Yeah I have a hydrometer. In truth I don't track the humidity very closely, but I believe it's normally around 40-50% (I could be off and I'm on the road so I can't check it right now). In the winter the heater will run a lot in, typically late Jan to March. The humidity will dive down to 20% (give or take) during this time. I do see fret sprout in some, not all, of my guitars during this season. Honestly it doesn't last too long so I don't worry about it too much. I do case my acoustic/classical with humidifiers during this season. I guess I could with my electrics, but .....I'd really rather not - I just don't play them as much when they're cased. You know? ...but if you think this is dry enough to be the cause of my issue, maybe that's the right thing then.
Oh man, I've never heard of these guys, but that's pretty close to me and the city where I was a jazz studies major. $75 is not a bad price if it can fix it. I have heard techs not like the process of steaming necks, but whatever. ...at this point I just want my necks to play.
Cool thanks for that. Yeah, I forgot to mention that I don't use any shims.
I think I also didn't mention that I'm not really a low action player. I *want* my guitars to be in top-shape and be able to *handle* low action, but I usually set the strings to 4-5/64ths at the 12th fret & I do put some relief in the neck. I use jazz picks and some times dig in more that I should with my picking hand. This is a B+ attempt to learn my favorite Jay Graydon solo:
I suspect that if I had a softer right hand or pick I would be less sensitive to the strings not vibrating as much ....but dang it, I want *all* my guitars to not choke out on the notes.
(thank you everyone for listening and giving your thoughts - I am grateful)
