Hello from newbie in Brighton UK

[Paul Holzherr]

Hi all - nice to see a Taylor group going here! I have had my 714ce sunburst about 3 months now and I am completely blown away by this guitar! It is really influencing what I play and how I play guitar. I play mostly folksy style stuff with a mandolinist. This guitar is unbelievable - I cannot say it enough! The downside is - I have now discovered how humid our climate is here yeah I guess I knew that already but now I am taking notice! Today it is about 80% so I am keeping the guitar in its case when not playing it and doing crazy stuff like leaving rock salt around the room to see how much water it attracts! And I have just shopped for a hygrometer. Anyway see you soon somewhere.

Paul.

[George]

Hey Paul, welcome to the forum.  I never would have imagined that you'd have an issue with humidity in Brighton!  I'm in the Antwerp area and we've got more or less the same weather as you.  I guess I should check the weather for humidity from now on - I recently bought an 816ce and I'd hate to let it get damaged by something like that.

[TaylorGirl]

Welcome Paul. Your 714ce is gorgeous. You're right, Taylors sure make for a wonderful playing experience.

[Jersey tuning]

Welcome.  Taylor makes extraordinary rosewood guitars.  Enjoy.

[Paul Holzherr]

Hi George - This humidity thing is interesting. I was chatting to an antiques restorer the other day and he was talking about how much care has to be taken with artifacts in humidity controlled environments. Now our guitars also react to their environment. I think it is good to be aware of this and to take reasonable precautions. Just how much influence our European humidity has I do not know. I have had guitars lying around for years and have noticed nothing bad happening but since having this Taylor guitar I have become more concerned! Taylor themselves say that they produce their guitars with 50% humidity as the target figure. Our humidity here in Brighton has been as high as 90% in the last few days though it is not very warm!

[Earl]

Remember it is the indoor RH (relative humidity) that really matters, unless your windows are open all the time.  The weather report for outdoors is only an interesting data point.  Indoor RH should be between 40%-60% for best tone and wood health.  But I have some older well-aged guitars that seem happiest in the 35-40% range.  IMO, new wood is more sensitive.

[George]

Remember it is the indoor RH (relative humidity) that really matters, unless your windows are open all the time.  The weather report for outdoors is only an interesting data point.  Indoor RH should be between 40%-60% for best tone and wood health.  But I have some older well-aged guitars that seem happiest in the 35-40% range.  IMO, new wood is more sensitive.

Earl, is it logical to extrapolate that one step further, and suggest that if it's in its case it's better protected?

I've had loads of instruments lying around the house for years - from 220 year old violin to my brand new 816ce and everything in between, and I've never seen anything that could have been caused by humidity.  But then again, I've never really thought about humidity where I live.

Have I just got the heebie-jeebies from what Paul mentioned, or is it something I should be concerned about?

[Paul Holzherr]

I have done a little research today and what I have seen agrees with what Earl says. The RH (Relative Humidity) data supplied by weather stations is the outside reading (unsurprisingly) The RH is dependent on temperature and so here in Brighton we have 87% RH but 14 deg. C in temperature. When I heat my place to around 20 C the RH is about 60% which is not too bad. So to simplify - I need to take a reading from a hygrometer where my guitar is and go from there. Sorry to have started a humidity scare here guys! But now I have learned something new!

[George]

Thanks Paul - I've certainly learned something new today...

[Paul Holzherr]

Another way of doing this would be to check the Dew Point of your locality from online weather data service and use this along with your own inside room temperature to calculate your RH using an online RH calculator. I never thought that Taylor would lead me in to meteorology! 

[Earl]

George, don't panic.  You are correct that keeping it in the case will mitigate the rate of humidity changes, which are also an issue in addition to long term absolute indoor humidity.  Many folks live in climates that are moderate for humidity.  Worry if you live in the desert southwest with major air conditioning use all summer or in very cold areas (Alaska, Canada, Norway) where there is serious winter heating.  Either heating or AC will dry out the indoor air to problematic levels.  If you get zapped with static electricity around the house or are having sinus issues from dry air, your guitar is probably not comfortable either.

In Alaska or Arizona, I have to pay close attention to indoor RH.  My house in Alaska had a real hard time getting up to 20% RH in the winter, and we put 8-10 gallons of water into the air every winter day.  It but was fine all summer.  When we visit Arizona, they think 15% RH is positively damp.

I'm a pilot, so temp versus dewpoint is an indication of when the airborne moisture will condense into fog / instrument flying conditions.  I've never tried to calculate the indoor RH from that data, but it is surely possible to do so.

[CodeBlueEMT]

 Hi Paul. Welcome to the UTGF. I know nothing about European humidity, but a hygrometer is the way to go. Earl listed some good parameters and I try to maintain my own guitars within those limits. The 35%-45% RH range seems to be the sweet spot for my guitars too. I'll probably be casing guitars and adding Humidipaks in a few more weeks. I hate winter itch.

   

[Paul Holzherr]

Hi CodeBlueEMT
Yeah - this humidity stuff! I only just started thinking about it in relation to my guitars after purchasing this Taylor and the quality of sound it produces is something one feels like preserving! I hear you guys talking about how your guitars sound good at that fairly low RH level around 40%. Over here in the UK we have a fairly moist climate and right now it is especially wet. I wonder what effect RH has on the general impression we get of sound. Maybe we get a more muffled impression like in dense fog. I guess the more stuff there is floating around in the air, the more diffuse the sound will be. Anyway, I am now keeping my guitar in its case and have just bought some of that silica gel stuff to help suck some of the moisture out of the air where needed.

[George]

.... and have just bought some of that silica gel stuff to help suck some of the moisture out of the air where needed.

I used to keep the silica gel every time I bought something electrical etc., but I've never bought it directly.  Where did you get it from?

[Fellrunner]

I live near Hull on the UK's East Coast, close to the Humber Estuary.  Hygrometers in the house often run well over 60% (It's an old brick built house).  For years now I have kept my guitars in their cases in a cupboard (old fitted wardrobe) with a small dehumidifier.  The hygrometer in the cupboard runs consistently in the high 40%'s - works a treat.