Don't leave your guitar in the snow.
Weird October weather for Montana. Still in the 60s, and no frost yet here on Helena's Upper West side. I can't remember such an extended Indian summer in Montana in the last 30 years. Usually we see at least one snow storm in September (or late August)--this year, nada.
I must have a biological clock, linked to my musical instruments, though. I keep reminding myself that winter's coming and it's time to get serious again about humidifying instruments. I use Dampit brand hose humidifiers in my fiddles, mandolin, and acoustic guitars. A Dampit is a piece of green rubber hose with a sponge inside. You run it under the faucet, squeeze out the excess moisture, towel it dry on the outside, and then stick it in the instrument. And then--an important step--put the instrument in its case when you're not playing it. This keeps the humidity in the case and in your instrument, instead of just wicking away into the house.
The guitar Dampit comes either as a plain hose, or with a plastic soundhole cover. I quit using the soundhole cover because I want to humidify my fingerboard, too, not just the inside of the guitar. When a fingerboard dries out, the wood shrinks, leaving the metal frets poking out the sides. Ouch!
So the guitar Dampit fits between two strings and dangles into the soundhole. The mando and fiddle dampits snake into the f-holes. Al of these have a wide cap that prevents them from falling completely into the instrument.
I check the sponges every other day when the air dries out. I aim to keep the humidity in each case around 45 to 55 percent. Heating our houses in the winter can drop ambient humidity into the low teens or even single digits, which can crack a top or back, or cause seam separations. Much easier (and cheaper) to use a simple humidifier.
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