hello and gad 30Q

[robinbirdd]

hello! new to the forum here, so thought I would do my best to post a full on newbie question.

santa was sweet this year and brought a gad30R for me. love at first sight! it so pretty!

So now I have some humidity questions i am hoping someone here can help with..... I think the guitar was dried out when I got it (I live in a low humidity climate, 15% is typical) and I'm wondering how long it will take to rehydrate. First of, the nice ebony endpin is very loose in the hole and won't stay in. For the week I have had it, I have been storing the guitar in the case with an oasis in the soundhole and the pin is not as loose, but would certainly fall out if I tipped the neck up. Second wierdness is the top is a little wavey perpendicular to the grain. That too is smoothing out but not there yet.

I've been able to get it to 34% and have to refill the oasis every couple days. So, what do you think? Give it a couple more weeks? Get a second oasis?? Play less so I can hydrate more (ok that's not gonna happen...)

thanks!!

 

[evenkeel]

Sorry to post a Taylor link, but this is a very good series of videos on the whole humidity thing.

http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/fe ... idity.aspx

 

[capnjuan]

Hi Robin; welcome and congratulations on your new guitar! I have nothing to offer on your humidity questions but I'm sure others will have some suggestions. CJ

 

[Nigel Wickwire]

G'day and welcome to LTG, Robin.

I would certainly give that Gad30 some more time to hydrate. Adding a second Oasis (or some other humidifier) is a good idea. If you're in that dry of a climate, it will take some time to get to 50%. After reaching and maintaining 45% to 50%, re-evaluate somewhere around St. Paddy's day to April Fools day. If things still don't seem right, take it back to the dealer. Those Gad's have a full lifetime warranty. If you are the original owner, you're covered.

Enjoy that new Gad30R


~nw

 

[kostask]

hello! new to the forum here, so thought I would do my best to post a full on newbie question.

santa was sweet this year and brought a gad30R for me. love at first sight! it so pretty!

So now I have some humidity questions i am hoping someone here can help with..... I think the guitar was dried out when I got it (I live in a low humidity climate, 15% is typical) and I'm wondering how long it will take to rehydrate. First of, the nice ebony endpin is very loose in the hole and won't stay in. For the week I have had it, I have been storing the guitar in the case with an oasis in the soundhole and the pin is not as loose, but would certainly fall out if I tipped the neck up. Second wierdness is the top is a little wavey perpendicular to the grain. That too is smoothing out but not there yet.

I've been able to get it to 34% and have to refill the oasis every couple days. So, what do you think? Give it a couple more weeks? Get a second oasis?? Play less so I can hydrate more (ok that's not gonna happen...)

thanks!!

Robinbirdd:

The way I have seen severely dried out guitars re-hydrated by my luthier friends is to put a number of humidifiers in and around the guitar, and then put the guitar with humidifiers inside a large plasitc/garbage bag, and close/seal up the opening, and then put that inside the guitar case. The garbage bag serves as a moisture barrier, to help retain moisture near the guitar and to allow it to rehydrate quickly. The Oasis will serve to help up the humidity level, but adding a sponge inside a travelling soap dish container with holes drilled into it, inserted into the sound hole, and a dampit would speed the process up considerably. The rehydration time is pretty hard to determine, it very much depends on the original state of the guitar, and how quickly you can raise the humidity to a high level (>50%). Using the large plastic/garbage bag will help raise the humidity level, as it will prevent moisture loss from the seams of the guitar case. Sorry to be a drag, but the guitar will probably NOT rehydrate properly at 34%, as that is not even high enough for a guitar to stay properly hydrated, that that is for a guitar that is properly hydrated.

Please elaborate on the waviness in the top perpendicular to the grain. Are you talking about a slight dip in front ot the bridge, and a slight bulge behind the bridge? If so, this can be considered normal, although it very much matters on the amount of dip/bulge. Generally, when tops shrink due to their being dehydrated, tops tend to flatten out, and the guitar tends to buzz more becasue the shrinking top lowers the action.

Are the fret ends starting to poke out of the fretboard? The fretboard is ebony, and it would tend to dehydrate and shrink faster than most of the other woods used. This is another indication of a dehydrated guitar.

Going forward, in extreme cases of dryness, you will need to consider a room humidifier in a room, or a small enclosed space like a closet, and put the guitar in there. Make sure that you have a humidifier with a settable humidity setting, and set it to 45-50%.

Kostas

 

[robinbirdd]

hey thanks you all! I think I will keep moving it slowly with another in-case humidifier. it has already made good progress. I have been leaving the pin loose in the case - maybe I should put it in the hole to fatten up in place?

the top's wavy thing - it is all behind the bridge. running my thumb on the top from the upper to the lower part, and say 2" back of the bridge (as if strumming the wood behind the bridge) it begins to dip slightly starting a couple inches from the upper edge, rising behind the bridge then down again, and back up to the edge. It is much less pronounced now - i can't see it as much as I could on day one. Just a feeling. The dip is say, the thickness of a couple pieces of paper. I am not sure if it is supposed to arch up a bit (like the taylor vid - thx for that) or just be flat from edge to edge. The back has a lovely arch, and the frets are slipping back nicely into the ebony.

thanks again! I am really enjoying my new guitar

 

[kostask]

hey thanks you all! I think I will keep moving it slowly with another in-case humidifier. it has already made good progress. I have been leaving the pin loose in the case - maybe I should put it in the hole to fatten up in place?

the top's wavy thing - it is all behind the bridge. running my thumb on the top from the upper to the lower part, and say 2" back of the bridge (as if strumming the wood behind the bridge) it begins to dip slightly starting a couple inches from the upper edge, rising behind the bridge then down again, and back up to the edge. It is much less pronounced now - i can't see it as much as I could on day one. Just a feeling. The dip is say, the thickness of a couple pieces of paper. I am not sure if it is supposed to arch up a bit (like the taylor vid - thx for that) or just be flat from edge to edge. The back has a lovely arch, and the frets are slipping back nicely into the ebony.

thanks again! I am really enjoying my new guitar

What you said about the top is also a symptom of drying out. It should correct itself once the guitar is properly rehydrated.

All so called "flattop guitars" (of solid wood, I'm not sure about laminated/plywood guitars) are made with a an arch in both the top and back. This is not a Taylor thing, it is true of all solid wood guitars. The video from Taylor is quite good at showing how to look at the top to see how it has dried out. When you see enough guitars, it will be easy to see when a guitar has been dried out. For now, the Taylor videos are a great guide.

Kostas

P.S. One thing to keep in mind with the Taylor videos is to not take the arch of the Taylor as being applicable to all solid wood guitars. The amount of arch varies from maker to maker. It can be relatively flat (30 ft. arch) to fairly curved (20 ft. arch, for example). The arch is one of the most important ways, in conjunction with the bracing, that the guitar maker/designer voices the guitar. The arch also makes the top stronger in the direction of the string pull.

 

[evenkeel]

First my aplogies to robin. Not even a welcome in my first post. So, welcome to the gang and congrats on the new Guild.

One other thought re: humidity. I don't have hard data to support this, but my gut tells me new guitars are much more sensitive to humidity changes than old ones. Before we moved aboard our boat we lived in Maine on an island in Casco Bay. Very dry winters followed by more humid summers. Then we moved aboard a boat where relative humidity was very high. My old D35 took it all in stride. So, I'd definately take the slow careful approach (just as you're doing) with your new GAD

 

[southernGuild]

All good advice up there, and things to do and consider. I too have a Gad30 and after almost 5 years it is a sweeet little guitar. Welcome aboard Robin, Taking in all the above, You'll soon work out those hydo issues and then you can really focus upon enjoying that guitar.

 

[robinbirdd]

again - many thanks folks! i will keep looking for a top-curve

i have ordered a second oasis that is made for low humidity climates, as well as a regular in-case one. I plan to add them one at at time, couple days apart and keep it pulling up slowly. i have already noticed the E string buzz is dimishing -yay!

kostask - it should be fun to see how the voice changes. it's already lovely and full.

 

[kostask]

A small bit of clarification. The arching/doming of flat top guitars that both the Taylor videos and I are referring to are the standard, large radius curvatures that are part of regular flat top guitars. This is different from the arched back guitars that Guild has produced in the past. That arching was closer to the arching on the back of archtop guitars, and doesn't have a constant arch in that the arching of those guitars flattens out near the edge of the guitar (does anybody know if it goes flat (as in straight) or if it just flattens out to a standard curvature?). The arch that I am talking about is a constant curvature for both the top and the back. Often the curve radius of the back is wider (say 28-30 ft.) than for the top (22-25 ft.).

Kostas

 

[adorshki]

A small bit of clarification. The arching/doming of flat top guitars that both the Taylor videos and I are referring to are the standard, large radius curvatures that are part of regular flat top guitars. This is different from the arched back guitars that Guild has produced in the past. That arching was closer to the arching on the back of archtop guitars, and doesn't have a constant arch in that the arching of those guitars flattens out near the edge of the guitar (does anybody know if it goes flat (as in straight) or if it just flattens out to a standard curvature?).
Kostas

Hi Kostas: the back of both my '25 and my F65 flatten out to a curve, very shallow, but definitely not a right angle at the junction of back and sides.

 

[kostask]

adorshki:

Thanks for the information. I have only seen one arched back D25, and didn't notice the back/side join angles. I wonder if the curvature after the flattening out is the same radius as the flat backed D25s. That is a pretty esoteric question, and it is mostly rhetorical, so I don't really expect an answer, as it would be next to impossible to answer without either having the design specifications, or the original designer reply.

Kostas

 

[adorshki]

I wonder if the curvature after the flattening out is the same radius as the flat backed D25s. That is a pretty esoteric question, and it is mostly rhetorical, so I don't really expect an answer, as it would be next to impossible to answer without either having the design specifications, or the original designer reply.
Kostas

And might even have varied over the production history! :lol: Although it occurs to me it might have been an economical way to keep using the same kerfing for instance? As you say, that question's also pretty rhetorical.