5 Steps (and $9) That Will Save Your Guitar From the Heat
Is your guitar getting too hot (or cold) in storage? Sometimes it's hard to know.
The optimum temperature to store an acoustic guitar is 70° - 75° F, or 21° - 24° C. Optimum humidity is 40 - 50%.
The general wisdom is that you shouldn’t keep your acoustic guitar in any condition you wouldn’t be comfortable in yourself. If you’d be too hot in that car, so would your acoustic guitar. If you’d be too cold in that garage, so would your acoustic guitar.
Why Does Temperature and Humidity Matter?
The simple answer is that your acoustic guitar is made of wood - an organic material that responds to changes in heat and moisture by expanding and contracting. Extreme temperature changes cause extreme expansions and contractions - this will cause problems in the wood. Cracking, warping, splintering. These are all bad, bad things for the sounds and appearance of your acoustic guitar.
So What’s the Best Way to Store My Acoustic Guitar?
You should store your acoustic guitar in a place that keeps temperature and humidity regulated. Ideally, so that it stays within those 70° - 75° F (21° - 24° C) and 40 - 50% ranges. Now the real question: how do you know if your guitar is getting too hot or cold? Glad you asked.
5 Steps (and $9) That Will Save Your Guitar From the Heat
1. The first step is to store your guitar in a case. Your case will act as the first barrier in regulating the climate. Soft case, hard case - doesn’t matter.
Need a case? There's lots to choose from: Check options here >>
- Next, buy a ThermPro Indoor Humidity & Temperature Monitor. This monitor continually monitors the humidity and temperature and displays current data, as well as the highest and lowest points from the last 24 hours. This last part is the key feature.
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Take your acoustic guitar out of the case and keep the guitar in a safe place that you know is comfortable (like your bedroom). Stick the ThermPro inside and close it up.
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Put the guitar case with ThermPro inside in your proposed storage location.
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Check back every 24 hours for the next couple days and note the temperature highs and lows, and the humidity highs and lows. If the numbers are within (or reasonably close) to the optimum storage range, then bingo! You’re good. If not, time to test a new spot.
If you're ready to get started, click here to order the ThermPro from Amazon. It's one of their bestsellers, so expect to receive it in just a few days.
Note: If you have extreme seasonal differences, you may want to do this exercise several times a year.
Further Reading:
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Guitar/Guitar_Maintenance_and_Storage
http://www.dawsons.co.uk/blog/safe-humidity-and-temperature-levels-for-guitars