dupont construction

markhof

Hi,

I have a 2011 dupont nomade d-hole. I recently noticed some sagging on the soundboard by the fretboard.

I plan on taking it in to a luthier so he can have a look. There are some very good builders nearby, but no one with experience working on gypsy jazz guitars. So I'm looking for some advise.

After taking a closer look the braces that run parallel to the longer sides of the opening were intact and firmly connected to the soundboard. I also noticed there were no braces that run on the narrower sides of the opening like in the collins and maccaferri plans I was able to dig up.

Is my problem a common issue?

What are your thoughts on the best approach to fix it and make sure it won't happen again?

I was thinking (a dangerous thing) the top could be removed and flattened, braces could be added for more structural reinforcement (like in the maccaferri plans. Does anyone know (or care to guess) how this would effect the sound?

Thanks
Mark

Bones

Sounds like you might have let it dry out. Do you keep it stored in a hard case when not in use? Do you live in a dry environment? Do you use a case humidifier? 50% RH is about right. If you put it in a case with a humidifier and slack the strings you might see it come back up. DON'T OVERDO IT WITH THE HUMIDIFIER.

adk

Thanks for the sound advise (pun intended). Usually id do leave it in the case, but I recently I decided to leave the guitar on a stand to increase my practice sessions. That worked. Humidity was at 35%. I should have kept an eye on that. Anyway, I brought the humidity in my room to 50%. After 1 week it's looking a little better. (not quite there yet though.) Fingers crossed... - Thanks, I hope it works, cheaper then brining it in.

Bones

Yeah I know the temptation to leave it out of the case. I guess that's ok if you really have 50% RH but just the same I'd probably leave it in the case with a humidifier at least until the body recovers. Personally I always keep it in a case.

DanielJ

What kind of humidifier did you use? I have a similar problem, I choose between these now, but I think there is no difference :)

Bones

I don't use a whole house humidifier. I use a case humidifier and also leave the guitars I'm not playing stored in a closed closet in the case if necessary. If it's really dry I put a small plastic bucket with a damp rag in the closet too. Low tech but I think it helps.

JSanta

The temptation to leave guitars out of the cases is easy to give into. My guitars now all live in their cases, with the D'addario humidipaks in cases with them as an extra precaution. I also run a room humidifier in the room with the guitars, keeping the room around 45%RH. I've been using this humidifier for a number of years without issue: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Air-Innovations-1-6-Gal-Cool-Mist-Digital-Humidifier-for-Large-Rooms-up-to-500-sq-ft-HUMID10-BLACK/204512377

mGorge

Too much dry weather is not good and can lead these type of issue. You should use one of the best whole house humidifier to avoid such issue. I am using The Aprilaire 500M and so far so good.

richter4208

Damn that Aprilaire looks badass.....thanks for the tip

Charlie Ayers

I had an Aprilaire 600 installed, which is ok but didn't didn't really change the hygrometer reading in my instrument room much. I presume the effectiveness is dependent on the size of your living space. I'm also using a 6 gal room humidifier in that room, which is like this, works great, and shuts off when the desired humidity is reached:

https://www.amazon.com/AIRCARE-831000-Space-Saver-Evaporative-Humidifier/dp/B00WAC9VKQ/ref=sxin_9?ascsubtag=amzn1.osa.ad4228bd-569c-470f-9525-51ad9863f6d4.ATVPDKIKX0DER.en_US&creativeASIN=B00WAC9VKQ&cv_ct_cx=essick+humidifier&cv_ct_id=amzn1.osa.ad4228bd-569c-470f-9525-51ad9863f6d4.ATVPDKIKX0DER.en_US&cv_ct_pg=search&cv_ct_we=asin&cv_ct_wn=osp-single-source-earns-comm&dchild=1&keywords=essick+humidifier&linkCode=oas&pd_rd_i=B00WAC9VKQ&pd_rd_r=38155df4-9a66-41d5-9769-5b4012ef8ec1&pd_rd_w=It5Ly&pd_rd_wg=6MqKN&pf_rd_p=4792e5f4-51c6-48ff-b63c-bf99cc3a12e7&pf_rd_r=Y91C65M6CPAMA3EEB16F&qid=1608134266&sr=1-3-64f3a41a-73ca-403a-923c-8152c45485fe&tag=bargainsbaby-20

YMMV of course