how do you humidify an archtop?

PittPastor

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With this cold snap, my heater is running constantly and the air in my house is very dry.

My Guild flattop has a humidifier that stays in the sound hole.

But it would never fit in an F-Hole, so how am I to keep my Savoy 150 from drying out and cracking?
 

martin82

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Keep the guitar in it’s case. Place a sponge that has been moistened with distilled water in a travel soap container. Drill or cut some holes in the soap case and then place it in the guitar case under the headstock. I’ve been doing this for years and it works fine.
 

chazmo

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Keep the guitar in it’s case. Place a sponge that has been moistened with distilled water in a travel soap container. Drill or cut some holes in the soap case and then place it in the guitar case under the headstock. I’ve been doing this for years and it works fine.

If you don't want to case it, get a room humidifier. A soundhole humidifier is insufficient when the guitar is directly exposed to room air.
 

merlin6666

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Keep the guitar in it’s case. Place a sponge that has been moistened with distilled water in a travel soap container. Drill or cut some holes in the soap case and then place it in the guitar case under the headstock. I’ve been doing this for years and it works fine.

I also have a guitar without soundhole and am using viscose sponge in a small ziploc bag that I punched holes in. It dries out very slowly compared to the oasis humidifiers that keep in my other guitars. Also, the bag touched one of the (sealed) tuners where some discoloration appeared which fortunately could be wiped off easily. But now I make sure that the sponge is just above the tuners and not below them where I placed it before.

Sometimes I am also wondering if soundhole humidifiers might affect any built in electronics of A/E guitars, as in humidity inside the body can easily reach above 70%.
 

PittPastor

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Keep the guitar in it’s case. Place a sponge that has been moistened with distilled water in a travel soap container. Drill or cut some holes in the soap case and then place it in the guitar case under the headstock. I’ve been doing this for years and it works fine.

That's a nice and simple solution. But isn't it the top that dries out? Why place it near the head stock? I'm thinking of my case design, and it seems like the moisture would have a hard time getting to the body if its in the case... no? I could see if the case were designed for a humidifier, but will it work in the stock OHSC?
 

Quantum Strummer

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That's a nice and simple solution. But isn't it the top that dries out? Why place it near the head stock? I'm thinking of my case design, and it seems like the moisture would have a hard time getting to the body if its in the case... no? I could see if the case were designed for a humidifier, but will it work in the stock OHSC?

The headstock location might not be ideal, but the water molecules in the sponge will disperse enough to do some good.

IMO the best solution is a room humidifier. I have full house humidification but supplement it with a small gizmo in the room where I keep most of my guitars. The room humidifier benefits the whole house actually.

-Dave-
 

JohnW63

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I used put a sponge box in the cutaway area in the case. Making sure no holes are pointed at the guitar. I used PVA sponge material, it lasts a lot longer than the kitchen cellulose sponge.

These days, I just run a room humidifier. Ones in the closed cases got forgotten a lot. Out of sight, out of mind. I keep a hygrometer, where I always see it, in the music room and check it. When the RH is too low, I add water to the humidifier.
 

davismanLV

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As I've said before, here in the land of the parched I run two Whole House humidifiers 24/7/365. My home is a large guitar case, so I can keep them out and grabable. Or is it grabbable? Either way, with my new downsizing, my guitar case just got smaller by about 400 sq. ft. Not a huge amount but it seems more manageable. However, I live in a desert where the humidity is almost non-existent. And with A/C and heat.... even less. I think shoving a wet thing inside a guitar that's experiencing dryness and heat/cold on the outside creates a bit of stress. A case is a more closed environment. I just keep my house at 40-45% RH and that's about the most I can expect in the middle of the desert.
 

chazmo

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Exactly what I was hoping to find. Thanks!

Pitt,

Please note, that while it's better than nothing, Dampits in a guitar on a stand in an open, dry space will not provide proper humidification by themselves. Especially your fretboard/neck will get nothing.

I strongly recommend that you get a room humidifier or you keep the guitar in its case (with Dampits or sponges).

I'm being a little pedantic here because you do not want to learn this lesson the hard way as I did when two of my heirloom guitars cracked because of my ignorance of the subject. Forewarned is forearmed. The fact that you asked originally means you care. Please see the Taylor video(s) about humidity.
 

Mark 63

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Yes, the Dampit works inside the case. Outside it’s just a wholly inadequate room humidifier.
 

dougdnh

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This may sound bizzare, but I remember my dad owned a D'angelico archtop many years ago - he kept an apple core in the case.
 

DADGAD

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I also have a guitar without soundhole and am using viscose sponge in a small ziploc bag that I punched holes in. It dries out very slowly compared to the oasis humidifiers that keep in my other guitars. Also, the bag touched one of the (sealed) tuners where some discoloration appeared which fortunately could be wiped off easily. But now I make sure that the sponge is just above the tuners and not below them where I placed it before.

Sometimes I am also wondering if soundhole humidifiers might affect any built in electronics of A/E guitars, as in humidity inside the body can easily reach above 70%.

This is what I do, too. But allow me to elaborate. Do not let the vinyl zip lock baggie come in contact with guitars that have a nitro finish. It will damage your finish. I learned that lesson the hard way.
 

PittPastor

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Pitt,

Please note, that while it's better than nothing, Dampits in a guitar on a stand in an open, dry space will not provide proper humidification by themselves. Especially your fretboard/neck will get nothing.

They aren't on the wall anymore. I took them down when the heater kicked on.
 

Guildadelphia

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I use Oasis in case humidifiers in both my archtops. They have a clever metal clip and magnet system for securing the humidifier to the inside of the case.
 

adorshki

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This is what I do, too. But allow me to elaborate. Do not let the vinyl zip lock baggie come in contact with guitars that have a nitro finish. It will damage your finish. I learned that lesson the hard way.

For anybody who might be wondering, Pitt's guitar is an MIK model they're all poly finished, so at least that's not a worry here.
 
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