How low humidity is too low?
 

I recently purchased a Martin D 28 and I'm getting used to treating it like I should. I have a screen in my house that shows temperature inside and outside and it also shows humidity. I know that guitars should preferably have 45 to 50% humidity. Today I looked and the humidity was a bit more than 30%. It's a really hot day today so it's expected but the last couple of days, the humidity has been around 40 to 50%. I have my guitar in it's case but is this humidity level too low? How long does it take for a guitar to get damaged if it's too low? Thanks in advance

How low humidity is too low?
 

If it's been in the 40's recently and you have your guitar in the case when the humidity drops to the 30's for 1 day. Your guitar will typically be fine. If the humidity is going to remain low, then you should consider a humidifier of some sort. I would by no means be panicked or worried at this point.

How long before your guitar gets damaged is a tough question for me to answer. Maybe others will chime in

I use Humidipaks. It works fine for me.

Hi Albin,

guitars don't immediately dry out, it takes a while. Normally humidity fluctuates in the day/night cycle so daytime could be 40% and night could be 45%.
If a dry spell prolongs it's wise to take action, here in Holland, when a bit dry (say at 40%), I usually wait one day to see if the weather turns around and I open a window to allow the outside higher humid air in.
At 30% I would immediately start humidifying, for this I use a small open filmcontainer with a rolled up moist 1/2 wash cloth in it. The cloth has been shaken off from excess moisture after placing it into the container, so it will not normally leak if the container falls over. Depending on the dry spell I replenish the water each day if I have to when it's no longer damp.
The container obviously sits in a corner in the guitarcase, which is closed when the guitar is not played. It's a cheap but effective solution and since it's become a dayly routine I don't forget checking levels each day either.
When no longer needed the cloth is dried properly and/or washed so no fungus can contaminate the case or instrument.

Ludwig

Thanks for all the answers. I have an Oasis humidifier that I can hang on the strings.

One of these: http://www.oasishumidifiers.com/plus.html

Are these any good? Should I use it now? Is there a chance that the humdifier will break and I will get water in my guitar? It says on the package that I should use distilled water. Is it fine to use regular water? The water in Sweden is really clean and good.

http://www.amazon.com/Essick-Air-MA1...ifier%2C+White

or similar.

Not sure why it took me so long to get one. Sure beats messing with in-the-case/guitar systems, imo.

I have used Oasis humidifiers for a few years now and I really like them. I have never had any problems with them leaking. Just make sure you tighten the cap is all, and Be careful not to overfill because the little gel crystals will spill out.

You should use distiller water regardless because even the freshest water has natural minerals in it that will eventually clog the membrane that the humidifier is made up of.

40, 45, 50% is bantered around a lot as magic numbers but that is really not what to think about. You must know at what RH your guitar was built at then you can deduct 10% from that and know your guitar is perfectly safe. You can add 25% and know it is perfectly safe also. I know my guitars were built at 40% so an extended period of 30% is no problem but if your guitar was built at 50% I would be concerned.
However the fact is that your guitar might be safe no matter what the RH is on a day or month. Many, many guitars were built in the ages gone by that are just fine without humidification. As I dont know if my guitars will be fine I have two accurate gauges, I repeat they must be accurate not just something, that I check daily. If need be I have a good humidifier that can be used to raise the RH of the rooms my guitars will be in.

Thanks, I haven't thought of it that way. Is there a magic average in the Martin factory that anyone knows of? I only have the 45 50% mentioned in the Martin care booklet for reference. I'm planning on getting a hygrometer to put in my case though.

Edit: the 45 50% was the humidity in the factory, must have mixed it up in my head :P

A very experienced jazz guitarist and dealer counseled me years ago that while 50% is often touted as the perfect figure I might find I prefer the sound of my acoustics at 40% relative humidity. He was right. He said 40% is perfectly safe for good guitars and in my experience that's been true. He also warned me that 30% should be considered rock bottom - the absolute red line - and even at that I would be pushing my luck. He advised anything below 30% for more than a few hours would be putting my guitars at serious risk. I've never had reason to doubt the wisdom of his advice. I strive to hold the entire house at 40% through the winter but it sometimes dips into the 30s during extreme cold spells. When the indoor RH drops to the low 30s or worse I make sure to keep damp humidifiers in my guitar cases. I've had no problems over several years with several guitars.
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Uncle R.

Hi Albin,

May I suggest that you should have your own, in home hygrometer so you know what the humidity is in your home, not just outside. They are not terribly expensive. Check Amazon or similar... Most people believe that guitars are safe from 40-60% RH, but I have found that even 35% is acceptable -- at least I have no cracks in any of my guitars.

Best of luck!
- Glenn

This a question that concerns me as well I bought an extra hygrometer to be safe. I live in the goldilocks zone as the humidity peaks at high 70's and can drop into 20's but usually it sits right at around 50%.
We are supposed to be in winter but people were still on the beaches up until a week ago here in Sydney and the humidity is at 52%. At this stage i'm not going to do anything unless the in case humidity drops to 40% for more than a couple of days.

cheers

Some guitars are just more sensitive than others.

I didn't know a thing about proper humidity, until I got learned up, here. Even then, I wondered how much as fact and how much was hoop-la. My Ovation has been unhumidified for 35+ years and It looks fine. But, when I got a 2010 Guild, the action started getting lower in a few weeks in my below 20% humidity. I put an Oasis in it and kept it in the case, and it came back in a week or two. Then I started looking for the signs of low humidity on my other guitars. What I found is both Ovations have a complete lack of top curve and my old Legend was sunken. I've been keeping them in the cases and humidified since. They stood up to the stress fine, no cracks, but why not get them back to where they SHOULD be ? Even after months of trying, the Ovations are just slowly coming back. The Legend is no longer sunken in at the bridge, but it is not bowed up yet either. Maybe the same design that kept it from having detrimental issues also makes it slow to change in the other direction.

I checked the humidity when I went to bed last night and it was around 40. Today on the morning it is 46. The guitar has been in the case the whole time so I don't think that it has been damaged. Going to look at hygrometers and humidifiers today or tomorrow

I'm planning on going to a big music store in a nearby city on Tuesday. I bought my guitar there and I'm going to talk to them about humidity. Right now the humidity is 42%. Are D 28 extra sensitive or something or is it fine to have it in it's case in this humidity untill I have bought a appropriate humidifier? Sorry for all the questions but humidity and humidifaction is completely new for me Since this is my first "real" guitar.