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Anyone else's archtops starting to need a little adjustment?
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10-25-2024 11:05 PM
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Not mine. Daily high temps still in the upper 80s to low 90s, predicted to be the same as far into the winter as the NWS is able to forecast. Relative humidity variable between 50 and 90 percent. The air conditioner doesn't do a lot to lower the indoor humidity, but it generally stays in the 50-60 percent range. My archtops are doing fine. However, due to the lack of rain, the fence gate is settling, and the foundation slab might heave if we don't get some, but none in the forecast. The archtops are about the only thing doing well.
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I played an outdoor gig that went from 80 to 60 when the sun went down. My guitar did not like that.
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So far nope, here in Minnesota. But it's coming once heating season begins in earnest. My flattop is usually the first to be symptomatic.
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Summer is coming.
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Hahaha, nice. Santa in a boat coming to the beach.
Originally Posted by Litterick
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Yup. Truss rod of my GB10 needed a tweak. Originally Posted by Woody Sound
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Picked her from her stand for the 1st time in weeks yesterday and every string was about 7ct sharp. Tuned, practiced some, went to eat and when I came back they were all almost as much flat.
Well, the weather doesn't seem to know what it wants either. The temp sensor against a south-facing wood shutter is reading almost 40°C at the moment, 20 degrees more than the one in the shade on the north.
RH hasn't been been below 65-70% for months.
At least the local acquifers are doing well. So well that the village centre was inundated after Kirk and declared a natural catastrophy zone.
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I started up my guitar room humidifier about two weeks ago. It typically is used continually from mid October to early May where I live.
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LOL, I was just thinking this, although it's fair to say that most jazz culture has evolved in the Northern Hemisphere. Originally Posted by Litterick
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Here in Finland the central heating season started already about a month ago and the action of my all guitars started to raise. Tightening truss rod helped.
Then came a bit milder weathers – and I was turning them again. Then a bit colder…and so on and so on.
I learned about a year ago to use my 45 cm aluminum ruler to check the straightnessof the neck. Can’t understand how I coped before that! For about five decades trying and guessing. Oh boy!
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Originally Posted by Litterick
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An in-law of mine is coming in from Iceland this week for a family wedding here. Always fun to compare seasonal notes. Originally Posted by Herbie
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Tone woods for warmth, this year is oak and ash firewood with some maple for good measure. I just went through my archtops last week, tuning, adjusting and checking on humidity. All looks good, bring it on!
Thanks John
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I wrote this somewhere before but here it goes. Read until the end bc the effect of humidity changes actually varies from guitar to guitar.
In an environment with high humidity, the wooden neck of the guitar absorbs excess moisture, causing the cells within the wood to swell and increasing the neck's overall mass. The guitar strings consistently exert forward tension on the neck, attempting to pull it into a concave shape (curving towards the strings). However, as the neck expands due to moisture absorption, it resists this tension, decreasing the concave bow and possibly creating a slight "back bow"—a convex shape where the center of the neck arches away from the strings.
Conversely, in a dry environment, the guitar neck loses moisture, leading to the contraction of wood cells and a reduction in neck mass. This allows the strings to more easily pull the neck forward, resulting in an enhanced concave bow that curves more towards the strings.
It's worth noting that some guitars may exhibit the opposite bowing due to differing expansion and contraction rates between the neck wood and fingerboard wood. For example, if the back of the guitar expands more than the fretboard, it could result in a forward bow. This might explain the varying experiences some players have with their instruments.
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Most of the UK use Gas boiler central heating systems, where hot water is pumped around a piped circuit through radiators.
So, not a good environment for keeping Archtop guitars during winter.
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I've been working wood for a living for a few decades and deal with what we call 'wood movement' constantly. The carved archtop is an amazing piece of woodwork from my perspective. I'm actually surprised they survive at all.
Most of the movement is across the grain, as in 'fret sprout'. When humidity is up, the soundboard will expand mostly across the bouts, but is restrained by the rims, kerfing and binding. This can cause the arch to move upward, increasing action height.
This is all theory of course, but I think I see it happening in mine. Fortunately for me I live in a very wood friendly climate and don't have to do anything about humidity control. My luthier says I shouldn't have to adjust the truss at all. It's a small bridge tweak for me.
Omph's humidity and mass theory is interesting. I'd add that the fingerboard is usually unfinished while the back of the neck is. That changes how much and how quickly the different parts absorb moisture and change dimension.
There's a lot going on. Wood is an unstable building material.
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I notice today the temps dropping and I still have not turn on the heat house about 68 degrees. Down from the summer being 75-79. My Heritage Ghost Build D'angelico was pretty flat and I am assuming that is the drier air. As for truss rods I have not adjusted a truss rod on my guitars in years and to my knowledge never have needed it when set. I don't take them out gigging these days and expose them to anything so that could be a big factor but the winter means nothing really. Sometimes I tweak the action but frankly I do that as need just based on how I feel and the hands. The action does change a bit on some but not on others.
I raised the action on my 38 L5 about 2 weeks ago and frankly was thinking maybe it will be a bit more than I like. However, to my surprise not only did not feel much difference it also made a huge difference in the clarity of sound. I personally think the weather and season on an acoustic guitar are bit overstated in reaction, except for those gigged and traveling, then anything can and will happen. Truss rods at least to me should not need to be tweak 2 times a year but I realize many do.
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Why? Most of the Netherlands has the same kind of heating, idem in France (except for fuel-fired central heaters). In my experience it's a gentle kind of heat (the water doesn't exactly boil inside those radiators) that dries the air far less than air-to-air heatpumps or bread toaster-style electric heaters. My violins never had any issue with it anyway (but of course I monitor RH, roughly). Originally Posted by GuyBoden
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I have to run a dehumidifier all year on 50% auto, even in the winter. I keep all my instruments off the floor in my basement studio in their cases on racks. I can’t remember the last time I touched a truss rod.
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I realised yesterday that I may have to tweak the one in my archtop to reduce relief a bit.
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A guitar string at tension is an excellent straight-edge. Fret the first and 14th frets (usually the 14th, but whichever fret is at the body join, or you can use any fret up to the last if you want) and you have a perfect straightedge, and it's easy to check the relief along the entire neck, because the straight-edge is still flexible, and you can ping any fret. Keeping the strings fretted at the first fret is the best use for a capo. Originally Posted by Herbie
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It’s still kind of warm, but inside humidity is dropping into the high 20s, low 30s. I should start up the humidifier.
Yes most of my guitars have needed a lot of tuning adjustment. No truss rod adjustments needed so far.
Interestingly I just noted that my Cordoba Stage solid-body nylon string has stayed in tune for the last 6 months or so without adjustment. I have played it a bit, but haven’t actually used a tuner on it for ages, just cause I’m lazy.
I checked it yesterday and it was spot on. Not even one string required a significant adjustment. Most stable tuning of any guitar I’ve ever owned.
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Huh? I believe hot water baseboard heating is much safer for instruments than warm forced air. Originally Posted by GuyBoden
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I thing that in general, nylon string guitars are a little less susceptible to humidity changes, maybe because there is less tension(?) Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff
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