SYMPTOMS OF A WET GUITAR

T A Y L O R
T E C H
S H E E T
SYMPTOMS OF A WET GUITAR
While much of our
energy is devot-
ed to preventing
guitars from drying out, it
also is possible for guitars
to become too wet. Usually,
a guitar becomes over-
humidified when it has
Photo 1.
been exposed to the ele-
Photo 4.
This photo shows an extremely swollen gui-
ments for a period of sever-
This photo shows the fingerboard swollen
tar back. Notice the dip in the center, where
al weeks in an area where the
enough to grow wider than the neck, leaving
the back is glued to the tailblock. It cannot
humidity is very high (80 to
a “step” where the fretboard meets the neck.
rise at this section and so a ripple, or low
90 percent), or for several
spot, is created.
months where the humidity
is medium-high (60 to 70
percent). In some cases,
guitar bodies are over-
humidified by well-mean-
ing owners who, in an
effort to prevent their gui-
tars from drying, have got-
ten carried away with
soundhole humidifiers.
Photo 2.
While high humidity
Photo 5.
This photo shows an extremely swollen guitar
usually will not crack the
This photo shows a back arch that is very
top, and a dip similar to that shown in photo
wood the way low humidi-
high from excess moisture.
1. In this case the dip occurs where the top is
ty can, the adverse effects
glued to the tailblock.
can be just as damaging and
sometimes can be more
costly to repair. The wood
in a guitar can swell
tremendously, causing
glue joints to fail and neck
angles to go bad.
Distortions in the wood can
remain even after other
damage has been repaired,
leaving the guitar cosmeti-
Photo 3.
Photo 6.
cally disfigured. Read the
This photo shows the top and fretboard
This photo shows the back arch after the
tech-sheet, “Symptoms of a
swollen so much that the glue joint has
guitar has been dried. Notice that the
Dry Guitar,” to gain an
failed and the two pieces have popped apart.
swelling on the back is less pronounced. This
understanding of our
guitar lost 38 grams of weight in the drying
wood-drying process, the
process, which translates into 1-1/3 ounces
climate control of our fac-
of water!
1980 GILLESPIE WAY • EL CAJON, CA 92020-1096 • CUSTOMER SERVICE (619) 258-6957 • FAX (619) 258-3797

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SYMPTOMS OF A WET GUITAR (continued from page 1)
tory, and how relative
SYMPTOMS TO LOOK FOR:
humidity affects wood.
1. High action. Strings that are unusually
We do not expect
high off the fretboard, making it difficult to
guitar owners to
play.
become meteorolo-
2. Portion of fretboard on the body is raised
gists, or to walk on
above the portion on the neck. Causes
eggshells concerning
fret buzzing in the high registers.
the safety of their gui-
3. Unusually swollen top. See photo 2.
tars. But by becoming
Photo 7.
4. Unusual warp on the top, back or both at
familiar both with the This photo shows the neck angle when wet. The
the end-block.
top is so swollen that the bridge has risen above
principles of humidity
See photos 1 and 2.
the fingerboard (see broken lines). If you were to
and with how a normal
6. Improper neck angle. Sighting the neck to
"sight" down the neck, you'd find that it points
the bridge, the frets will appear to hit
guitar looks and feels, "low" on the bridge. It would be a mistake to
below the bridge.
an owner can prevent reset the neck while the body is this wet.
See photo 7.
almost all damage to a
NOTE: All guitars will have a certain
guitar. Basic precau-
amount of “pull” behind the
tions include: keeping
bridge. This alone is not an
the guitar in its case
indication of a wet guitar.
when not in use; keep-
Look for a combination of these
ing it out of direct
symptoms to determine if the
sunlight, and extremes
guitar is getting too humid.
in heat, cold, and high
PREVENTION IS BEST:
or low humidity; regu-
1. Periodically, remove the guitar and blow-
larly checking for any
dry the interior of the case with a hair
significant changes.
Photo 8.
In this photo, the neck angle is correctly set.
dryer for 10-15 minutes.
Examine these pho- Notice that if you sight down the neck to the top
2. Use a small de-humidifier in the room
tographs of an extreme- of the bridge, the top of the frets and the bridge
where you store your guitar. It’s also wise
ly “wet” guitar that are on the same plane.
to monitor the humidity levels with a digi-
came to us from a deal-
tal hygrometer. Radio Shack offers these
er in Asia. During a
for a nominal fee.
very wet and rainy sea-
3. Place several silica gel packs in the guitar
son, this guitar
case and change them every few months
remained on the store
wall, where it absorbed
moisture from the air.
When the dealer
returned it to us for
Photo 9.
In this photo, the top of the frets are on the same plane as the top of the bridge.
repair, it weighed in at
This is the correct adjustment for the neck.
2,431 grams. After dry-
ing it and then letting it
normalize naturally to
the 47 percent relative
humidity in our factory
(which restored the
guitar to its original
moisture content), the
guitar weighed 2,383
grams. This was a loss
of 38 grams of water, or
1.34 ounces — enough
to saturate four large,
highly absorbent paper
towels!
1980 GILLESPIE WAY • EL CAJON, CA 92020-1096 • CUSTOMER SERVICE (619) 258-6957 • FAX (619) 258-3797

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