Whether it's your first Bonnaroo or you’re a music festival veteran, we welcome you to Inforoo.
Here you'll find info about artists, rumors, camping tips, and the infamous Roo Clues. Have a look around then create an account and join in the fun. See you at Bonnaroo!!
Until 5PM today I was planning on bringing my brothers shitty guitar to Roo with me, to dick around with at the campsite. I went to change the strings on it today, and now can't put the bottom two strings on because the pegs are fucked up.
I'm thinking of bringing my only acoustic guitar -- it's a decent one. I've heard many a time that high relative humidity can do some real damage to a nice acoustic. My question is just how high this relative humidity is at Roo -- enough to burst my guitar? All you guys who have brought your guitars in years past, did you experience any problems? Does everyone just bring shitty guitars? Thanks all, keep on rockin.
Never having been to 'Roo before I can't speak to having brought a guitar before...but living in North Alabama all my life, just an hour or so south of 'Rooville, and planning on bringing an el cheepo guitar...I would HIGHLY discourage you bringing any guitar you would shed any tears over losing or damaging. The relative humidity here in mid-June can go between 30-100% with temps ranging from the 60s to the high 90s - that's a heck of a range for a guitar to weather. And that's just the weather conditions....Rain, wind, theft, general random acts of indifference....notsuchagoodidea...but that's just my $.02...
We are bringing the same guitar as last year and no damage occured to it. It was not my bud's primary guitar though, I'd be slightly worried about bringing a guitar I'd be upset about getting damaged.
Err...don't we have over 100 artists playing at this thing? I assume many of them are bringing guitars. Even if only 10% are acoustics...I'm sure that Keller or Xavier won't be bringing a crappy one because of the humidity. How about all those people who live in the South, don't they have guitars?
Post by wellbalancedmusic on Jun 12, 2007 5:23:56 GMT -5
i am bringing my 86 Washbur Presidential D-28 and my buddy is bring his Yari Bob Weir. I brought this guitar last year and all is well. I do leave my #1 at home which is a Taylor GS 100 not because of weather but i couldnt stand anything happening to that guitar. I love my Washburn but the loss would not be as great as the lass or damage to my Taylor.
Post by Britney's_Fears on Jun 12, 2007 7:27:33 GMT -5
I live in southeast Georgia where the humidity is always around 80%. I'm bringing a guitar I only paid $100 for (sounds great though). I play outside at home all the time, drag it around and I've never had a problem. I would even feel safe leaving a really nice one outside (actually I have, an $800 Ovation).
The humidity won't hurt your guitar. At least not just 3-4 days of it. I'm sure if you left it outside here all the time eventually the moisture would wear on it.
Don't leave it in your car though, it will get hot enough in there to warp the wood and totally f**k up your guitar.
I'm bringing a cheap one because I'll have to leave it in my tent and risk it getting stolen.
Post by sunshine37922 on Jun 12, 2007 7:45:15 GMT -5
My BF is playing this year at Roo and they actually have an air conditioned tent for any artist that wants to store their gear in at Roo....he bought an acoustic bass on ebay for under 100$ to take with him so that he could jam around with the artists in the artist section, drum circles, etc. I'm with the consensus to not bring anything you would be upset about getting messed up......
My fiance is bringing a crappy acoustic as opposed to his nice one. not sure if the humidity will really do anything, but I would say don't bring anything that you would be really upset if it got messed up or stolen.
I just asked my gearhead husband about this. He said that it's not really the humidity it's about rapid atmospheric changes. They make a humidifier for guitar cases that will help in acclimating your axe. Planet Waves makes one at reasonable price. Also, when you get home to your 0% humidity AC house let it readjust to that.
Post by strumntheguitar on Jun 12, 2007 13:09:40 GMT -5
ccrgmac said:
Err...don't we have over 100 artists playing at this thing? I assume many of them are bringing guitars. Even if only 10% are acoustics...I'm sure that Keller or Xavier won't be bringing a crappy one because of the humidity. How about all those people who live in the South, don't they have guitars?
Most of which are stored inside in a controlled environment... not a tent in the middle of a farm.
Post by alabamablues on Jun 12, 2007 17:47:54 GMT -5
alyroo said:
I just asked my gearhead husband about this. He said that it's not really the humidity it's about rapid atmospheric changes. They make a humidifier for guitar cases that will help in acclimating your axe. Planet Waves makes one at reasonable price. Also, when you get home to your 0% humidity AC house let it readjust to that.
Corncat! err... I mean correct. It's the abrupt change in temperature and/or humidity and/or air pressure (if you are flying) that can damage a guitar's body or neck (and you should loosen the strings before traveling too, as you don't want them to exert too much pressure on the stress points when they stretch). That's why one is supposed to leave a guitar in its case with it closed for several hours to let the air in the case slowly adjust to the new environment before bringing the guitar out. A guitar in its case will be exposed to a slow change in conditions, rather than a relatively abrupt change out in the open.
I think in other words - boiling hot tent in daytime - cool nights....risk of rain and high moisture....risk of getting stolen or stomped on or broken= most people who care about their guitars don't bring their best guitars unless they are the artists playing that can afford to replace them or have people look after them full time while they are here.....My Taylor is staying home....the $60 guitar is coming to 'Roo.....just my choice...for what it's worth....
I brought/plan on bringing my Alvarez last year/this year and its a nice guitar but I have a really nice SKB flight style hard case for it so I jsut stick it in the case whenever Im nto playing it, and in the car when Im not at my camp sight and everything works.
Post by tok4nug2nati0n on Jun 13, 2007 5:24:47 GMT -5
The only acoustic guitar I have any use for anymore is a Martin HD-28... got it at Picker's Supply in Fredericksburg. Had Guilds, but I don't really use them much anymore. The tone got too thin (laminate back) for me and I was always longing for that Fahey/Kottke/Hedges/Doc Watson depth.
I actually thought about picking up a Little Martin (LXM, with the composite, etc... good for the elements) or a Deering Goodtime, for camping up in the Shennandoahs (I go to Winchester at least four or five time a year and always end up carting around a $2000+ Martin or something ridiculous), personally. I'm probably leaving in a couple hours and heading straight for George Gruhn's, in Nash-Vegas, if my dude at my usual shop isn't open by 10am... I bought my first Martin from Randy Wood, George's former master luthier, when I was 13. It was an old D-35 with pickguard crack, and a couple splits in the back. Horrid looking, but it a 30-year-old opened up growl that would knock your face off. Johnny Cash played it, once, as it was a stage guitar at this bluegrass club.
I just have a $10 digital hygrometer that my tech had laying around, so he just gave it to me. I usually use that and a dampit with an analog indicator (it's sort of like litmus paper, in the sense that it just changes color, blue or pink, to indicate moisture... every bar is 10 percent, etc.)
Other than that, be sure to use at least a sunshade on your front windshield and crack your windows just a bit... I'd actually use two sunshades, once I'm in June/July months... one for the dashboard, the other to keep the sunlight from hitting the black exterior of my Geib case. The only drawback with Martin's cases... black.. plastic. Ugh.
Anyway, just a head's up. Keep your guitar between 50-70 percent relative humidity, when possible, if you're worried. If you do that and keep it and the case out of direct sunlight, during storage, you're good to go.
Neil Young actually left Hank Williams' D-28 in the trunk of one of his Cadillacs, one Summer. I nearly cried when I heard that one.
Yeah, I am a huge Martin fanatic, if you haven't noticed. Fingerpickin good... Chris Martin IV is one of the nicest guys in the music industry.
When they come to take you down When they bring that wagon round When they come to call on you and drag your poor body down Just one thing I ask of you, just one thing for me Please forget you know my name, my darling sugaree Shake it, shake it sugaree, just dont tell them that you know me
HEADED TO BONNAROO!!!!
