Customer Reviews

Planet Waves Acoustic Guitar Humidifier

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

It seems that some folks were concerned over the color change or consistency of the foam. But they need to know that they must use only distilled water and not tap or any kind of mineral water - as they will clog the pores of the foam.

This compact humidifier is easily filled with an included plastic syringe. If you don't over-fill, it will not drip, and you can simply place it in your case instead of the usual sponge.

This is a simple humidifier for guitars with a round sound hole. It would not work for an f-hole archtop or other types of instruments such as mandolin or ukulele. Inside the sturdy plastic case is what appears to be an ordinary kitchen sponge. If you use distilled water (as recommended) it should last quite a while. The top comes off with a gentle press on the sides. The dry sponge can be a little difficult to remove with fingers but tweezers or needle nose pliers work perfectly. Don't push it all the way in after moistening and you won't have a problem. I drip a little distilled water on the sponge, squeeze out any excess, and the assembled case pops in easily between the D and G strings, suspended in the middle of the sound hole. They can't be seen in the photo but there are small ridges on each side that hold the top in place against the strings. I've never had one of these move from where I left it.

If the sponge isn't dripping wet you should never have a problem with drops of water in the guitar or case. When the humidity is very low (30% or less) the sponge dries out in 2 to 3 days even if the case isn't opened. As with most humidifiers of this type you will have to check every few days.

If you have ever had a crack appear in the top of favorite guitar (or don't want to see one) use a guitar humidifier! Especially during the winter - heating a house tends to drop the indoor humidity below safe levels (between 45% and 60% is ideal for most guitars). Air conditioning can do the same. For especially valuable guitars it would be worth buying a hygrometer to keep in the case but for most guitars having one in the room where you keep you guitar(s) is okay. For many reasons it's always best to keep your guitar in a case or gig bag when not in use. A humidifier is inexpensive extra precaution at those times of year when temperature or humidity changes quickly.

This thing works fine, as long as you are a patient person. It takes some time to fill the sponge with water from the syringe a few drops at a time. Also the fact that it is in between the strings makes the strings go out of tune a bit because its bending them. The sponge also becomes discolored. The good thing is that the humidity will reach the neck since it is not enclosed in the body like other humidifiers. All in all its not too bad.

This new version, where the top flange snaps off to expose the sponge, is much easier to use than the old version. You can moisten the sponge quickly and easily without any syringe to annoy you or to lose. However, you CAN lose the top flange, and I think I finally did, somehow -- have not seen it in a while.
Another benefit to this new model is that the body width -- and therefore the amount you have to displace your strings -- is less. that's good on all guitars but especially where strings are close, as on a 12-string. I've had several different types of humidifiers but now this is best I've found. (Honestly though the ones I admired most were the old plastic 35mm film film containers my friend drilled some holes in, stuffed with sponge, and would wet and toss into the guitar case. I really liked the price$ of those. . . ) Ellis

I bought several of these for my guitars. What a mistake. The sponges are tiny and all of them dried out within a day. Not very convenient. I am going back to using household sponges in sealed plastic bags with holes punched in! Planet Waves does not have a great reputation for quality humidifier systems.

This is the second Planet Waves humidifier I have purchased. The first one, I got 5 years ago, when I got my Taylor. It has a slightly different design, but similar in functionality. The old one still works great. I got this one for my daughter who just got a Taylor. They dry out in less than a week in the dry winter months, but it only takes a few minutes to dampen them again with distilled water.

If you can't find a container and add your own sponge, then buy this.
Keeping a valuable guitar humidified is essential.
I think this item should cost three bucks at most, and $1.50 would still yield a healthy profit!

I made some more from stuff from the dollar which I think are better.
I use this one for my baritone uke, and the bigger ones I made I use in my dreadnaughts.

If you make your own, just make sure to not let the sponge drip, ie, wring it out, and make sure it does not actually touch any bare wood.

I just got my first acoustic guitar and the guy at the store sold me one of these. I guess it would be good....if I could figure out where to put it. I thought he said it goes between the strings but when I do that it stretches the strings that hold it to be wide apart and it just doesn't look right. I might rate it higher if it had come with any instructions for those of us who have never used one before.

I got this last winter after reading online about the havoc dry winters can have on an acoustic guitar. I was already noticing thinner sound coming from my guitar, none of the deep low rich tones I bought it for were there anymore. The day after I first used this, the sponge was almost completely dry again. I re-wet the sponge and re-installed it and the next day it was a little more moist and repeated so on and so forth. What was happening is the guitar was so dried out, it was drinking in any moisture it could get. As it got back to a good humidity level, the sponge would last longer and longer. Now I can get a could 3-4 days use out of it. And as for the sound of the guitar, all that sound I was missing was back in full force within 3 days. It really does make a difference.

When it comes to the water, use distilled like it says in the directions. One gallon will cost you $2 and last you an entire season or more. I'm still using the gallon I got last year. The sponge is still good and has shown minimal discoloration.

Squeeze out the excess water before putting the sponge in the humidifier. If the sponge is dripping wet...it's probably going to drip in the guitar which as other reviewers said, is bad.

Shouldn't have to say this, but just in case, keep your guitar in its case. If you leave it on a stand, there's little point to using this humidifier because the humidity will just escape into the outside air rather than get absorbed by the guitar. Ones like Dampit have sound hole covers that can be used and will probably work for the inside of the guitar.

One of the things I like about this one as opposed to Dampit is it doesn't touch the inside of the guitar at all. If you don't wring out and dry off the outside of Dampit enough it could directly wick excess water into the wood. I've only read one review to that effect, but for peace of mind, I'd rather use this.