Steel resonator and heat/humidity

[PieterK]

I have a feeling I already know the answer to this, but figure I'd query the owners of fully steel bodied resonator guitars--Nationals primarily.

Obviously there are no glue joints and thinly carved tops, bottoms, sides, etc. The only real wood is the neck, with a truss rod (bolted to the body?).

How impervious are these instruments to heat and humidity? I mean, if I leave one sitting out in a room that might routinely hit 90+ degrees in the summer, but with otherwise fairly average humidity (figure avg. coastal LA humidity of about 40-50%), can I expect issues, or can I leave this thing sitting out happy as can be, and pick it up at any time and play to my heart's content?

I mean, I figure all these guitars that lived in houses in Mississippi without HVAC did okay, right?

[jpbat]

My all metal resos have been in extreme weather situations.
Some highlights :
A week in a prospector tent during winter in Quebec with my tricone, we're talking steady minus 25 celsius…
Three months in a particularly humid and hot summer outside, the varnish on the metal body of my biscuit bridge steel body was peeling… (since it is already distressed, I don't mind)
In any case, the guitars behaved as they should. And no long term structural traumas I could see.
It's highly probable that the cones were suffering some metal dilatation (being thin aluminium), but they were making the music anyhow.
These things are sturdy.

[Cone Head]

Actually there is a glue joint - between the neck and the "neck stick" that extends through the body - and this will indeed move eventually.

There is no "truss rod bolted to the body" - there is the "neck stick" that extends to the endpin (think of how a banjo is constructed - it's the same concept).





The wooden "mushroom" supports that prop the "neck stick" against the back of the body will eventually shrink enough to to allow neck movement. Like any other acoustic guitar, they need to be overhauled every few decades, and as is the case for any other acoustic guitar, this will be accelerated by drastic shifts in humidity.
I type this as I cradle my 1931 Triolian in my lap.

[jpbat]

Yes, of course there are the neck stick and mushrooms weak points, and also the usual frets problem in case of severe dryness/shrinking neck wood, but overall, we can assume resonators are significantly tougher beasts than wooden guitars.
In what proportion is up to you.
I'm fairly confident (more so because they are not vintage or NRP or Mike Lewis ones…)

[blue]

Yeah. More resistant because the wood parts are thicker/heavier and in the case of the neck, sort of finished "all over" as opposed to the top, sides, and back of a flattop. Easier, assuming it's in the hands of a knowledgeable tech, to reset if no neck straightening is required.

The conditions you describe wouldn't really worry me. I have to say though that I am a tad OCD about pretty much doing an eyeball relief check on every guitar I pick up, every time I pick it up. Pinch at the 1st and the fourteenth (with my pinky) on on my resos and tap on the 7th (with my index) to see if the relief has changed. I live in a pretty mild region (the PNW) and I can't remember the last time I had to do anything with relief on any guitar I didn't change string gauge on.

But anyway, I see that as a "turn your head and cough" quick check on the health of my guitars. If you did that once a week, especially after a significant seasonal shift, you'd know pretty quickly if it wasn't safe.

[PieterK]

Thanks all. More or less what I expected.

My mistake however about assuming there were truss rods in the Nationals. I'm not sure why I thought that.

If the wood parts are built like a banjo, I'm not worried.

All of this said, the major condition is heat. Humidity in Los Angeles is under coastal influence most of the time so it's actually a very good place to live for guitars. In truth, I could probably leave most of my guitars out all the time, and they'd mostly be okay, but I'm a little more careful than that.

I love resonators, and I love playing bottleneck. I'm set on getting a Style 0 anyway, but am thinking of accelerating the purchase, as I'm playing in more and more different tunings, am finding myself loath to retune much, and really, I'd love to have a guitar on a stand all the time, ready to grab.

I need to channel Son House as much as possible.

[blue]

Originally Posted by PieterK

Thanks all. More or less what I expected.

My mistake however about assuming there were truss rods in the Nationals. I'm not sure why I thought that.

Well there is a truss rod in a modern national. In the originals, there was a reinforcement rod, however in many cases in the later history of the company they were so loose in there, they really didn't do much.

I think it was "truss rod bolted to the body" that conehead had a problem with. whether it's a rod, or an adjustable truss rod, it's simply in the neck under the fingerboard. And the neck is really attached to the endpin, and screwed to the top of the guitar.

If Banjo construction makes you comfortable, then you can feel safe with the National. Perfect comparison.

[Cone Head]

Originally Posted by PieterK

My mistake however about assuming there were truss rods in the Nationals.

Modern National Reso-Phonic do indeed have truss rods, but they are like any other guitar's truss rod - they don't extend into the body, all they do is adjust the neck's relief. Vintage Nationals do not have truss rods, though most have a non-adjustable reinforcement rod (of the woefully inefficient variety) embedded in the neck. Due to the fact that they were embedded in an overly large cavity filled with hide glue, they did little to keep necks straight over time.

Originally Posted by PieterK

I'm set on getting a Style 0 anyway

I'll be the last person to talk you out of buying a National...

[slimey]

I have seen a dry neck on 0 14 fret. The frets were coming beyond the edge of the fretboard a little. I stuck a clay humidifier in the neck area of the case and all returned to normal after a little while.
So the neck is not impervious to drying out, but I think it would take years in a dry environment.
The guitar was a 2008 , I bought it in 2013. It was living in a condo which was very dry. Winter we get to 25% humidity here.
So 5 years of drying out.

[blue]

Originally Posted by slimey

I have seen a dry neck on 0 14 fret. The frets were coming beyond the edge of the fretboard a little. I stuck a clay humidifier in the neck area of the case and all returned to normal after a little while.
So the neck is not impervious to drying out, but I think it would take years in a dry environment.
The guitar was a 2008 , I bought it in 2013. It was living in a condo which was very dry. Winter we get to 25% humidity here.
So 5 years of drying out.

I bought a style N that spent 12 years in Arizona. There was a little bit of fret sprout. After 4 or 5 months on the wet side of Cascades in the Pacific North West that disappeared. Playability however didn't change.