Humidity damping, or all in my head

[Tim Skaggs]

I just returned from a week's stay at a Bluegrass park where I was in a jam session every night until the wee morning hours. I noticed my bass ('52 Kay M-1) sounded great during the day, but got progressively "muted" as the evening wore on. I decided this must due to the high evening humidity, since the bass would return to it's responsive self in the heat of the day. Has anyone else experienced this phenomenon?

[M0ses]

Nah, it was you becoming more and more deaf.

[Jake deVilliers]

Originally Posted by Tim Skaggs

I just returned from a week's stay at a Bluegrass park where I was in a jam session every night until the wee morning hours. I noticed my bass ('52 Kay M-1) sounded great during the day, but got progressively "muted" as the evening wore on. I decided this must due to the high evening humidity, since the bass would return to it's responsive self in the heat of the day. Has anyone else experienced this phenomenon?

Absolutely! At most festivals my guitar rings like a bell at 2 in the afternoon and sounds like crap as the dew descends at night...

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Yes - humidity is a tone killer, and when the bass gets sticky, it can be very difficult to play.

[Tim Skaggs]

Nah, it was you becoming more and more deaf

Could be, but as long as it returns to normal each day I'm good with it. Maybe it will help me sleep....

[fdeck]

Humidity could be raising or lowering the string height. I noticed that my Kay changed its tuning by 1/2 step when I took it from upstairs to my cooler and relatively damp basement one day. And I know it wasn't the steel strings that were reacting to the change of conditions.

[Tim Skaggs]

There is a minor difference in string height, but not a great deal & I had the stings jacked up for outdoor, unamplified jamming. The difference is all tone and little to do with mechanics. As the sun went down each day, it began to feel a little like playing a bass guitar with foam rubber or a rolled up rag under the strings. Another description woud be like playing while someone is touching the strings just above the bridge. It's hard to describe other than saying the strings felt "dampened" & I don't mean wet.