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Moody Archtop

 
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Larry_DC



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 207

PostPosted: Mon Apr 09, 2007 6:05 pm    Post subject: Moody Archtop Reply with quote

My Eastman 905 acoustic archtop plays like a dream, but when the humidity drops below the 40% range in cold weather, it buzzes at the 12th fret and up. Raising the bridge helps a bit, and when the humidity and temperature rise I can lower it for easier action. I use a Dampit, but it doesn' make much difference. When my Taylor acoustic was new 15 years ago I had a similar problem and the factory tech told me how to adjust the truss rod every spring and winter. After a few years I didn't need to adjust it anymore.

So are acoustic archtops moody by nature, or does mine need a doctor?
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Gorecki
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Joined: 24 Feb 2007
Posts: 238
Location: Glenwood, MD

PostPosted: Mon Apr 09, 2007 6:35 pm    Post subject: Re: Moddy Archtop Reply with quote

Larry_DC wrote:

So are acoustic archtops moody by nature, or does mine need a doctor?


I think all guitars (especially acoustic/chambered) are moody! Laughing

These things are made of wood, when the water content of the wood changes, so does the rigidity of the guitar. Some wood types are more effected than others. Solid bodies are usually less effected because so little of the wood is exposed to the open. Begin sealed in a lacquer coffin.

A room humidifier will do you more justice, otherwise trussing the guitar is all you can really do! The Dampit is going to help keep the wood of the body appropriately moist but basically does nothing for the neck, being what is actually moving. And as you've already seen, often a guitar will 'settle' in time. The finish had shrunk enough to sustain a constant rigidity. Sometimes the never do. Heavier gauge strung guitars will be affected more than lighter gauge because the lbs of pressure on the neck is less in general.


Hope it helps. Wink
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Larry_DC



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 207

PostPosted: Mon Apr 09, 2007 7:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Brian,

I guess since the humidity is erratic these days I'll just put up with it for another week or so. By then we should be back to normal for DC. I didn't think of the added string tension from the 012's being a factor. That makes sense.
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bigdaddydannyq



Joined: 07 Apr 2007
Posts: 7

PostPosted: Sat Apr 14, 2007 2:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

There are two schools of thought in the fight against humidity. The first is from the new luthiers who say to keep all fine wood instruments in a 41% humidity room. ( which is what I do.) I keep my music study at or around 41% all the time. It seems to keep everything feeling and playing consistantly. I started this a few years ago when I started buying Taylors.
The other school of thought is from the old luthiers who claim that once the guitar sits in its enviorment for a few years the istrument will dry out only so much. Then you should get it adjusted and it shouldnt move again. This is proven time and again by all the vintage guitars that have been sitting in closets, garages and attics for 50 plus years and when you find one it sounds and plays awsome. I just had this happen to me as a guy came into my deli overhearing me talk to someone about appraising an old martin oo. He said I have a guitar thats been in my garages for forty years and I.m goig to bring it to you. You can Have it. Well a few weeks passed and sure enough the guy brings in this guitar . As soon as I saw it I new was an old gibson.He set it down and left. I open it and to my surprise it was 59 335 dot. And when I plugged it in it was a dream, didnt even have to adjust it. I have gotten a hold of the guy and told him what he gave me and what its worth . He was shocked to say the least . I still have the guitar until he decieds what he wants to do with it. He said its better in my music study then his garage.
I purchased a Martin D 35 in 1970 and treated it like shit for years and years . Then I had it set and it has never moved to this date. I have traveled the world with it and in an unplugged setting its tone and volume out does anything else. Players always ask me if I want to sell it especially the bluegrass guys because when everyone starts jamming this guitar out ranges all of them. Its just one of those guitars. Even Tony Rice asked me to sell it to him a few years ago in Telluride.
As for arch tops all mine are gibsons from the fifties. And I dont have one that even goes out of tune. They are solid in every way. Maybe its the way they are crafted, then verus now, I don't know.
At anyrate both schools of thought seem to hold true. I guess you just need to pick one and live it.
Big daddy!!!
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Larry_DC



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 207

PostPosted: Sun Apr 15, 2007 12:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Trying to keep the humidity up sounds like an easier way to go. In a couple of months it will be so humid around here I won't have to worry about it.
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Gorecki
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Joined: 24 Feb 2007
Posts: 238
Location: Glenwood, MD

PostPosted: Sun Apr 15, 2007 1:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Larry_DC wrote:
Trying to keep the humidity up sounds like an easier way to go. In a couple of months it will be so humid around here I won't have to worry about it.


Yeah no kidding! Laughing

Try finishing guitar bodies! In this area there are about a total of 9 days a year where the temperatures and humidity is appropriate for spraying lacquer for it to set correctly, otherwise, it's orange peel, crackle or the worst...bugs! Sanding bugs off a finish is no fun at all! Laughing my buns off!
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haowens2



Joined: 30 Apr 2007
Posts: 5
Location: Athens Georgia

PostPosted: Tue May 08, 2007 2:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

In my opinion, the use of wood that has been air dried for many years makes a more stable guitar. Many of the large factory guitars use wood that has been dried by machine over a short period of time. My archtop is made from very old and dry Cello wood. I live in the south where humidy changes are the norm. I have owned this archtop for 7 years and it's never given me a problem.
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Gorecki
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Joined: 24 Feb 2007
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Location: Glenwood, MD

PostPosted: Tue May 08, 2007 3:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have to say and no offense intended, I would believe that to be a bit of a wives tail. Water content, is water content. Granted klin drying processes if not handled correctly can have fault. Ie, water content isn't tested to the core of the wood.

Regardless, wood will acquire water content and release water content throughout its existence due to environmental temperature differentials. The same reasons water condenses on a cold can of soda. In the case of a guitar it’s just not as dramatic and it entirely depends on the type of wood in question. Humidity variations will affect wood because originally the wood is a different temperature than the humid (or not so) air around it. As that differential stabilizes the wood will still contain more water content than the air and in time will release it.

Most often before a guitar goes through ‘finishing’ processes, the body and neck are sealed. Then paint and/or clear coats are commonly applied. Even then, depending on how well the body was sealed, water content still can effect the guitar. The fret board for example most often (maple’s often finished) has no finish at all! So it is highly effected by humidity and water content.

My rant for the day. Laughing

Peace!
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haowens2



Joined: 30 Apr 2007
Posts: 5
Location: Athens Georgia

PostPosted: Thu May 10, 2007 1:28 pm    Post subject: No offence taken Reply with quote

No offence taken. I’m just regurgitating what I was told by Benedetto and Tom Ribbecke. Maybe those guys happen to have a bunch of air dried wood sitting around and that is part of the sales pitch. I have owned my Ribbecke for several years and I have experience no problems with humidity changes. Maybe I'm just lucky.
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