Once you know what to look for, a guitar will generally tell you when its environment isn't right. The symptoms of a too-dry guitar and a too-wet guitar are quite different, and picking up on them early can be the difference between a quick fix and a trip to a repairer. Here's what to watch for.

Signs your guitar is too dry

• Sharp or protruding fret ends. As the fretboard timber shrinks, the fret ends can start to feel sharp or stick out slightly past the edge of the neck. This is usually one of the earliest warning signs.
• A sunken top. Look along the top of the guitar from the side, particularly behind the bridge. If it looks concave or caved in rather than gently domed, that's a sign the top has lost moisture.
• Lower action and new buzzing. As the top and neck shift, the action can drop and buzzing can appear, even if nothing was touched.
• Cracks. In more severe cases, cracks can appear along the grain of the top, back or sides. These usually need proper repair rather than a DIY fix.
• A lifting bridge. Extreme dryness can cause the bridge to start separating from the top, which is a structural issue that needs professional attention.

Signs your guitar is too wet

• A swollen or domed top. Excess moisture causes the top to swell, which you'll usually notice as extra doming, particularly around the bridge area.
• Rising action. As the top swells, the action tends to climb, making the guitar feel stiffer and harder to play.
• A duller, more muffled tone. Wood that's absorbed excess moisture doesn't resonate as freely, so the guitar can start to sound flatter and less lively than usual.
• Softening glue joints. In prolonged, extreme humidity, glue joints can soften, which is a more serious problem best assessed by a repairer rather than left alone.

What to actually do about it

For mild dryness, the fix is straightforward: start humidifying the guitar properly and give it time to settle back to normal, ideally over a few days rather than all at once. Rushing a very dry guitar back to full humidity too quickly can cause its own problems, so a gradual approach is the safer option. For excess humidity, a dehumidifying pack or simply moving the guitar to a more stable, drier environment is usually the first step.

If you're seeing more serious symptoms, cracks, a lifting bridge, or a top that looks dramatically different from how it left the factory, that's the point to stop trying to fix it yourself. These issues can usually be corrected by a skilled repairer if they're caught in reasonable time, but they can get considerably worse and more expensive to fix if left alone.

Prevention is easier than the cure

All of this is far easier to avoid than to fix. A consistent humidification routine and an occasional check with a hygrometer will catch most problems long before they become visible. If you're not sure whether what you're seeing is normal wear or a genuine humidity issue, feel free to bring your guitar in and we're happy to take a look.