A sample page from the author’s analog log.
Seasonal changes are tough on your acoustic. Here’s how you can take better care of your prized instrument.
As you read this, spring is in bloom in most of the US, or maybe it has been for some time. I’m timing this column specifically to ask acoustic guitarists, in this season of increasing humidity and comfortable conditions, to prepare for what’s coming. It’s never too soon, and time flies. Before you know it, we’ll be back to the maintenance phase and you might be blowing up the phones of your local guitar shops, luthiers, and techs. I’m here to encourage a decidedly old-school approach to preventative guitar maintenance, and yes, it starts now.
Why, you ask? Well, as the lead luthier at Acoustic Music Works, I can tell you that in my nearly 15 years in this position, this was the worst winter ever for preventable repairs on acoustic guitars. Fret sprout, bridge lifts, top sink, soundboard cracks, back cracks, loose binding, general malaise… These hit us very hard in the winter that spanned 2024 and 2025. Am I complaining? On the one hand, no. This is part of how we make our money. On the other hand, yes! Repair schedules related to dryness and humidity issues can stretch into weeks and even months, and nobody wants to be without their favorite instruments for that amount of time. With a little thoughtfulness, however, you might get through next winter (and every one thereafter) without hefty repair bills or time apart from your musical companion.
Our preparation is going to start with an unlikely but very important guitar accessory: the humble notebook. Plain, lined, grid, day planner… it doesn’t matter. We all need to actively participate in our instrument maintenance, and in my experience, fancy apps that track humidity via Bluetooth breed a kind of laziness, a feeling of safety that might prevent us from actually physically looking in on conditions. Better we keep an analog, well, log, so that we know where things stand, and I suggest checking in daily.
“This was the worst winter ever for preventable repairs on acoustic guitars.”
Track your relative humidity, both in the case and in the room where your instruments mostly reside, but also take notes on your action height, top deflection (StewMac has some great tips for measuring this) and anything related to playability that you believe you can observe empirically.
Dryness is the root cause of most guitar issues that manifest in the fall and winter months. Symptoms of dryness include sharp fret ends, falling action and dead frets, sunken top around the sound hole, and cracks and bridge lifts. With your trusty notebook, you’ll get a feel for the sensitivity level of your instrument, and that knowledge is power!
A few other basic implements will not only assist you in your observations, but may also satisfy your need to buy guitar-related things (at least for a minute). Getting quick and comfortable with a fret rocker is a great skill to have, and is invaluable in diagnosing buzzes due to high frets or frets that have come unseated due to dryness. A well-calibrated relief gauge might seem luxurious, but it can prevent you from making unnecessary or extreme truss rod adjustments. A string action gauge, or even a simple machinist’s rule or set of feeler gauges, will help you keep track of your action. Get a three-pack of hygrometers so you can average their readings, rather than depending on one.
Lest we forget: A guitar can not only be too dry, it can also be too wet. By beginning your maintenance diligence in the spring/summer, you’ll also be able to tell if your instrument is the victim of a too-humid environment. The signs of over-humidification are subtle: Your action may rise from a puffed-up top, and in extreme cases, glue joints could begin to fail. In my experience, an over-humidified guitar will suffer from dulled tone, almost like a sock in the sound hole. If you’re sensing a lack of clarity in your guitar all of a sudden, start with new strings. If it persists, it might be due to over-humidification, and you may want to introduce a desiccant to the case for a time. The more lightly built your guitar is, the more sensitive it will be to seasonal changes.
By getting into these habits early, you’ll be empowered by knowing your instrument more intimately. You’ll understand when and why changes in tone and playability might have occurred, and you’ll hopefully save on repair bills year-round. Feel free to reach out with any questions. Who knows? I might just send you a notebook with an AMW sticker on the cover!
This case, from TKL, is an example of the classic approach to guitar protection.
Be sure to guard your 6-string investments from damage. Here’s a guide to a variety of options for dependable guitar protection.
I have had many guitars pass through my hands, and I’m happy to say that I have only been involved with the demise of one. This happened when the shelving above my workbench collapsed. Needless to say, I no longer have any shelves above my workbenches. However, even without structurally compromised shelves, guitars are fragile things. If they are not taken care of properly, they can, and will, be damaged. The key is to make sure your precious instrument is not put in harm’s way, so making good choices when storing or transporting your guitar is paramount.
Storing guitars on stands creates a major risk for damage. Even though we all use them, I don’t use my stands for storage. When they’re not being played, I put guitars back in their cases. As a repair person, I routinely talk to my customers about the importance of storing guitars in their cases, which protect them from impact and are your primary line of defense against humidity fluctuations. Even though countless priceless vintage guitars have changed hands, many still reside safely in their OEM hardshell cases. That’s a testament to a good, old-school hardshell case.
It's my opinion that a 5-ply hardshell guitar case with an arch top and back (which has been routinely produced by many case manufacturers for decades) is a perfectly acceptable option for guitars of any value. If treated with respect and care, it will hold up to the life of an instrument, offering decades of protection. For my line of Galloup Guitars, I use Cedar Creek cases produced by TKL as my baseline. I have used these cases to transport my guitars to conventions across the world for decades without issue, so that’s a pretty good track record.
If you’re a player who requires a more durable case for ultimate protection, there are some high-end options to consider, though they can run well over $1,000. A well-established brand is Calton Cases, produced in Austin, Texas. These cases are absolute vaults, so when the SHTF, your guitar has an excellent chance at survival—whether it’s thrown off of an equipment truck or mishandled by a baggage person—maybe even if a ship goes down at sea. However, Calton Cases are big, heavy, and therefore not particularly easy to transport. If you consider the overall size and weight, coupled with their added cost, these are generally not a prime option for everyday use. But for heavy-duty protection in volatile environments, yes.
Jeff Hoffee in Chicago, Illinois, also makes high-end acoustic guitar cases that are some of the more attractive I have seen, sporting a smart, stylish, and modern look. These carbon-fiber cases offer a nice amount of protection at a pleasing weight. With the added option of the accompanying shoulder strap, you have a good overall package. However, I have had Hoffee cases fracture during shipping. My guitars were never damaged, and Jeff has always been stellar about repairing them. In fact, he offers a lifetime warranty.
Quick side note: The case is an extension of the overall guitar package. If it is damaged, you have every right to claim through your insurance policy for any repair cost or replacements.
Then, there’s the topic of guitar-case accessories, of which there are two in particular I find notable. One is a shoulder strap. When I order cases, I make sure they are equipped with “D” hooks, ready to accept shoulder straps. If the company does not offer that feature, I’m not interested. For me, it’s a must.
There are also case covers, which are less essential but certainly have their advantages. They add a level of protection from the elements that, in some circumstances, just might be the edge you need to protect your guitar from certain peril. Plus, there’s the obvious protection to the case itself through external padding. The brand that seems to be making the rounds with many pro players is Caseadillo. These quality units are produced in several colors with added external storage for personal belongings.
Of course, I have only touched on a few cases available. If you go to NAMM, there are seemingly hundreds of case makers to choose from, but this overview should give you some guidelines to consider when choosing a case for protecting your investment. PG
Cracked finishes? Buzzy frets? Don’t let it happen to you!
Wherever you live and whatever the climate, don’t forget to keep your humidity levels in check. Your guitars will thank you!
For guitarists, things get a little crazy twice each year. I’m not talking about the NAMM convention—it’s bigger than that. Both summer and winter bring temperature and humidity extremes to bear on wooden instruments, and if you’re not prepared, things can get ugly. Dry air shrinks wood and splits guitar parts. Humid air swells tops and fretboards, wreaking havoc on setups and finishes. It’s important to know that damage caused by failure to anticipate this natural occurrence is not a defect in the instrument. Many times, trips to the repair shop can be avoided by simple climate control.
It’s a full-time job for guitar builders, but what we do to cope with nature’s swings has lessons for guitar owners as well. Modern indoor climate control means most people live and work in a fairly narrow range of temperatures, regardless of where they reside. We all know not to leave a guitar in the car trunk when temperatures soar or plummet, but inside of your home, the culprit is humidity.
The yearly average humidity in North America (and around the world) provides an incredibly wide range of numbers. Nevada’s 38.30 percent yearly average is a world apart from Alaska’s surprising 77.10 percent, and that’s just the average. But even these numbers don’t tell the whole story. When you factor in temperature, things can get better, or they can get much worse. What we’re interested in is relative humidity (RH), which is the percentage of water vapor in the air at a given temperature.
Different regions require different approaches. Both Arizona and Louisiana can be crazy hot in the summer, but their humidity levels couldn’t be more different. In the Southwest, air conditioning that’s working overtime to cool is also stripping moisture from the air. Whereas in New Orleans, getting things dried out is a constant battle. It’s safe to say that most places need both temperature and humidity control to avoid problems.
Many times, trips to the repair shop can be avoided by simple climate control.
Manufacturers can’t afford the damage that humidity (or lack of it) can bring. When RH drops too quickly, expensive stockpiles of tonewoods can crack, reducing them to firewood. At the very least, swings in humidity can make wooden parts hard to fit, especially when they’re machined to tight tolerances by CNC. In a guitarist’s home, low humidity can split tops and shrink bodies resulting in delamination of bindings or bridges. Fretboards not protected with finish are the first things to react to changing humidity, bowing or warping enough to render an instrument unplayable. High humidity expands the fretboard, forcing the neck into a backwards bow, whereas low humidity shrinkage creates an opposite, forward bow. Shrinking fretboards also reveal fret ends which can be uncomfortable at best. In some cases, expansion and shrinking may cause finish to flake off, especially at sharp corners or fretboard edges. Needless to say, this isn’t what you want happening to your collection.
The good news is that if you keep most of your instruments in a single room, it won’t be too hard to control the humidity. The first step is to get an accurate hygrometer to determine what the current RH is in your space. Most times, the problem is low humidity. In that case, calculate the room size and begin your search for a room humidifier to match your needs. If humidity is high, you’ll need a dehumidifier, and you can use the same method to determine the size. Keep the RH between 35 and 45 percent to be safe. Your room needs to be sealed off. Otherwise your efforts will literally go out the window. I like the type of unit that senses the humidity, and you can just set it and forget it—until it’s time to fill (or empty) the tank. The trick is not to have them both on at once. They’ll just get into a never-ending battle with each other. You’ll have to monitor things to know when to switch over as the seasons change.
At home or in a small studio, you can control your instrument’s environment for a relatively small outlay. A few hundred bucks is way more affordable than crack repairs. It also keeps things comfy, which is a nice bonus. Think of it as a large pedal whose effect is keeping your guitars playing right and protecting your investment.