Humidity issues

[HugeInJapan]

I live in MD and it is extremely humid here. However, the temps have started to drop and I turned off the A/C in my house a few days ago. Last night when I went to practice I noticed that the action was much higher than normal on my bass. I'm assuming this is a humiduty issue since it's never happened before. I keep my instruments stored in their cases and was wondering how much a silica pack like this would help.

200 Gram Rechargeable Silica Gel Dehumidifier


Anyone using something similar or is it time to get out the allen wrenches?

 

[Dbassmon]

Humidity for electric basses is not much of an issue, assuming are are not talking about dripping wet.

Wood is an elastic material that will soak up moisture or give up moisture depending on the environment. You want to avoid drastic sudden changes in temp and humidity. For example, do not leave your bass in the car overnight in frigid temps and bring it in to a warm house and open the case, your finish could "alligator" before your eyes.

Damp (really damp) air will shorten string life and may cause screws and hardware to rust over time.

You may have to adjust your truss rod seasonally for natural changes in average temp and humidity levels, not much more that a 1/4 turn. Get out the allen wrench! if your strings have moved further away from the neck, tighten (clockwise) 1/4 turn to remove the bow in the neck.

Humidity is much more of an issue for double bass which has a thin solid carved wood top...

I would not worry about dehumidifing ambient moisture levels in summer-fall.