D'Addario Core: Guitar Humidification Tips
V-DADD_012
Video Transcription
[on-screen text reads: D'Addario Core Presents - Guitar Humidification]
Rob Cunningham: So I'm here today with Doug Redler, the author of The Guitarist Guide to Maintenance and Repair, and also the guitar tech to a couple pretty big stars.
Doug Redler: Big stars, yeah.
Rob Cunningham: Mitch Robinson, Black Crowes, the Slash.
Doug Redler: Yes, sir. I've got a question for you about humidity and acoustic guitars. When I'm on the road, all the bands I work with who carry a lot of acoustic guitars with us, especially the Black Crowes. We have about 15 acoustic guitars on the road. And in the winter, I really have a tough time. The guitars dry out, they crack, the bridge will start peeling up, the frets get sharp. What can I do about this?
Acoustic Guitar Humidifier
Rob Cunningham: All right, good question. Especially with acoustics, you have to humidify them. So it's not if they're going to become damaged if you're not humidifying, it's when they're going to become damaged. In the most basic form, the easiest thing to use is the GH by D'Addario [on-screen text reads: D'Addario Acoustic Guitar Humidifier]. It's a sound hole humidifier. And it's as simple as taking the sponge, moistening it in the sink, wringing it out just so that it doesn't drip inside a guitar. You don't want that. Place it back into the canister, put the lid on. Now you're just going to put it between the two middle strings of the acoustic and it'll just sit there. Now what's going to happen is the moisture from the sponge is now going to disperse, get into the wood, and keep that guitar from drying out.
Doug Redler: What about the guitar? Could it stay in its case while this is in there?
Rob Cunningham: It really should. To get the most out of it, if you keep it in a case, then it's in a confined environment. So now the sponge is just going to go to the guitar and actually the case as well. If you keep the guitar out on a stand or up on a wall, this sponge is going to try to humidify the whole room and it's going to dry out a lot quicker.
Humidity Temperature Sensor
And then the other thing you should be using is a hygrometer [on-screen text reads: D'Addario Humidity Temperature Sensor]. So this is the HTS. And what this will do is monitor the humidity and the temperature for you. Now the best conditions for a guitar is roughly in the seventies as far as temperature. And then for humidity, you want to try to keep it between 40% and 50% humidity.
Doug Redler: So Rob, this is great. And when I'm on the road, I'm going to be able to monitor this and I'm going to be able to moisten a sponge whenever I need to. But I have a bunch of guitars at home. So what do I do in the winter about that? How can I maintain them if I'm not going to be there to be able to look after?
Two-Way Humidification System
Rob Cunningham: The easiest thing to do if you're not going to be around, you want a longer lasting solution, is to use the two-way humidification system [on-screen text reads: D'Addario Two-Way Humidification System]. What these packets do, they actually automatically maintain 50% humidity. So if the humidity goes a little bit above, they'll actually start absorbing moisture and if it goes below, they'll actually start dispensing moisture. So they're as easy as taking two of the packets. It comes with three. Two go into soundhole, one goes underneath the headstock, close up the case, because you got to keep the case closed, otherwise they're going to get used up a little faster. But the great thing about it is that in a normal environment, they'll last about three to four months and you know your guitar's going to be at 50%, which is perfect for guitars.
Doug Redler: Great. Well thanks, Rob.
Rob Cunningham: You got it, man.
