Winter Transportation

[fdeck]

For a while, I have been casually shopping for a bass that would be a step up from my Kay. If that turns out to be a carved bass, then I have to ask about... winter transportation.

Keeping my bass at reasonable humidity should not be a problem at home, as I have a central humidifier that works quite well.

However, as a weekend warrior, it is likely that I will end up having to take the bass on local gigs during the winter in Wisconsin. How likely am I to see cracking under these sorts of temporary stress conditions?

[Stephen Koscica]

I use Dampits. Not knockoff humidifiers, but the old tradename, Dampit. They're green with yellow sponge material inside. Even with my old bass, I use them all year round and make sure that they are always moist. ( I take them out for performances and sometimes rehearsals). They mute my bass, but don't rattle too bad).

The knockoffs have some new material that appears the same, but they don't hold enough water, and tend to drip too easily.

I use 4 Dampits. This way, I don't have to over-saturate 2 or 3. Bottom line is, don't drip. I hold them under the water faucet for a few seconds and then squeeze access water out. For those really new to using these, you can hang them in the sink or on the towel rod after you first wet them. Then after 30 minutes or so, you can come back and see if there's too much or not enough water. Then after you get the right feel for these, put them in the bass. The gravity pulls the water down into the reservoir part of the dampit and the moisture just evaporates into the bass. Keeping the cover on when not playing (at night or during lulls in the day,) really makes the difference as it locks in the humidity.

I use mine to keep the bass from cracking, but (in Arizona) I noticed that it just plays so much better when it's not all dried out. I wish I played in San Fransisco, perfect weather for a bass! Using the Dampits in way, (to me) seems better than keeping the bass in a humidifed room in that with the Dampits, I take the "room" with me.

[Mark Perna]

Francis:

I've been using fully carved basses since 1996. I keep a humidifier going at home but have never done anything once I leave the house and I have NEVER had a problem. From 1999 until 2003 I had a 4 night per week gig. The bass would go in the car in the morning, I would drive to wherever I was doing the day gig that day and would drive straight to the gig from the day gig. The bass would be bouncing around in the car for upwards of 12 hours at a time. NEVER had a problem winter or summer.

mark

[tomshepp]

Wow! I always worried about that kind of situation. I'd drive back home to get the bass.

[kurt ratering]

i think that it depends on the bass. if you can find an older bass locally then its aclimated to wisconsins brutal winters. a new bass may or may not be on the green side and shrink like mad its first winter in madison. is Elis Deli (spelling?) still there? (that crazy circus themed restaurant)

[Hammertime3]

Just what is the ideal humidity level for double bass? My house is dry..humidity in my bedroom where the bass camps is now 26%. The humdistat says normal (or ideal) is 30-50%. What's it read in your house?

[Eric Hochberg]

Originally Posted by Hammertime3

Just what is the ideal humidity level for double bass?

According to my repair guy, when it's home, 38% give or take.

[drurb]

Originally Posted by Stephen Koscica

I use Dampits. Not knockoff humidifiers, but the old tradename, Dampit. They're green with yellow sponge material inside. Even with my old bass, I use them all year round and make sure that they are always moist. ( I take them out for performances and sometimes rehearsals). They mute my bass, but don't rattle too bad).

The knockoffs have some new material that appears the same, but they don't hold enough water, and tend to drip too easily.

I use 4 Dampits. This way, I don't have to over-saturate 2 or 3. Bottom line is, don't drip. I hold them under the water faucet for a few seconds and then squeeze access water out. For those really new to using these, you can hang them in the sink or on the towel rod after you first wet them. Then after 30 minutes or so, you can come back and see if there's too much or not enough water. Then after you get the right feel for these, put them in the bass. The gravity pulls the water down into the reservoir part of the dampit and the moisture just evaporates into the bass. Keeping the cover on when not playing (at night or during lulls in the day,) really makes the difference as it locks in the humidity.

I use mine to keep the bass from cracking, but (in Arizona) I noticed that it just plays so much better when it's not all dried out. I wish I played in San Fransisco, perfect weather for a bass! Using the Dampits in way, (to me) seems better than keeping the bass in a humidifed room in that with the Dampits, I take the "room" with me.

Check here, here, and here. I've done all kinds of experimentation with the brand name. Whenever they were moist enough to even be imagined to do any good at all, they would always drip. Even if we're only talking one drip per hour or two, that's too much for me. With all due respect to Steve, many luthiers strongly recommend against damp-its. I do too. In addition, a damp-it, or multiple damp-its in a bass that is not in the case can be expected to have no beneficial effect at all because when the bass is open to the room, you're basically humidifying the room with those little damp-its. The humidity will, of course, not stay in the bass. Rather, it will follow the gradient of the saturation in the air and float right out. When a bass is out of the case, humidification is most effectively achieved by humidifying the room. Here's my favorite quote on the subject:

Originally Posted by robobass

Let's give credit where credit is due. Dampits are the music world's best marketing ploy ever. They make the New Coke guys look like Beavis & Butthead running a lemonade stand. There's not a shread of evidence that they help, and plenty of reasons why they might hurt, yet I bet they've sold tens of millions of units over the last thirty years or so (longer?), and cost pennies to make. Rarely questioned, often used religiously (I remember a guy who kept four in his plywood bass in the summer!) Who is laughing here?

To answer fdeck directly, I think the risk is minimal if you humidify the room where the bass lives most of the time, avoid rapid changes, and humidify the bass in the case if it will be there for an extended period of time (see my sponge-in-the-bag technique).