The Steel Guitar Forum

I'm considering setting up a music room in the basement, in a 12x12 area that I've carpeted and added temporary walls. It's cool down there but not clammy. I'm going to measure the indoor humidity, but need to know what the tolerable range is for musical instruments both electric and acoustic. I guess I could add a dehumidifier if necessary. Thanks for the input.

You can ask the folks in Nashville ..... 100% is NOT within the allowable range.

Hi Allan,
Good question.
Too dry is often the bigger problem. Thats why they sell humidifiers like the "Dampit" for guitars and other wooden instruments.
http://www.maurysmusic.com/humidity___acoustic_guitars

Hi Allan, I have several acoustic guitars as well as electric and a pedal steel.I try to keep the relative humidity in my room to 40%..Here in so cal it is like a desert.and with ac on in the summer and the forced air heat in the winter humidity can drop to single digits.as stated before, too dry is bad!!! things will crack.!!!!!!.anything over 60 % creates other problems,I try to keep between those numbers.
good luck.

I've been told 40% to 60% relative humidity is ideal for instruments (especially acoustic guitars as they are build with thin tops and sides, so fluctuation can make a big difference throughout the life of the instrument). Anything dryer than 40% can be dangerous (I had a Takamine crack, and a neck twist; both of which I suspect happened because of dryness). Anything over 60% to 70% and you are getting into mildew territory I think.

Our part of the country is very humid, so that can be a real problem here. My instruments are in a little building that was way too wet, on the verge of mildew. I finally broke down several years ago and got a de-humidifier and maintain 50-60% humidity all the time. Everything is much happier, and trust me, a 50% humidity guitar sounds much better that an 80-90% humidity guitar.

I've got a humidifier on the furnace that has summer and winter settings so I guess I don't have to worry about it too much. There were pics posted recently of a couple steels that looked like they were pulled out of a swamp... I just don't want mine to end up like that! I can't help the sour notes I produce but I CAN keep the guitar in good shape.