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I notice that my negra has a higher string action (at the 12th fret) in winter and a lower action in summer. The difference is about 0.5mm
This is the opposite of what seems to be the consensus from a few articles I have read on the web, theory seems to be: dryer = lower, humid = higher.
I live in a very cold area with extreme cold and super-low humidity in winter.
Could one of the resident luthiers please chime in and let me know if a flamenco guitars action goes lower or higher in winter?
I am wondering if something is going on with the guitar structurally or if its normal.
ChatGPT says the following: On many classical/flamenco guitars, the combined effect of a drier, stiffer top and a subtle change in neck curvature is that the strings end up farther from the frets around the middle of the neck, so the measured action at, say, the 12th fret increases.
but I place more stock in what the luthiers will say.
Posts: 16207
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
RE: Humidity and StringHeight (in reply to sol512)
quote:
Could one of the resident luthiers please chime in and let me know if a flamenco guitars action goes lower or higher in winter?
Estebanana (Stephen Faulk) told me privately that he had trouble logging back in to Foro. I have noticed this problem with others in the past as well, so wonder if there is a glitch or incompatibility with certain browser updates?
Anyway, as we wait for other Luthiers to weigh in, I have noticed the same as you and the AI could be correct. The humidity of the entire guitar increases, so it is not only the neck swelling up in warm wetter weather. It is good to use humidity in the winter and then not use it so much in the summer. Or at least until your guitar has suffered through several of these extremes. So yes, for me the swelling of the guitar either lowers or straightens its neck angle and makes the guitar either "easier" to play or it can actually start buzzing. I prefer having my guitars set up as if for cold dry winters for this reason.
One of my luthier friend did an experiment where he tried to repair a guitar whose neck angle resulted in a super low bridge but the action was still too high. Using a lot of humidity he place two small child inflatable balls on either side of the neck inside the guitar body. As he inflated the balls, the semi warped section of the top that had caved in, flattened out and the neck angle was corrected. After attempting to acclimatize the guitar to that configuration, he removed the balls. The guitar held that geometry in place for several weeks but it gradually sunk again. He realized that the humidity was helping keep the shape of the top "flatter" or "swelled up" that kept the neck more straight relative to the body. But as it dried out the warping of the top returned and the neck moves forward.
So the bottom line is, I feel, you need to have the guitar set up in its driest configuration, and then to be safe you can use some minimal humidity in those dry months and then ween it off of that extra hydration as things warm up. My opinion and that has worked for my personal guitar collection anyway. I realize I have not addressed the other opposite claim of action coming down and buzzing for people IN THE DRY MONTHS, mainly because I always found that a head scratcher myself. My only guess is it has to do with the classical set up vs flamenco set up in the first place. In other words somehow the dry month is affecting the neck angle in the opposite direction on those guitars, or it could again be the top geometry having the opposite warping affect? For example the dome of the bridge where the bulge comes into a flatter geometry as the guitar dries and the whole bridge comes down relative to a stable straight neck??? No clue as I have never experienced it myself.
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