Help Pleasee :)) Taylor 310 Cosmetic Wear??

[scottyraddy]

Hey Mick0145,

Thank you man, pleasure to be here

Okayy, so i live in sunny England, are there potential risks here with regards to humidity? Is this in relation to the woods i guess?

[Mick0145]

I'm from Shropshire (many years ago) and the climate there used to be fairly damp. If it gets a little dry in the cold winter months where you live maybe add some moisture.

I learned this the hard way. The fretboard on my beautiful brand new Martin HD28 shrank in dry air in a matter of a couple of weeks to the point where the ends of the frets were protruding over the the neck!  My luthier fixed it but strongly recommended I get a humidifier with a humidistat, since I keep all my instruments in one room on stands, ready to pick up and play. I am currently putting about 12 liters (3 gallons) of water a day into the room that my instruments are in.

It doesn't usually get too cold and dry here in Vancouver, Canada, but when the air does dry out in the winter months (static shocks, cracked lips, etc.), I try to keep the RH around 45% where my guitars and banjos are stored. I don't usually have a problem during the rest of the year.

I'm told that if you are comfortable regarding temperature and humidity your instruments will also be comfortable.

Oh, and, yes, this is in relation to drying and cracking of the woods.  Actually Taylor has several articles on climate control that came with my GS Mini Hog. You might find them on their website. The articles are titled: Symptoms of a Dry Guitar; Symptoms of a Wet Guitar; and, Using a Guitar Humidifier. If you can't find them online I will gladly scan them to PDF files and email them to you.

You can send me a PM and let me know.

All the best.

[michaelw]

congrats on bringing the 310 home, scott
running forced air heat or air conditioning will reduce the humidity level,
but looking at the average humidity for england, it shows to be around 70% ? -
http://weatherspark.com/#!dashboard;ws=28729;t0=1/1;t1=12/31;graphs=humidity:1

investing in an inexpensive hygrometer would be a good idea, as well as keep the guitar in the case when it is not being played -
if the room humidity gets too high, periodically blow drying the inside of the case & letting it cool before placing the guitar back in
it would be one way of keeping a high humidity environment in check, as 47 to 52% RH seem to be optimal for Taylor acoustics

i picked up an extremely well-loved early model Taylor 210 recently & the years of the previous owner sawing away at, er, playing it
has given the guitar an abundance of character & beauty marks, but the fullness & richness of tone is what did it for me ... mojo

[Earl]

The biggest advantage to a previously-loved guitar is that you don't have that awful moment when you put that first ding on a pristine new instrument.  I hate that feeling....   It also is broken in / opened up so you have a good idea how it will end up, since it is there already.

Congrats on the "new to you" guitar.