Your guitar has made enemies – do something!

by Joe Leaman, Woodsy’s Music

Do you own an instrument? Ignore kazoos and recorders, they don’t count in this article. If you own a wooden instrument of any kind, you may not know there’s an enemy inside your home that’s trying to destroy it. It’s sneaky, goes about it’s business without much fanfare and, worst of all, you encourage it. I’m speaking of the worst four-letter word for any wood instrument … H-E-A-T. That’s right. Your furnace is destroying your guitar.

Throw on a sweatshirt

Ok, I get it. None of you ran to turn off your furnace just now in order to save the piano. But just think about it for a minute. Your violin, guitar, piano, ukulele, cello or mandolin started as a tree. Alive. And even once it was chopped down, milled, cut, shaved and carved it stayed alive. No matter how many years the wood was aged, what sort of finish it has or how much craftsmanship went into making it, wood is and will always be organic material.

In our business, we get all sorts of questions: “Can I leave my guitar sit­ting out on a stand?” “What happens if I leave my violin in the car over­night?” “I have a leak in the ceiling, and there’s water in my piano, should I move it?” (I wish I was joking about that last one.) My answer is always the same. You can do whatever you like; it’s a free country. But, should you? That’s a different story.

Here in Ohio, our instruments will likely be very happy and stable from May to September. But once that dry air kicks on, things can start to get weird. So, aside from shutting off the furnace, let’s dig into what you can do to help mitigate problems.

Where’s the case?

First things first, put the instrument back in its case when you’re done playing. I know, I know. It’s fun to have wall hangers to show it off and floor stands to just grab and play, but if you’ve got a decent case for it, use it. That extra layer of protection is a good starting point and keeps dry air from blowing over the instrument surface.

Second, there’s another variable that could be more important than heat: humidity. Many of you who ex­perience sinus troubles in wintertime know that this is the reason you use small misters or humidifiers in your bedrooms. Lack of humidity could be a danger to your wooden instru­ments, not just your nostrils.

Piano blues

I’ll tell you two quick stories. First, my church’s piano used to be notori­ously out of tune. We set up an agree­ment with a technician to come tune on a schedule of every eight weeks or so. He found that between December and May, the temperature of the room varied some, but the humidity varied between 37% and 7% (Yes, only 7%.) We installed a system that both humidifies and dehumidifies through a series of tubes and small sponges in the underbelly of the piano. The following year, even though the tem­perature and humidity of the room were just as bad as the year prior, we went from seven tunings a year down to four. It’s made a massive difference in the performance of the instrument and will contribute to its longevity.

Acoustic guitar for dummies

I’ll just say it. When I bought my first acoustic guitar, I was a dummy. I knew nothing about the instrument. I bought it in the spring and come December, wouldn’t you know, it wasn’t playing quite right. I took it to my co-worker, a luthier with 40 years of experience in guitar repair. Before he even looked at it he said, “Do you have a humidifier in the case with it?” I sheepishly said no, sensing that a lecture was coming. He showed me the bridge was pulling up and the top of my guitar was actually starting to cave in from drying out. “Dry air, wood dry, wood shrink, guitar not happy.” I might be paraphrasing, but you get the idea.

He told me to go home and for the next five days, to stick the guitar in the bathroom after I had taken a hot shower. So I did. And the top of the guitar actually recovered a little bit. I was amazed. I took it back to him the following week and he gave me a dampit – a small noodle-like-sponge-thing that helps keep humidity close to the wood. He did some tweaking to the neck and made a few other adjustments and it played much bet­ter. I’ve been humidifying my guitars ever since.

What should you do?

Contacting a local repair tech or retailer could be helpful in finding products for your specific instrument. I was incredibly lucky when my guitar top lifted back up. I know I won’t get that lucky a second time. Keeping temperature and humidity regulated is key to prolonging the life and play­ability of any wood instrument. Shoot for 65-72 degrees and 30-40% hu­midity as a rough baseline. Some instruments may behave worse than others, that’s just the way it goes. One thing I know for sure, if you’ve never considered this before, your piano is thirsty.

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Joe Leaman is a manager of Woodsy’s Music in Medina, and has been a member of the Woodsy’s team since 2014. Woodsy’s is Northeast Ohio’s largest independently operated music store, with two locations:
110 West Liberty St., Medina
330-725-8575
135 South Water St., Kent
330-673-1525