Humidity affect on neck

[j_micho]

I read everywhere that guitar/bass necks are affected by temperature and humidity. Since my instruments are kept at room temperature most of the year, I'm more concerned about humidity. Here, winter are very dry and summers are very humid. I've read that higher humidity makes wood expand, while lower humidity does the opposite (which makes sense). My question is, how does that translates on bass' neck in term of action?

I've noticed that I usually have tight up my truss when winter comes along, then loosen during summer. Based on what I've found here, it's normal to have to adjust a neck twice a year, but I was wondering if it is always like this (or is it sometimes the other way around)...

Dry ---> Tighten up truss rod
Humid---> Loosen up truss rod

Thanks

 

[sobie18]

Sounds correct.

When I moved from humid Arkansaw to dry Utaw, I had to make some minor adjustments.

 

[bassman30]

What you have read is true and humidity does have a huge effect (especially on acoustics). The best thing you could do for your instruments is buy a hydrometer and a room humidifier keep the same humidity all year round. As far as level of humidity most people say around 45% but a friend of my uncles, (who is a custom guitar builder) says just set it to a point where you are comforitable.

 

[Slowgypsy]

I read everywhere that guitar/bass necks are affected by temperature and humidity. Since my instruments are kept at room temperature most of the year, I'm more concerned about humidity. Here, winter are very dry and summers are very humid. I've read that higher humidity makes wood expand, while lower humidity does the opposite (which makes sense). My question is, how does that translates on bass' neck in term of action?

I've noticed that I usually have tight up my truss when winter comes along, then loosen during summer. Based on what I've found here, it's normal to have to adjust a neck twice a year, but I was wondering if it is always like this (or is it sometimes the other way around)...

Dry ---> Tighten up truss rod
Humid---> Loosen up truss rod

Thanks

You've got it correct. When it's dry, wood shrinks/contracts so you've got to tighten the truss rod to make it "smaller" to meet the change in wood. When it's humid, wood expands so you've got to loosen the truss rod to make it "longer".

As far as dealing with it, seasonal changes in temp & humidity are just a fact of life. With acoustic instruments these things have more impact, and so folks take greater care to maintain some sort of balance... as in temp & humidity controlled environments. Feel free to get as carried away as you'd like. But for solid body instruments, common sense works really well.... such as putting your instrument back in its case when you're done playing instead of leaving it out on a stand for hours/days at a time.