# Gibson Acoustics...Canadian Climate



## sogseal (Jun 25, 2020)

Hello folks, I am interested in getting a Gibson acoustic; question is how are they in our climate? How fragile? Of course with a fine instrument I will be keeping good care of it but also would like to play out on my back deck. Or at a jam etc. Are in case humidifiers sufficient? I might change my mind if I can't ever take it out to play...

Thank you everyone


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## silvertonebetty (Jan 4, 2015)

sogseal said:


> Hello folks, I am interested in getting a Gibson acoustic; question is how are they in our climate? How fragile? Of course with a fine instrument I will be keeping good care of it but also would like to play out on my back deck. Or at a jam etc. Are in case humidifiers sufficient? I might change my mind if I can't ever take it out to play...
> 
> Thank you everyone


They react the same as any other high end acoustic.and why would you want to play on your deck in the winter. I’d advise against that . The sudden change in temperature can really be harmful to it . As for a case humidifier? Well I’d ask how many guitars do you have? At $20 a humidifier it be cheaper to just get a room humidifier for about $40-50 and keep all your guitars at a safe humidity level.


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## ga20t (Jul 22, 2010)

We have to be careful of wild temp swings here with any solid wood acoustic, and also the super dry conditions our necessary heating systems cause. Read this: https://www.larrivee.com/pdfs/Larrivee Care Maintenance.pdf

and:


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## Kerry Brown (Mar 31, 2014)

sogseal said:


> Hello folks, I am interested in getting a Gibson acoustic; question is how are they in our climate? How fragile? Of course with a fine instrument I will be keeping good care of it but also would like to play out on my back deck. Or at a jam etc. Are in case humidifiers sufficient? I might change my mind if I can't ever take it out to play...
> 
> Thank you everyone


A lot depends on where you live. Here on the wet coast we don’t get wild temperature or humidity swings. Go 200 km inland and it is dry as heck with huge temperature swings.


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## Alan Small (Dec 30, 2019)

a case humidifier will be fine.

keep the guitar in the case in Winter when the house heat is on for sure.

playing outside for a few hours in good weather is fine too...dont let it bake in the full sun on a hot day or leave it in a car with temperature extremes.


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

sogseal said:


> Hello folks, I am interested in getting a Gibson acoustic; question is how are they in our climate? How fragile? Of course with a fine instrument I will be keeping good care of it but also would like to play out on my back deck. Or at a jam etc. Are in case humidifiers sufficient? I might change my mind if I can't ever take it out to play...


Get a good hygrometer.
Looks like you might be in Edmonton.
It's dry there in the winter.
Get a console humidifier and keep the humidity between 45 and 50.
I don't use the oasis case humidifiers because I've heard of them leaking - I expect that most oasis humidifiers probably don't leak but if I buy six of them each one will leak.
If you are in an apartment or condo it's usually easy to humidify the whole place.
If you are in a large house that may not be so easy so humidify one room see how that works.
I play my Martin guitars at jams and outside etc but if it's winter kinda cold I'm not gonna stand in front of the liquor store on a Friday night playing gospel music on my D18 and rebuking sin.
Your guitar is not gonna melt if you take it outside but drying it out or extreme temperature changes can/will damage it.
If it gets too humid in the summer consider a dehumidifier - tone goes off if the guitar gets too wet.
I didn't pay much attention to this humidity business until the bridge came flying off one of my guitars when I was living in residence at school many years ago. My neighbor was a musician and he told me to be careful because it was really dry; he played stand up bass as well as guitar and had a humidifier running in his room - I didn't listen but fortunately my Ovation guitar had a lifetime warranty and they repaired the bridge no charge.


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## tonewoody (Mar 29, 2017)

Wood is wood.
Humidity doesn't care about brand names...


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## sogseal (Jun 25, 2020)

silvertonebetty said:


> They react the same as any other high end acoustic.and why would you want to play on your deck in the winter. I’d advise against that . The sudden change in temperature can really be harmful to it . As for a case humidifier? Well I’d ask how many guitars do you have? At $20 a humidifier it be cheaper to just get a room humidifier for about $40-50 and keep all your guitars at a safe humidity level.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I meant summer time haha


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## sogseal (Jun 25, 2020)

What prompted my question is a few years back my uncle had high end guitar form a crack over the course of a weekend travelling. I don't know if he had it in the case or whatever. I am in Alberta so huge temperature swings depending on season. We are moving this year so at that point I am planning to set up a room with a humidifier, right now I am leaving guitars in the cases with the sponge type humidifiers. Essentially treat it like any other solid. Thanks for the info everyone, much appreciated.


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## silvertonebetty (Jan 4, 2015)

sogseal said:


> What prompted my question is a few years back my uncle had high end guitar form a crack over the course of a weekend travelling. I don't know if he had it in the case or whatever. I am in Alberta so huge temperature swings depending on season. We are moving this year so at that point I am planning to set up a room with a humidifier, right now I am leaving guitars in the cases with the sponge type humidifiers. Essentially treat it like any other solid. Thanks for the info everyone, much appreciated.





sogseal said:


> I meant summer time haha


Haha yeah summer makes more sense lol. Um as for your uncle’s guitar I’m going out on a limb with this but , I’d imagine it would have to do with the temperature/ climate change and might have hit the case or something. I used to wear a watch but work at a local grocery store I can’t tell you how many watches shattered due to extreme temperature changes when working the frozen freezers. 


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## Old Gibson (Jan 31, 2021)

silvertonebetty said:


> Haha yeah summer makes more sense lol. Um as for your uncle’s guitar I’m going out on a limb with this but , I’d imagine it would have to do with the temperature/ climate change and might have hit the case or something. I used to wear a watch but work at a local grocery store I can’t tell you how many watches shattered due to extreme temperature changes when working the frozen freezers.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


As a cautionary note... for anyone purchasing a new Gibson acoustic in Canada: 
Ask the vendor what is included in Gibson's warranty. If the guitar develops structural defects, will they, or Gibson, replace it? Will they give you fair value on a trade in on another guitar? I purchased a new Gibson acoustic from Canada's largest retail guitar chain. In less than two months, the neck twisted into knots. Strange, as my fifteen other guitars remained perfectly fine. I was shocked by the response that I got from the Gibson retailer. The neck was a total write off and needed replacement. The store manager agreed with me that the neck needed replacement, but he told me that "Gibson refuses to accept returns at their Montana plant." "No returns! None! No neck replacement." I asked for a replacement of the same guitar. His response? "Gibson will not do that. We have to fix it, here." I was shocked! I knew that the neck could not be repaired. I showed it to two luthiers that agreed with me. The store manager insisted on "repairing" the neck ("Gibson's policy"). They kept it for many months and it was a fine mess when I got it back. Following my complaint about the amateurish repair - the store manager agreed that the neck repair was a joke. I asked for a new neck to be sent to me. "No Gibson will not replace the neck." My only option was to trade in the guitar at much less than what I paid for the defective Gibson - two grand less! I had no other option. An expensive lesson for me in Gibson's appalling warranty policy and terrible post-sale customer service. A short while later, that same Gibson retailer later had about ten or more defective Gibson acoustics (including my piece of garbage!) on the rack. All were for sale at slightly discounted prices. So, it's best, IMO, to ask your retailer how Gibson would solve the problem of a serious structural defect before you decide to purchase one. I hope that others that have had structural problems with their new Gibsons have received much better treatment than I have. Gibson's warranty is a joke, from my experience.


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## silvertonebetty (Jan 4, 2015)

Old Gibson said:


> As a cautionary note... for anyone purchasing a new Gibson acoustic in Canada:
> Ask the vendor what is included in Gibson's warranty. If the guitar develops structural defects, will they, or Gibson, replace it? Will they give you fair value on a trade in on another guitar? I purchased a new Gibson acoustic from Canada's largest retail guitar chain. In less than two months, the neck twisted into knots. Strange, as my fifteen other guitars remained perfectly fine. I was shocked by the response that I got from the Gibson retailer. The neck was a total write off and needed replacement. The store manager agreed with me that the neck needed replacement, but he told me that "Gibson refuses to accept returns at their Montana plant." "No returns! None! No neck replacement." I asked for a replacement of the same guitar. His response? "Gibson will not do that. We have to fix it, here." I was shocked! I knew that the neck could not be repaired. I showed it to two luthiers that agreed with me. The store manager insisted on "repairing" the neck ("Gibson's policy"). They kept it for many months and it was a fine mess when I got it back. Following my complaint about the amateurish repair - the store manager agreed that the neck repair was a joke. I asked for a new neck to be sent to me. "No Gibson will not replace the neck." My only option was to trade in the guitar at much less than what I paid for the defective Gibson - two grand less! I had no other option. An expensive lesson for me in Gibson's appalling warranty policy and terrible post-sale customer service. A short while later, that same Gibson retailer later had about ten or more defective Gibson acoustics (including my piece of garbage!) on the rack. All were for sale at slightly discounted prices. So, it's best, IMO, to ask your retailer how Gibson would solve the problem of a serious structural defect before you decide to purchase one. I hope that others that have had structural problems with their new Gibsons have received much better treatment than I have. Gibson's warranty is a joke, from my experience.


This is good to know.


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## ga20t (Jul 22, 2010)

I have to say, if I were looking for a Gibson or other high end acoustic at the moment, I'd be looking for something on the used market that was manufactured 10-15 years prior and had already survived what our AB climate can throw at it. Not to mention letting someone else eat the brand tax.


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## silvertonebetty (Jan 4, 2015)

ga20t said:


> I have to say, if I were looking for a Gibson or other high end acoustic at the moment, I'd be looking for something on the used market that was manufactured 10-15 years prior and had already survived what our AB climate can throw at it. Not to mention letting someone else eat the brand tax.


Actually makes allot of sense .and allot of times guitars of that age are already starting to open up acoustically . Not to mention if they where owned by any player any issues would have been addressed and the neck worked in.


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## mawmow (Nov 14, 2017)

First of all, many post here and there report some Gibson inconsistency : I am not bad talking about Gibson since I own two fine "L" models.
If you want to buy used, have a side view of nut at saddle as many were shaved down instead of a due neck reset : Just have a look at the bunch of J-45 on eB, you will see what I mean.

Now, I would not play any of my solid wood outside if I cannot stand in bermuda (though I play golf in bermuda just over 5 degrees ! LOL !!!). Some do : I am always astonished when I see artists perform outside while wearing Winter attire (coat, beanie and cut fingers gloves). Some apparently argue it does not arm the guitar. I would not try... Sure you would at least have to tune down a bit.


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## colchar (May 22, 2010)

sogseal said:


> Hello folks, I am interested in getting a Gibson acoustic; question is how are they in our climate? How fragile? Of course with a fine instrument I will be keeping good care of it but also would like to play out on my back deck. Or at a jam etc. Are in case humidifiers sufficient? I might change my mind if I can't ever take it out to play...
> 
> Thank you everyone



Why would you think they would be any different than any other high end acoustic? Plenty of us here own them, they're fine.


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## colchar (May 22, 2010)

sogseal said:


> What prompted my question is a few years back my uncle had high end guitar form a crack over the course of a weekend travelling.



Unless it was hit, a crack wouldn't develop over a weekend. That had been coming a while before it appeared.


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## sogseal (Jun 25, 2020)

colchar said:


> Why would you think they would be any different than any other high end acoustic? Plenty of us here own them, they're fine.


I didn't really think they would be different but being that's what I am interested in I wanted info from people with direct experience.


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## sogseal (Jun 25, 2020)

Old Gibson said:


> As a cautionary note... for anyone purchasing a new Gibson acoustic in Canada:
> Ask the vendor what is included in Gibson's warranty. If the guitar develops structural defects, will they, or Gibson, replace it? Will they give you fair value on a trade in on another guitar? I purchased a new Gibson acoustic from Canada's largest retail guitar chain. In less than two months, the neck twisted into knots. Strange, as my fifteen other guitars remained perfectly fine. I was shocked by the response that I got from the Gibson retailer. The neck was a total write off and needed replacement. The store manager agreed with me that the neck needed replacement, but he told me that "Gibson refuses to accept returns at their Montana plant." "No returns! None! No neck replacement." I asked for a replacement of the same guitar. His response? "Gibson will not do that. We have to fix it, here." I was shocked! I knew that the neck could not be repaired. I showed it to two luthiers that agreed with me. The store manager insisted on "repairing" the neck ("Gibson's policy"). They kept it for many months and it was a fine mess when I got it back. Following my complaint about the amateurish repair - the store manager agreed that the neck repair was a joke. I asked for a new neck to be sent to me. "No Gibson will not replace the neck." My only option was to trade in the guitar at much less than what I paid for the defective Gibson - two grand less! I had no other option. An expensive lesson for me in Gibson's appalling warranty policy and terrible post-sale customer service. A short while later, that same Gibson retailer later had about ten or more defective Gibson acoustics (including my piece of garbage!) on the rack. All were for sale at slightly discounted prices. So, it's best, IMO, to ask your retailer how Gibson would solve the problem of a serious structural defect before you decide to purchase one. I hope that others that have had structural problems with their new Gibsons have received much better treatment than I have. Gibson's warranty is a joke, from my experience.



Wow. That's some B.S. Thanks for the heads up.


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## Davestp1 (Apr 25, 2006)

Wow...Some warranty with Gibson. I would have hoped that the retailer could have stepped in and taken the guitar back and ordered you a new one. Why not? They sold it to you in the first place and with a bunch more on their wall they certainly knew they had a problem. Sounds like passing the buck. I can't see Martin or Taylor pulling that one and Canada's largest retail guitar chain carries those as well......


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

Forget Gibson just buy a Martin .. lol


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## silvertonebetty (Jan 4, 2015)

Wardo said:


> Forget Gibson just buy a Martin .. lol


Haha . The d35 is an amazing guitar. 


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

Martin will also contribute $1,500.00 toward your purchase of a new 2021 F-150 if it has a V8 and $2,500.00 if you are getting an F-250 with a V8. There was also something from the NRA but they went broke and moved to Texas although that deal probably wouldn’t have applied up here anyway.


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## gitapik (Aug 5, 2016)

I had a tech who was very upset with Gibson’s move to Nashville, long ago. It’s much warmer and much more humid than here in NYC (and their original home turf in Kalamazoo, Michigan). His take was that many of the newer Gibsons required fret and neck adjustments, right out of the box, as a result of the difference in regional climate conditions.

I haven’t had first hand exposure to this, but I do know that he knew his stuff. Someone on this thread mentioned buying a well inspected 10-15 year old that’s already weathered the changes. I’d go that route if you’re really set on a Gibson.

Definitely want a good humidification setup, regardless of where you are if you have dry conditions. Acoustic or electric. I keep my guitars in their cases with humidifiers during the colder months.


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## zztomato (Nov 19, 2010)

Gibsons hold up fine in Canada. 
But you have some responsibility here.
Understand humidity in your area.. Read up on the care and feeding of guitars made from solid woods. 
You can do it!

Every year- starting around now- I get a plethora of crack repairs coming into my shop. All are due to dryness and lack of proper care. You can see it between grain lines, all sunken in. When the wood gets dry enough, something has to give and a crack forms. 
It's just all about the humidity levels in your particular part of the world. 
A soundhole humidifier with the guitar in its hard case works just fine and will give the guitar enough moisture to survive most dry winter climates.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

Which Canadian climate are you talking about, the cold dry ones, the wet and foggy ones or the hot and humid ones?


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## sogseal (Jun 25, 2020)

Steadfastly said:


> Which Canadian climate are you talking about, the cold dry ones, the wet and foggy ones or the hot and humid ones?


Haha good question; cold and dry in my case.


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

I keep a couple of cheap hygrometers in the rooms where my guitars live. Low humidity is not the issue it was with the old furnaces and the house seems to stay in the low 40's or above in the winter. You can buy a hygrometer for a few bucks at CTC. The love of my life - my 70's Yamaki suffered some cracking in my old house with the old furnace and my lack of attention (she's a lot better now). I've not had an issue with my Gibson or Taylors with the new furnace - but as I said, I keep a close eye. I have a couple soundhole humidifier thingies but I've never liked them. If the humidity dropped a bit more I might just place a pan of water in the room and see if that worked.


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## Eric Reesor (Jan 26, 2020)

Better still just buy 4 or 5 old FG 180 laminate tops with decent necks that can take a refret for less than the price of a new Gibson or Martin. Get them all into great playing condition and not worry as much about playing them outside. Or better still refurbish a good old Harmony like the one Ann Murray played on the Tommy Hunter show. Sure you won't get as many people looking at your guitar but you will most likely get better sound than you will out of a new Gibson and it will stop the groupies from ogling and drooling over your guitar and help the audience to pay attention to what you are playing instead of what you are wearing!

If you need the brand cache then just carry your axe around in a Gibson or even more daring "Martin" branded case. Just don't show it off much or leave it sitting in your vehicle at all.

If you do by an expensive instrument for the cache make sure to record the serial number and take pictures, because they are hot items to say the least. I have even seen guitar cases with hidden screamer alarms that go off if some one tries to steal the guitar or the case.


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## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

Old Gibson said:


> As a cautionary note... for anyone purchasing a new Gibson acoustic in Canada:
> Ask the vendor what is included in Gibson's warranty. If the guitar develops structural defects, will they, or Gibson, replace it? Will they give you fair value on a trade in on another guitar? I purchased a new Gibson acoustic from Canada's largest retail guitar chain. In less than two months, the neck twisted into knots. Strange, as my fifteen other guitars remained perfectly fine. I was shocked by the response that I got from the Gibson retailer. The neck was a total write off and needed replacement. The store manager agreed with me that the neck needed replacement, but he told me that "Gibson refuses to accept returns at their Montana plant." "No returns! None! No neck replacement." I asked for a replacement of the same guitar. His response? "Gibson will not do that. We have to fix it, here." I was shocked! I knew that the neck could not be repaired. I showed it to two luthiers that agreed with me. The store manager insisted on "repairing" the neck ("Gibson's policy"). They kept it for many months and it was a fine mess when I got it back. Following my complaint about the amateurish repair - the store manager agreed that the neck repair was a joke. I asked for a new neck to be sent to me. "No Gibson will not replace the neck." My only option was to trade in the guitar at much less than what I paid for the defective Gibson - two grand less! I had no other option. An expensive lesson for me in Gibson's appalling warranty policy and terrible post-sale customer service. A short while later, that same Gibson retailer later had about ten or more defective Gibson acoustics (including my piece of garbage!) on the rack. All were for sale at slightly discounted prices. So, it's best, IMO, to ask your retailer how Gibson would solve the problem of a serious structural defect before you decide to purchase one. I hope that others that have had structural problems with their new Gibsons have received much better treatment than I have. Gibson's warranty is a joke, from my experience.


Interesting. Canada’s “largest retail guitar chain” has this policy listed on their website as part of their “Performance Warranty”, which comes with any new guitar purchase.

“Product Replacement - if your product cannot be fixed or costs too much to fix, we will replace it with the equivalent model for no additional charge. If this is not possible, a full refund will be provided.”


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## rollingdam (May 11, 2006)

The Gibson Warranty applies to guitars sold in the USA-outside of the USA it is the distributor that provides a warranty-In Canada it is Yorkville(Long &Mcquade} for a year only


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## Davestp1 (Apr 25, 2006)

Sounds like L&M passed the buck to Gibson when in fact it was their warranty responsibility.....


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## gtone (Nov 1, 2009)

I think I'd buy an older Gibson rather than a new one. Kiln-dried green wood isn't like aged wood IMHO.

FWIW, I play my '69 J-50 indoors and out, including a van tour of the Pacific Coast Highway, multiple tours of the Okanagan and East Kootenays, Fraser Valley, Northern SK, etc. Made a lot of friends and met a lot of other players along the way too. Guess the point I'm trying to make is that guitars are meant to be played, not sit in cases, so don't be afraid to play what you buy fellow guitar guy.


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## OldGuitarPlayer (Feb 25, 2013)

Back to the humidification question. I live in a small 250sq ft basement studio apt. It's heated by electric baseboard heat. In the summer it's 90% humidity down here. This winter with the heat on keeping my place between 21-23c the humidity drops as low as 18%. This is not good for guitars of any kind or for my health so my solution was to put out a couple 2 gallon glass containers of water next to the baseboard heaters. Then I filled up my old crockpot 3/4 full with hot water and put it on high with the lid off. When the water evaporates I just refill with more hot water. I have done this for the last 4 days now and humidity in my apt is now stable at 43%-45%. Now I can keep my guitars out to play instead of always in their cases with a sponge in a baggie. My guitars are not expensive solid wood but why not keep them comfortable too.

Just a suggestion for those who don't want to spend money on a fancy humidifier.


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## b-nads (Apr 9, 2010)

My J45 lives in its case with humidipacks here in Quebec - no problems. 

Ironic that a Larrivee video was posted - they are the most fragile higher end guitar I've experience where temp and humidity are concerned.


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