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A cautionary tale - solid wood soundboards do not like damp conditions!

So, I finished this last week, and have been enjoying playing it:

Yesterday morning, before leaving for work I decided to stash it upstairs, in a bedroom and leant it against an external wall. When I got back from work, I picked it up to play and noticed immediately that the grain had raised on the neck (possibly the Danish oil had not fully cured yet) and the guitar sounded unpleasantly bassy and muddy.

I messed about with the intonation a bit, but then came to realise the soundboard had gone all spongy, and even slight pressure would cause the sound to warble, like a wah pedal!

So anyway, long story short, don't do this if you live somewhere as wet as Manchester, especially if you are in an old house in need of damp proofing!

...and I'll start on my new soundboard tonight - I didn't really like the soundholes anyway :)

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Permalink Reply by Richey Kay on December 18, 2013 at 10:31am

Yeah, good point! Tbh I think It's probably just my house and the time of year. Instruments made with solid wood tend to need taking good care of, and I'm sure they will mostly have some kind of finish... I'm going to give the oven drying a go with my next build I think.

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Permalink Reply by Bluesheart on December 19, 2013 at 10:06am

I hope you can save it cause it sure is a pretty thing!

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Permalink Reply by Richey Kay on December 19, 2013 at 10:35am

Thanks man. As I mentioned I just need to dry it out in front of the radiator every couple of days! Crazy but these are the kinds of situations I get myself in to. Tempted to say I'm going to give up on solid wood acoustics, learn how to wind pickups and start making solid body guitars!

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