I don't know if this has been discussed but I'm curious about the quantity of actual moisture that Dampits provide. I know there are differing opinions about them, but I have been a user for many years and have never had the supposed issues and believe they do provide protection from excess dryness.I would like to know if anyone knows how much moisture they actually provide and how much is needed as a general rule to keep a carved bass safe. I already know the supposed downsides so I don't really need those but feel free.
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Double Bass dampits
- Thread starter Bruce Calin
- Start date
David Gage told me years ago that he had tested this and that when the bass was out of the case the effect on humidity was negligible, but when in the bag it raised it a significant and worthwhile amount. I don't have the actual numbers. FWIW I have changed to the Oasis humidifier for the last few years. I think it's an improvement over the Dampit. I use two.
oasishumidifiers.com
Oasis® OH-21 ¾ Size Double Bass Humidifier
Oasis® OH-21 ¾ Size Double Bass Humidifier - Oasis Humidifiers
oasishumidifiers.com
Yes the oasis ones are better but first off get a hygrometer. You can be addressing a problem you don't have. I used to run a room humidifier in the winter but didn't have a hygrometer. When I finally got one I realized I didn't need to. In the winter you want 30-35% humidity. If its higher that can be detrimental since the wood looses moisture faster then it gains it. You can be at 50% then you go and play in a very dry room for the day and cracks can happen because of the moisture leaving the instrument.
Oh, and David also told me he thought that for a gigging NYC bassist the ideal humidity for your apartment was 35%, a bit lower than many recommend. He felt that taking the bass in and out of low humidity places placed a bigger stress on the wood if you kept it at a higher level.
One more thing. The hygrometers you buy are often inaccurate. When you get one, seal it tight in a Ziploc bag along with a small container filled with completely saturated slushy salt. After 12 hours or so it should read 75%. Don't ask me why; it's some salt thing. It probably won't read 75, so figure out what percentage of 75 it reads and adjust your reading of the thing accordingly.
Unfortunately, one can't calibrate any instrument with a single data point, nor develop a reliable correction factor. Even if one knew that the hygrometer were linear in its response, you'd need a second data point to develop a calibration—perhaps by placing the unit in a dessicator.
Yea I have a more expensive one and a couple others. They all differ a bit. It's on you tube some where Nick LLoyd did a good video about bass and humidity
Where I live now is like a desert in the summer so I'm more concerned during this time. I keep the bass in the bag with the Dampit when I'm not actually playing it and that seems to work. I call this my "all weather bass" because it is pretty tolerant of changes, especially for a carved instrument, but I'm still careful.
They are more likely to drip on something and make a seam or brace come up than stop a crack. There are a lot of better options out there.
Both the Oasis and Humidor are much better.
Both the Oasis and Humidor are much better.
My bass cares nothing about our dry climate, but my cello is a different story. I have this Stretto humidifier for it, and it is fantastic. The cello suffered damage from the prior owner using dampits, and totally not being able to keep up with its humidity requirements.
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If my bass were sensitive, and I had a hard case for it, I would scatter them around like mousetraps. Fortunately I am spared that.
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If my bass were sensitive, and I had a hard case for it, I would scatter them around like mousetraps. Fortunately I am spared that.
That IS interesting. I love my cello one, and it has made all the difference for my instrument. I have no experience with the bass version.
My instrument sits in its hard case unless I have it out to play. The Stretto packet is attached by velcro to a part of the case and does not touch the cello at all. A little microclimate of increased humidity develops in the case. I resoak the pillow about every 7-10 days, and my first one lasted for years; now on pillow #2.
One that hangs from the f-hole, I don't know about. If the bass is just out in the room, I don't think it would have much effect. And I wonder, does the packet touch the wood of the bass? That might lead to water damage.
My instrument sits in its hard case unless I have it out to play. The Stretto packet is attached by velcro to a part of the case and does not touch the cello at all. A little microclimate of increased humidity develops in the case. I resoak the pillow about every 7-10 days, and my first one lasted for years; now on pillow #2.
One that hangs from the f-hole, I don't know about. If the bass is just out in the room, I don't think it would have much effect. And I wonder, does the packet touch the wood of the bass? That might lead to water damage.
My bass is out 90% of the time. I only bag it when I'm transporting it. In the winter months I run a small humidifier in my bass room. I try to keep the humidity at least around 40%.
The Stretto seems interesting as it lengthens the time between refills. I've been using the Boveda system which gets pricey, but
lasts 1-2 months before you need to change the pads. I can go away and not worry about humidity.
lasts 1-2 months before you need to change the pads. I can go away and not worry about humidity.
I use them on my violin, viola, mandolin, and have a two-basin humidifier on my Yamaha C7 piano. Do they work? Well...in 40 years I've never had to have a seam nor crack repair, nor any other issues. The luthier that takes care of my violin/viola/mando swears by dampits. That's good enough for me.
Never heard of this one. Will check it out. In Tucson, to save money during the dry season, I use evaporative cooling. I use the dampit to ease the instrument down to dryer conditions when switching to AC when the monsoon hits. The bass is not fond of the changes, but if I moderate them, it helps. The evap is too big a money saver not to use in my case.
on the topic of hydrometers being inaccurate, for me the solution was to purchase a few. one relatively expensive one, two cheap ones.
it's not perfect but it gives 3x more information and you can tell the one that reads consistently low does just that.
obviously a really high-end one properly calibrated would be ideal, but I think buying several cheap ones from different brands is pretty reasonable.
on the topic of dampits, I sort of agreed with what seemed to be the advise some years ago that if it ever drips inside the bass it'll cause real damage and they're generally more trouble than they're worth.
i've always just been very careful about humidity at home (in new york) and in ~20 years of caring for double basses I can only recall having one open seam - on a finicky old german flatback.
it's not perfect but it gives 3x more information and you can tell the one that reads consistently low does just that.
obviously a really high-end one properly calibrated would be ideal, but I think buying several cheap ones from different brands is pretty reasonable.
on the topic of dampits, I sort of agreed with what seemed to be the advise some years ago that if it ever drips inside the bass it'll cause real damage and they're generally more trouble than they're worth.
i've always just been very careful about humidity at home (in new york) and in ~20 years of caring for double basses I can only recall having one open seam - on a finicky old german flatback.
