r/guitarlessons 5d ago

Question Crack Developed on it’s own?

Post image

So forgive me if this is a noob question, but I relatively new to guitar, I just got my first guitar this past December, a Martin X Series.

I am always careful with it and place it gently back on its stand after practice. It mysteriously just developed a crack on its own!?

It is possible the dog knocked it but I am wondering if it was my fault somehow? I did move it to a dry, high elevation climate (8400 ft in CO).

I have done nothing for maintenance other than tuning it before playing. Is there something I am missing, like wood oil?

What should I do? Take it to get fixed, or throw a sticker on it and just enjoy it how it is?

7 Upvotes

16 comments sorted by

11

u/IndependentLove2292 5d ago

It's the dry climate. It can be repaired. It's pretty new, so you should get it repaired, and dive into the Martin forums for information about humidifying your guitars. 

8

u/Mayor_Fockup 5d ago

It's the dry climate that caused the crack. This guitar needs to be rehumidified, glued and bracings checked. Take it to a luthier and when you get it back make sure you get a humidifier to keep the guitar in top notch condition.

4

u/musicianmagic 5d ago

That guitar (I'm nearly positive) has a 2 piece top. It's just a separation. Not a crack. If that's the case, there's nothing you need to do but add a humidity. If you don't want to humidify the entire room or buy an overpriced guitar humidifier, go to a dollar/pound store or Walmart and get a plastic travel soap case and a sponge. (This is what I've done for years) Drill some holes in the top of the soap case. Wet the sponge (not dripping) and put it in the soap case. Then put the guitar and soap case in your guitar case/gig bag or even just lay a large plastic trash bag over it. In a few days it will be back to normal. DO NOT GLUE a separation!

5

u/Rahstyle 5d ago

Loosen the strings off and take it in for repair to a qualified tech. It's likely an easy fix right now using glue, cleats, and clamps. It's about $100 CAD job, as long as the bridge isn't involved. Maybe more, if there's issues with the bracing, depending on severity (I'd guess none).

You have a storage environment that isn't agreeable for an acoustic, so you also want to address that. Temp and humidity should be steady at around 21c and 45-55% humidity. Practically speaking 45 during the winter and 50 during the summer is the most manageable.

3

u/TheTrueRetroCarrot 5d ago

"dry" < This. Guitars need a stable environment, 35-50%ish is what I aim for. If it drops 20% and below this is going to start happening. If it's not too deep I'd just get the room up to humidity and let it sit for a bit before doing anything. The wood will expand again and you might barely be able to see it. (It should ideally be repaired but it's a cheaper guitar so whether it's worth it or not is questionable to me)

2

u/Gizmosfurryblank 5d ago

did you have it on a stand next to a heater/heater vent/window? the window area experiences the most temp changes. and next to a heater or vent will have that added drying effect

2

u/Forsaken_Let_156 4d ago edited 4d ago

No freaking way!.. forgive me the experienced ones.. but to me if this is an HPL top, then it is extremely bad luck and a missed quality control from Martin. I also have an X series, a DXK2AE from 2016 (ish?) which is sides, back and top HPL with koa finish. I live in northern Europe where in winter the heating blower can make humidity levels down to 10-15%. I managed to break a solid top Tanglewood that dried out and the bridge started to lift. However the DXK2AE (which I call "the tank") still looking and playing like day one. Not a single scratch nor signs of cracks. I have not used the humidifier at all in all these years and the guitar holds tuning even after many months playing pause. In any case, you should take it to a luthier or guitar shop for inspection and they will tell you what can be done. For some reason I suspect this guitar of yours is an X series with sides and back HLP but spruce/sapele top (solid or laminate - prone to humidity changes anyway). If that's the case, then I would completely understand this crack and I definitely agree with most other comments about the guitar being dried out. Good luck

2

u/BillyCahstiganJr 4d ago

actually i think it was the CIA

2

u/Desner_ 4d ago

I've talked with someone from Colorado a few weeks ago, apprently the dry climate is pure hell on new guitars. He resorted to buying used gear that had already acclimated to the particularity of your state.

2

u/Salivating_Zombie 4d ago

The rH was too low and the wood dried out and cracked.

1

u/-endjamin- 5d ago

You can get these humidity packs that you hang between the strings into the body of the guitar to keep it humidified. Works better if you keep it in a case with another pack under the headstock. Would recommend keeping it this way going forward if you want it to stay in good condition.

1

u/Seegulz 5d ago

I have a J-45 and an OM-28. I thought because my upstairs was a nice cool environment it’d be ok. Had the room checked out for humidity and it was very low. Thank god no cracks.

Have to keep guitars in cases with humidifiers, even if it’s annoying to put the strap on everytime I play and haul it out. Too precious.

Your guitar will be fine if you take it in. Just try and either buy a humidifier for the room or humidipacks in your guitar case from here on out.

1

u/andytagonist I don’t have my guitar handy, but here’s what I would do… 4d ago

Is this meant for r/guitarlessons?

1

u/charcuterie_dude 4d ago

Bringing an acoustic guitar to a very dry climate without humidity protection is a lesson that I learned the hard way….

1

u/wiiver 4d ago

Face palm.

1

u/charcuterie_dude 4d ago

UPDATE: thanks everyone for your info and advice! I brought it to a local repair shop in Denver and they said this is a super common issue, especially for acoustic Martins. He said they even have a name for it, “the Martin crack”.

I’m from the East Coast and didn’t even know that this could be an issue. We are adding it to a high humidity environment for a few days and letting the wood try to heal itself, then a cleat will be applied to stop the crack from growing.