DjangoBooks.com

Humidity and Selmacs

djadamdjadam Boulder, CONew
Are Selmacs inherantly as susceptible to humidity damage as other acoustic guitars? Seems that most Selmacs I've seen have a much thicker glossy finish than a typical dreadnaught, orchestra model, or classical guitar, so I'd imagine they are less susceptible to finish checking at least.

My new Park arrives tomorrow and I'm thinking about how long I should leave it in its case. It'll surely be cold coming off the UPS truck and I had figured I'd give it a couple of hours to acclimate, but according to the Santa Cruz Guitar Company site, when an acoustic guitar makes a big change in temp and humidity, you should leave it in its case overnight to slowly adjust. Is that overkill or par for the course?

Also, I have my guitar room now humidified at a constant 50% - sound about right?

Comments

  • nwilkinsnwilkins New
    Posts: 431
    yes, they are very susceptible to humidity and often have delicate finishes, depending on the guitar of course. I leave mine at 55% humidity. I would definitely say that 24 hours is overkill, however. Guitars are hardier than most people assume. I took my Aylward (coming from Scotland) out of the case as soon as I got it and noticed no ill effects.
  • ElliotElliot Madison, WisconsinNew
    Posts: 551
    I read that too, and I tried (!), but come midnight I figured 8 hours was more than enough, and besides I had already opened the Cold Duck. However if it is French polished I would keep it longer to play it safe, just because shellac is so hard and brittle by nature.

    For humidity never below 45%. The upside is less crucial.
  • Craig BumgarnerCraig Bumgarner Drayden, MarylandVirtuoso Bumgarner S/N 001
    Posts: 795
    I note that my current Selmac with a sealed interior is MUCH more stable than the two other guitars I had of this type.

    Craig
  • djadamdjadam Boulder, CONew
    Posts: 249
    Well the box was really cold coming off the UPS truck (was 23 degrees F out), so I cracked the top of the box and waited and hour. Then I removed some of the newspaper packing and waited another. Then I took the case out completely and waited three more.

    Then I could wait no more and pulled out my new guitar. Smiling ever since!

    Thanks everyone for your feedback.
Sign In or Register to comment.
Home  |  Forum  |  Blog  |  Contact  |  206-528-9873
The Premier Gypsy Jazz Marketplace
DjangoBooks.com
USD CAD GBP EUR AUD
USD CAD GBP EUR AUD
Banner Adverts
Sell Your Guitar
© 2024 DjangoBooks.com, all rights reserved worldwide.
Software: Kryptronic eCommerce, Copyright 1999-2024 Kryptronic, Inc. Exec Time: 0.016522 Seconds Memory Usage: 1.00872 Megabytes
Kryptronic