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  #1  
Old 06-19-2001, 11:11 PM
Daniel Daniel is offline
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Location: Albuquerque NM
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Unhappy Temperature variations

The more I read here, the more words of caution I see about subjecting these guitars to any kind of stress whatsoever.

Well, I live in the desert. I bought the sound hole humidifier (I even use distilled water because we have hard water), and I keep the guitar in the case. I bought a big room humidifier, and now keep the house 40 - 45% humid for the guitar. But the temperature this time of year -- well, I can't afford to run the cooler all day (and leave windows open while at work). So I get home from work and the house is 85 or so inside. Inside the case at Taylor level today, it was 81 degrees and 41 percent humidity. So I turn on the cooler, and over the next hour or two the temperature in the house drops ten degrees or more.

Is this a problem? Should I worry about taking the guitar out to play? I mean, at some point, these things have got to have some kind of durability, right?

I certainly appreciate what the guitar looks like, and what I paid for it, but just how delicate are these instruments? I've had a Pimintel classical guitar for 15 years and never humidified it or anything, and it looks great. It was made here, though, so perhaps by design it likes dryness and heat.

I'm curious what you folks think. I don't know what more I can really do--live in a bubble with my Taylor?
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Old 06-20-2001, 08:16 AM
JayGon JayGon is offline
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I live in New England and the seasonal temperatures and humidity can fluctuate greatly over the course of a year. Winters are worse than summers because of the loss of moisture in the air due to heating.

I was concerned, especially after reading all the Taylor material. I had kept my guitar in a closet which, in the winter, got colder than the room due to an outside wall and opening to an unheated attic. I called Taylor and they said a good rule of thumb is that if you're comfortable, so is your guitar. I'm sure it's more complicated than that, but it helped me rest easier.

Hope it helped.

Jay
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Old 06-20-2001, 12:52 PM
gmccall gmccall is offline
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Hi Dan,

Jaycon said it well in that if you are pretty comfortable so is your guitar -- "any" fine solid wooden instrument, in fact.

And I know how you feel. We ding'em, we have to care for them like kids, but they are worth it aren't they. But you know, I have a buddy who is very well to do, and his wordly advice to me was "Buddy...One thing I have learned in my life of aquiring many nice and beautiful assets -- Never, never get too attached to your toys!!" (He just happens to have a beautiful Koa Presentation Series).

And y'know, he's quite right in the end. We can't let ourselves get too crazy. And we can't live in a bubble you are right, but our guitars really do need to be in an appropriate environment at all times, 'cus all it takes is one bad day, and you got yourself a CRACK. I have seen this a bunch of times.

For some performers, this is less of an issue than it is with "nobody's" like me.

The professionals carry at LEAST TWO instruments. But this need, and the quality of these instruments is on more than one level. Sometimes, if they make enough money, their instruments are both fine guitars, but any damage incurred is a COST OF DOING BUSINESS so to speak. I know this for a fact. The pros will not play a beater instrument if they really need to sound good at a concert. Some pros can not play lessor quality instruments at their performances, either. They also have their instruments insured in some way.

However, the TWO worst issues out of the everything to watch are:

1. Temperature extreems and all "radical" changes to these temporature extreems.

2. High and Low humidity -- wetness and dryness. Both wood killers and crack makers.

So...if you watch those two issues you will be doing pretty well for any wooden instrument you own. Now that means things like not playing our Taylor when asked when the weather is bad or miserably damp or hot or cold, and other issues like leaving it in a car, or allowing it to lay in the sun or be in front of a fan, etc.

I was at a Bluegrass festival recently and it was so wet and rainy the tents were flooding. I felt very sorry for those players 'cuz there were some very nice instruments taking some very bad abuse.

To me that was not good instrument care. I could not and I do not do that. I have to have another instrument along for situations like bad weather gigs or sessions.

I had to learn how to say "NO" to myself: I was at an ethnic festival recently to do Irish sessions outdoors, and did not even take out my Taylor because the weather was so crummy. Yes, I missed the session playing, people ribbed me about my "precious baby", but they didn't pay for it and I thought I would be foolish to put my 810B thru that torture. That time, I did not take my alternate guitar. I do not like to use my beater, you know, but I will if I need to take it. This time I did not need to, so I avoided the desire to play in favor of doing what was right for my "Baby".

Anyway, that's how I live with my instruments, lowe these past forty years...

Later,
-grm

[ 06-20-2001: Message edited by: gmccall ]
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Old 06-22-2001, 09:54 AM
Daniel Daniel is offline
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Location: Albuquerque NM
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many thanks for the replies. Yeah, I have to suck it up and just see what happens. I tell myself I won't obsess about the cosmetic beauty of the guitar. But I have had the dread almsot 4 months now, and it's still unblemished. Snowy white engleman as smooth as a mirror, or the surface of a quiet alpine lake. I do this thing now, when I put it away, where I tilt the guitar every which way and let the light play off the top, while I look for a nick or a scratch from the pick. So far it is still pristine, and it gives me a warm fuzzy. I know one day it'll take a scratch or two. But I never even thought seriously about a crack in the top .
That would be painful. Oh, well. If I live a good clean life nothing bad will happen to my Taylor, right?
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