Thread: HELP!! How can I re-hydrate my $6000 acousitic guitar (exposed to heaps of dry heat)?

That is one serious ouch !! I am not really sure I can offer any real definite advice for you and with an instrument that has such value, but I think personally you might really want to talk to an instrument maker, that is seek some professional advice, because to take the wrong approach could have serious consequences to your instrument.

I can well understand this, as my sister and daughter are both professional violinists and take incredible care with their violins. My niece is soon to take ownership of a $60K violin, given she works for the London Symphony Orchestra. My dad is a pianist and similarly has 2 extremely expensive grand pianos, and again I know how fastidious he is with his in terms of heat control, exposure to sunlight etc.

The only things that come to mind therefore are that quite possibly your guitar may need to be put in a controlled temperature and steam bath to re-hydrate it, and/or possibly require waxing or some other kind of treatment to feed the wood. I don't know what timber your guitar is made from or, the finish that was used on it. Do you see any signs of discolouration, cracking or warping (I hope not), but hence my original point being to seek some professional advice. All the best in sorting this one out.

The important thing here is not to force any rehydration too quickly

If the guitar is not damaged it will rehydrate by itself if placed for some time in an optimum environment. Do you have a hygrometer? (I know some guitarists that carry one in their guitar cases), if not then they are relatively cheap and find a room or cupboard which undergoes the correct humidity range change (from memory the range is between 35 and and 65%). If it is too dry you can use a humidifier to raise, and some will even monitor and manage the humidity.

I have never seen them but some fancy guitar cases come with a hygrometer and a small humidity source inside them. If you put the guitar inside one of these it would rehydrate over a couple of weeks. The humidity source may need replenishment from time to time. Monitoring of the humidity on a regular basis would be worthwhile.

I'd avoid the steam bath idea, I'd go along with what Bob says.

I have been traveling between a very humid climate & a very dry climate a bit this year & I take my acoustic guitar with me, it manages to stabilize while stored in its hard case within a couple of days.

The tuning changes that much that when I loaned it to a friend without retuning it after one of the trips, he didn't dare try to re-tune it because he though I must have had it in special tuning.

Originally Posted by Guitardude

I'm a composer guitarist signed to a major label, and I recently built a new recording studio.

I wasn't using it for a few weeks and when I went back in today and realized that I had left my $6000 acoustic in a stand directly under the heating vent (all the rooms have a single vent that shoots hot air down).
It would have gone through this about 30 times a day at about 2-3 minutes each time.

It's looking noticeably dry and this will definitely affect tone.
It is usually supposed to be kept inside a hermetically sealed case (with full humidity control).

How can I re-hydrate it in a controlled way (over-saturation could destroy it).

It's very important to me because I am also on a schedule at the moment (I am supposed to be using it now).


Thanks.

find a professional lutherier ASAP

If it's supposed to be kept in a humidy controlled environment, presumably the hermetically sealed case has a way of maintaining the required humidity. Popping the guitar back in it's case and regularly checking the moisture supply unit should allow the guitar to reabsorb any lost moisture

but as i said, get professional advice ASAP

BTW, giving your location as just "Australia", makes suggesting who to contact a mite tricky

Originally Posted by Guitardude

I'm a composer guitarist signed to a major label, and I recently built a new recording studio.

I wasn't using it for a few weeks and when I went back in today and realized that I had left my $6000 acoustic in a stand directly under the heating vent (all the rooms have a single vent that shoots hot air down).
It would have gone through this about 30 times a day at about 2-3 minutes each time.

It's looking noticeably dry and this will definitely affect tone.
It is usually supposed to be kept inside a hermetically sealed case (with full humidity control).

How can I re-hydrate it in a controlled way (over-saturation could destroy it).

It's very important to me because I am also on a schedule at the moment (I am supposed to be using it now).


Thanks.

Go to STEWMAC.COM : Guitar Parts, Bass, Banjo, Mandolin, Hardware, Tools, Supplies, Free Information and go to accessories and and look at humidifiers