dampit drip in bass (a few drops) - anything I should do or am I paranoid?

[tbassist4]

A little water has dripped into my bass, should I leave it or attempt to dry it? It's not more than a few drops. Will a few drops hurt my bass or not?

I just got my first carved bass which requires dampits in Colorado's dry climate. I followed the directions for this location but the dampits drip slightly when they are as saturated as they are (which is not much by the way).

I'll be getting a room humidifier within the week so I don't have to worry about things like this.

Tyler

[drurb]

Originally Posted by tbassist4

A little water has dripped into my bass, should I leave it or attempt to dry it? It's not more than a few drops. Will a few drops hurt my bass or not?

I just got my first carved bass which requires dampits in Colorado's dry climate. I followed the directions for this location but the dampits drip slightly when they are as saturated as they are (which is not much by the way).

I'll be getting a room humidifier within the week so I don't have to worry about things like this.

Tyler

Throw away the dampit! You can do a search here on dampits and read all about them. Here is one such thread. Keep in mind that a dampit will not do anything positive in terms of humidifying your bass unless the bass is in the case! Otherwise, you're essentially trying to humidify the room with a dampit. I won't use dampits under any circumstances. The danger is just too great. Others disagree. Get an evaporative humidifier and a digital hygrometer. A few drops at a time over extended periods can damage your bass.

[Paul Warburton]

Originally Posted by drurb

Throw away the dampit!

+1, 2, 3.
I usually stay out of this "Wet down yer bass" crapola, but since you're here on Colorado I have a soft spot.
Basses don't need to be watered.....ANYWHERE. I've owned more fine basses than many people on this board have. They've all lived very healthy lives here in the Denver area. Why? Because I have taken into account the humidity issues of the place that the bass came from, to me. If it came in from a high humidity area, I slowly weaned it down to our dry climate by using less and less water soaked dampits. Once the wood dries out, very slowly, with the help of the weaning process...it's cool. Once you do this, your bass will sound better. I promise you that. If you take your bass to a high humidity location for a period, dry it out here again....slowly.
Look at some pictures of good basses around here. Do you see any dampits hangin'?

And not to disagree with my man, drurb.....I have never owned a humidifier. I've played my bass all over the world, but it's at it's best here in Colorado.

[drurb]

Originally Posted by Paul Warburton

And not to disagree with my man, drurb.....I have never owned a humidifier.

I should have asked the OP what the humidity is there. I was assuming (perhaps incorrectly) that he needed to humidify. My main point was that if he does, dampits, IMO, are not the way to go.

[dmusic148]

Be glad you're not in the Northeast. Cold/dry 6 months, warm/wet 6 months.

[drurb]

Originally Posted by dmusic148

Be glad you're not in the Northeast. Cold/dry 6 months, warm/wet 6 months.

Yep, humidifier and AC.

[jgbass]

I just bought a room humidifier at Target for $29.99. Does the job well. I have a nice new bass. Scared of dampits now.

[drurb]

Originally Posted by jgbass

...Scared of dampits now.

A very healthy fear!

[Gary Lynch]

Originally Posted by drurb

I should have asked the OP what the humidity is there. I was assuming (perhaps incorrectly) that he needed to humidify. My main point was that if he does, dampits, IMO, are not the way to go.

Passive humidifiers rule. No electricity, no noise.

[drurb]

Originally Posted by Gary Lynch

Passive humidifiers rule. No electricity, no noise.

Great idea but, alas, not effective enough for me.

[JKincaid]

I completely agree with Paul. Slowly wean your bass from the dampits/humidifier and let it acclimate.

You may cause more damage by continually exposing it to non-humidified spaces everytime you take it out of your room.

I've weaned both basses I've had since moving out here. No cracks and maybe 2 seam openings. The last being in 1994.

[Paul Warburton]

Tanks for the agreement. (Denver rules, J).
To those of you who choose any humidifying (or de-humidifying) device..........

Nice.
If you never take your bass out of your house, (as J alluded to). let alone another State or country and back. In airplanes in the luggage compartment with no or little temp control. In buses, cars and ships.
Makes one wonder how Red Mitchell's 1700's Klotz ever survived. Sweden-NY-L.A. and more spots in between. Japan, Russia................In less than two months. From an air-conditioned room to a desert-like dryed out, out-door concert venue.
Ps. I know he had several basses in different locations for travel expense issues. But the tour, above, is just one instance where he (and many of us who travel) did this. He tuned in 5ths, so renting and borrowing wasn't an option. Kinda same for me, since I play a fiver. 1888.......all over da place. NO weather related cracks.....ever. In over 30 years.
Paranoia lives.

[Phil Smith]

Originally Posted by drurb

Great idea but, alas, not effective enough for me.

What do you do when you take your bass out of the "humidity controlled" environment i.e. like a gig that could be indoors or outdoors?

[Phil Smith]

Originally Posted by dmusic148

Be glad you're not in the Northeast. Cold/dry 6 months, warm/wet 6 months.

My bass has been in this environment for 3 years now, in and out of the house, no dampits, no humidifier, no problems.

[tomshepp]

So are you saying it's unnecessary to humidify in very dry conditions? Arnold said that abrupt and significant changes are what we should avoid. Here in the northeast, do we just let our basses slowly acclimate to the season? It's been raining for a month!

[Ric5]

Get a humidifier and a humidistat. I live in colorado and currently the humidity level is 42% in my basement. Today there is no need to run the humidifier. But in the winter time it gets really dry and I run several humidifiers in my house. That is good for the basses and the people.

[Paul Warburton]

Ric5...We are talking about double basses here, man. Looking at your profile, you don't own one. Humidifiers are NOT good for double basses. They make them WET. They don't sound good wet.

Tom...one more time. The key word in your post is abrupt. No, don't take a bass from Miami and fly it to the Mojave desert for an outdoor concert in the sun. A dampit is fine for a period of time. No, don't soak it. Let the bass wean itself to the new climate, slowly using less dampening from the dampit. Once settled in to the surrounding weather it will be fine. Then dump the dampit.
If you got wet again......same deal. Getting the wood moist isn't the big issue here. (they do sound and play better dry, IMO.) Drying it out too fast is the problem.

[drurb]

Originally Posted by Phil Smith

What do you do when you take your bass out of the "humidity controlled" environment i.e. like a gig that could be indoors or outdoors?

That's easy. I avoid abrupt changes, which can be deadly and I avoid long-term, non-optimal conditions. So, if it is really dry out and I am concerned about the change in conditions, I will throw a damp sponge in a zip-lock bag in the case. I've mentioned this a number of times in similar threads.

Originally Posted by Phil Smith

My bass has been in this environment for 3 years now, in and out of the house, no dampits, no humidifier, no problems.

...and many kids rode in the back of station wagons with no seatbelts in the 60s and they are just fine. It doesn't make it a good risk. I don't know what the temperature/humidity conditions are where you live nor exactly what kind of bass you play. Your profile lists an Eberle. Is that a fully-carved instrument? In any case, there's no way that I would subject my bass to the low humidity that can occur during the winter even with my whole-house humidifier. Most luthiers agree with my approach.

[drurb]

Originally Posted by Paul Warburton

Humidifiers are NOT good for double basses. They make them WET. They don't sound good wet.

C'mon PW, that's a bit extreme. If you over-humidify, then they become "wet." The idea, of course, is to use a humidifier to achieve a level that won't be detrimental. During the winter here in Connecticut, I shoot for the low 40% range.

How many times have we had this discussion here? Gee, since I've been a member, it must be at least 20 in one form or another.

[tbassist4]

Thanks so much everyone!

Paul, that really helped me understand humidity a lot better. I was under the impression that dry was just bad in general, as was wet - I thought it had to be perfect all the time. Thanks for correcting that for me. I should have remembered that Dr. Paul Erhard (my instructor out here) doesn't have dampits in any of the three fully carved basses in his studio - no problems at all obviously, and they sound great.

Drub, thank you as well. I do plan on getting a humidifier and hygrometer for the winter particularly - it gets quite dry here then. My bass is brand new, and I do need to watch it carefully for these first few years. It will be part of the weaning process.

The humidity in my basement is actually pretty high compared to the rest of house and especially outside. There's no real abrupt change going on here - I bought the bass at Robertson and Sons in Albuquerque, NM, so the climate out here isn't too much drier (believe it or not, it is drier in parts of CO than it is in parts of NM, or so I was told). However, the shop was humidified as far as I remember, so a little extra care in the weaning process will be necessary.



Now, just a couple more important questions:
How do I know when the bass is weaned, and how do I know I'm not letting it acclimate too quickly? I understand seam openings are a part of carved instrument regular maintenance, but I obviously don't want any cracks.

The bass will remain in my basement for the summer, but in August I'll be heading to school where it will be stored in a locker in its case when not in use. Will I have to use dampits to some degree, or will it be fully weaned by that point?

Thanks so much for your help and patience guys.

Tyler