D'Addario Acoustic Guitar Soundhole Humidifier

I have one in each of my acoustic guitars. Easy to put in, distilled water is perfect to moisten the sponges and keeps the humidity level just right. I also have the D'Addario hygrometers, one in a case and one in the room. Every few days if it's dry I check the sponges. Surviving the winter or any dry environment is important.

still one of the best systems around...use it in all my guitars...right size for any acoustic

I thought I would throw my two-cents in about the new design and effectiveness of this soundhole humidifier. After making a few homemade case humidifiers out of things like a travel butter container with many holes drilled into it and a sponge, I started thinking about how some of the cases separate the body cavity from the neck & headstock cavity inside the guitar case and not allowing the humidity to flow freely to all areas, especially the body where it is needed the most. Even though I was getting acceptable humidification in the case I was concerned about the body being dryer in comparison so I went ahead and splurged the 8 bucks on these. (I actually bought three of them.) I crank the gas heat up in the house in the winter and A/C in the summer, keep my guitars inside their cases and inside a closet. The humidity drops quite low, but the sponges remain moist for several days before I can no longer fight the urge to re-wet them. lol. Two great tips in one: Use a regular, more dense sponge, thicker like the ones at the dollar store. Cut them to size and stuff them in! Throw away the sponge when it starts to get yucky and don't worry about distilled water, unless you want to. I can't argue using very pure water compared to the possibly toxic crap that comes out our faucets, but for one dollar you can get a boat load of them after you cut them to size, and toss them away without any regard when needing replaced. Don't worry about the "thing" hanging in-between your strings. It will not damage anything unless you get the sponge too saturated and it leaks. I will either squeeze the excess water out, or shake the container with the sponge inside until I am satisfied that it won't drip. The humidifier will not cause any stress or damage to your strings by spreading them when you wedge this inside your soundhole. If you ARE rough, careless, thoughtless, or stupid, you could possibly knock this loose and have it rub or fall out, but I would be more worried about the guitar and what it would take for this to happen. This would be more extreme to the guitar than the humidifier or any harm it could cause. The top snaps on by squeezing the sides to release little tabs that stick through the top cover. The sponge inside is quite small, and there isn't too much room for a much larger sponge. The device is simple and fairly solid. Treat it gently and it will last forever. You can easily clean the inside or run it through a dishwasher. If you give the inside a quick rinse every few fills, I'm sure it would be a decade before anything "built up" to require extensive cleaning or replacement. Keep an eye on it for the first few days and then weeks to get a feel for when you should be re-wetting the sponge. Try to keep the sponge moist when it's dry. I strongly suggest getting an Oasis case humidifier, (or similar) mini sized about 1" X 4" costing around 17-20 bucks. This will take any guesswork out of the equation and give you fairly accurate readings inside your guitar or instrument case. Remember, too much humidity can cause your acoustic guitar to warp. Too dry and it will shrink and crack, split the soundboard (top) also leaving the edges of the frets sticking out like the backbone of a fish and quite abrasive! If you spent more than one hundred dollars on your guitar and live where it gets cold and/or dry, you would be negligent (if not careless) to spend the pittance to make sure your 'baby ain't thirsty', or worse...dead & broken! Hope this helps!

Just like the Planet Waves humidifier. Does the job with no fuss. You do have to moisten the sponge ever so often though.

These work well. Easy to use. When my guitar cases get near 40% relative humidity, I just wet the sponge with some distilled water, lightly wring it out, install it in the container, and put the container between the strings in my guitar's sound hole. It does what it's supposed to do. It's a slow process, but that's what I want with my guitars. These humidifiers help to maintain a healthy environment in my guitar cases.

I bought several of these and was cautiously optimistic about what I would get for the low price. Compared to other similarly-designed humidifiers I own, I find the sponges in these are not dense at all and don't hold a lot of water. The sponges are much less dense than even a standard kitchen sponge. Other similarly-designed humidifiers have a very dense foam that seems to hold more water. I may consider replacing the sponges in these if I can stumble on the right kind of foam I can cut and use in their place.

I like that the top can be removed. I can check if the sponge is dried out or still moist.

I bought several of these to use on my Taylor guitars during the colder/drier 6 months of the year here in Washington DC. I've tried pretty much every guitar humidifier out there, and these Walden Planet Waves ones are the best. The material used in this humidifier seems to hold the water MUCH better than the sponge types. It gets quite dry in my apartment in the winter, but I only have to add water once per week to my 4 guitars. With many other humidifiers you end up having to add water once every other day, which is just too often when you have 4 guitars to take care of. I keep a single gallon of distilled water for these. I fill a shot glass with water and then fill the syringe and inject into the humidifier until it's saturated. A brand new one might take a few syringes worth to become saturated, but I only end up adding 1 to 1.5 syringes per week after that, and the guitars are hovering nicely in the 45 to 50% range. I plan to buy a handful more soon. EDIT 11/2/2013: I don't think Planet Waves makes the same humidifiers anymore. The new version of their humidifier has a different type of sponge, which I believe probably dries out much more quickly than the old version, though admittedly I have not yet confirmed at the time of this writing. The old material wasn't a sponge at all but rather was some other type of water-retaining material. I believe it was actually a floral foam, absorbent material. Be mindful of what you're purchasing. I'm not sure that a better, longer-lasting humidifier exists, but my original review above was based on the older version of the humidifier made from a different material than the newer ones which use a standard sponge. I plan to purchase some standalone floral foam to insert into my Planet Waves humidifiers to replace the old foam that was in their previously but has since worn out.

It works! My guitar healed after using this for a month continuously! You just gotta fill it up everyday and eventually you'll find yourself filling it less frequently and that's when you know the guitar is getting better.

Semplice economico e di facile utilizzo, un ausilio in più per trattare bene la propria chitarra, specie se la si tiene in ambiente parecchio asciutto e secco. Per fare le cose fatte bene andrebbe misurata l'umidità nell'aria, nell'ambiente dove si tiene e si suona la chitarra. Qualora l'ambiente fosse già umido di suo, va tenuto in conto che un'eccessiva umidità (così come un eccessiva secchezza) nuoce al legno.

Works fine and very inportant product in wintertime for acoustic guitars

Hace su trabajo. literalmente la madera de la guitarra se "bebe" la humedad de la esponja en 1 o 2 dias.. es importante estar recargando para mantener la humedad correcta.

By far the safest way to maintain the humidity in your acoustic guitar. Their are other ways out their but this is the safest in my opinion. People in this review section don't know what they are talking about so don't judge this product based on these reviews. I admit that the product should not be priced this much i mean this is just a plastic cup with holes in it and a sponge. But good luck with your homemade experimental crap. I am not about to experiment on my guitar. And i don't think people who own an expensive guitar would either. The way this product works is you should have a hard case for your acoustic guitar. Open the cap and take the sponge out. Wet the sponge and squeeze the excess water until it is just lightly wet and not dripping( this is the most important part you don't want water dripping in your guitar). Place the sponge back in the plastic container and slide the whole thing in between D and G string and place your guitar in your case. Keep it inside for 24 hours and check if the sponge is dry if it is then repeat the same process again. If the sponge is wet at all after the 24 hours? Then your guitar is at the perfect humidity. You should take your room's humidity into consideration too. Too much of something is not good. Be careful and always check on your guitar while using the product as water can damage the wood if not handled properly.