Looking for a guitar that can handle the change of seasons better.

I'm at 24 guitars I think? Somewhere around there. Live in N Denver. Every 6 months it's like an event :sob:. Mostly just a bit of a truss rod adjustment, but still....
 
I'm in Colorado too. Once I got a good humidifier setup to run between 45-50% RH year-round in my 10x10 studio room I have not had to make any tweaks to any of my guitars. I have had good luck with the AirCare Space Saver.
 
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Dave Merrill said:
How do you shop for that kind of stability? Isn't it hard to tell from a couple hours in a store?
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I'd like to claim some evolved routine, but it's nothing more enlightened than 60+ years of trial and error. The guitars that have remained in my stable are the ones that DID intonate well, and stayed in tune for months on end; the rest were the "error" part.

I must not be terribly fussy about setup, neck width or depth, materials, etc., because as I noted, I have maybe had the truss rod adjusted 3x all told, on a total of ~30 guitars owned over 61 years. And outside of three factors beyond tuning stability (25" or greater scale length, SS frets, and no locking tremelos), I don't seem to have many requirements in terms of playability, although I do have 4 Tele-esque guitars, so perhaps I do have a "type". 😁
 
In mostly wood Vigier easily the most stable. Most stable ever is a Steinberger GL . Aristides is up there.
Somebody mentioned Parker but I would say no to this because they are still 99% wood. and the intersection to the fingerboard isn't structural .
In more conventional instruments look for roasted maple, a two way rod because that means the tension is taken up metal to metal and carbon reinforcement. Things to be avoided are any vintage style truss rods because these brace the relief with longitudinal tension that braces the wood with metal' practically a thermostat by design.
 
Parker Fly Is very stable. I took mine to India. -6C and 20% humidity in the UK. +30C and 50% to 100% humidity in Mumbai. No adjustments needed. Doesn’t necessarily look or sound like people expect, but then neither does a Steinberger.
 
Roland said:
Parker Fly Is very stable. I took mine to India. -6C and 20% humidity in the UK. +30C and 50% to 100% humidity in Mumbai. No adjustments needed. Doesn’t necessarily look or sound like people expect, but then neither does a Steinberger.
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Having owned 3 Flys and 8 Steinbergers I would say the Steinberger sound FAR more conventional.
 
Admin M@ said:
I have a pre-refined Parker fly. Since 1996, all I've ever had to do is change the strings and wipe it down. It plays as perfectly as the day I got it.
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I was put off keeping mine when I started to get ones in with delaminating fingerboards and frets falling off. I am still basically a fan but I don't want to be the owner when things start going . Even the jack on the pre refined is unique and connected to the flex PCB. I have converted a few to the refined wiring because of parts failing.
I enjoyed playing this the other day.
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Ultra rare Spanish Fly.
 
Consider a Kiesel headless model. All Kiesel necks are double carbon rod reinforced. The headless design is very stable. In addition to the carbon rods, the strings pull straight through the nut and into the "butt end" of the neck where the head stock would be -- nothing pulls on an angle. I have two Kiesel Zeus.
 
Emerald Guitars. The Virtuo is pretty amazing. I'm getting used to it.

I'm actually planning to make the switch to carbon fiber guitars for this very reason, 1 of each type: electric (my Emerald Virtuo, also has graphtech saddles, so acoustic and synth if you want), steel string acoustic (my McPherson Sable, which is completely amazing), and hopefully a Klos true classical (they already offer a crossover nylon string). I've also been in contact with Druzkowski Guitars (he's on FB) about a CF headless electric model he developed (similar to .strandberg design).
 
My Flaxwoods is very stable, but my aluminum neck Messenger was the best. The fact that it was aluminum was disguised with a rosewood fretboard and the back and headstock was painted black. Also it had a standard size profile and not ultra thin like a Veleno.
 
My PRS core guitars handle the seasons really well, especially the SC-245 which seems to shrug off everything. My Xotic XSC-2 has also been really stable. My Fender American Deluxe is more prone to wander as is my Stratish guitar with a roasted maple neck.
 
I had an original GL Steinberger for 20 years. You could use it as a boat paddle during the day and gig with it that night and it was always in tune.
 
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