[vlmagee]

RM, you don't have to buy anything. For my precious Martin D-18GL, I used one of the tried and true solutions - made a bit more difficult in these days of digital cameras, however. If you have a film camera and some film canisters, you are all set. If not, plastic soap dishes will work too. Punch a few holes in the top (I usually punch 3), and insert a wet piece of sponge. Bingo! Works like a charm. Obviously, be sure that your arrangement doesn't leak water on your guitar. In a dry climate, check the sponges every few days so you know how often to wet them. I use 3 canisters in my case, at the headstock end. This was adequate in Colorado too, where dryness is a problem, although my guitar was then almost 3 years old. The greatest danger of dryness-related damage is in the first 2 to 3 years when the wood is still drying naturally, and is therefore more susceptible to extremes. (Of course, this solution assumes that you keep your guitar in a case when you aren't playing it).

I just started playing again (well, okay, I played 4 or 5 times in the same month), and took my guitar in for a check-up after a guitar playing friend (singer/songwriter Michael Jerling) said that the action seemed too high for fingerpicking. My guitar was originally set up for fingerpicking, and the action was wonderful, but after not playing for so long I couldn't judge it myself. I went back to my Martin-authorized repair tech and he adjusted the truss rod, and did actually file the saddle a bit (without taking the strings off!). What a difference it made! No dryness issues at all.

For this professional service, I was charged the lofty sum of $25 ...