
The relative humidity in my guitar room currently sits at 46% and the room temperature is 77 degrees. The house has central air and I have a Levoit room humidifier in my guitar room and all of my guitars stay in their cases when they aren't being played. My guitar that is impacted the most by humidity is my 1976 Martin D-35 with a non-adjustable truss rod but it is holding up fine. Perhaps the wood used for the Sitka Spruce top and East Indian Rosewood back and sides built up a tolerance to humidity changes prior to being harvested.
As an interesting side note, my newest guitar is a 2024 Larrivee, all mahogany 00-24 that is kept in an archtop case where it fits like a glove. It spent last week in a cottage with me on Georgian Bay in Ontario and sounded and played great. We came home a day early because of torrential down pours on Friday. Over the weekend, I played two of my Martins (D-35/OM-35) and my Larrivee electric Baker T-Pro at home without any issues. The ultimate test will be when I pull my all mahogany, 12 string LV-03 out later today which hasn't been out of her case for two weeks.
In closing, I'm glad that the Larrivee family puts so much emphasis on locating, selecting and preparing the woods they use to build their guitars. Anyone who jumped onboard the Forum VII train will have a great ride later this year.
You're making me homesick teh. :wink:
Oh no, he's opened the Steven Wright door and I just can't stop myself...
"Everywhere is walking distance, if you've got the time."
"All those who believe in psychokinesis, raise my hand."
:bgrin:
It's so rare that a clean comedian's jokes are as clever and funny today as they were 30 years ago.
Ok, sorry for the derailment.
Herman,
I get to travel to a lot of different places and I have found Canadians to be among the friendliest people I've met. Last week, I rode my bike from Barrie to Orillia on the Oro-Medonte bike trail and met a lot of nice people along the way. I'm heading back up to San Souci for two weeks in August and I may try to get back up to Orillia to see the Lightfoot Band on October 30th.
Bowie
"If you think nobody cares about you, try missing a couple of payments." Steven Wright