(Lack of) Humidity

[buzzby]

Greetings!

I live in an area where the humidity is consistently low. In my home, it's almost always less than 30%, and commonly less than 20%. We do not have forced air heating/cooling; it's just very dry for ten months of the year.

I know this dryness is not good for my basses.

I have a portable room humidifier, and will use it if I must (I like the dry air), but I am hoping for a recommendation for humidifier recommendations for my bass cases.

I have a hollow-body, a semi-hollow body, and some solid body basses.

I see a few products online that look interesting, but I'm hoping to be armed with your experience before I start blowing money on things that don't work well--or that will damage a bass.

Thank you for your help!

buzz

 

[lowendblues]

I live in Ohio. Its up and down every day. constantly tweaking the rods.

 

[buzzby]

I haven't had much neck movement, because the humidity is consistently low. I'm more concerned about the ends of the frets starting to protrude on the sides of the neck and potential damage/cracking of the finish.

Thanks,
buzz

 

[BlueRock]

I've used case humidifiers but never anything very sophisticated. In my mind they're a stopgap solution for travelling. Humidifying the room you keep instruments in to 40% will be a heckuva lot easier. One big problem I've had with case humidifiers is it's too easy to forget about them and let them go dry.

 

[MrLenny1]

I am in New England. Cold & dry with the heat on.
I have had fret ends during this weather & then the wood expands in
warm seasons. No issues. My luthier recommends having the fret ends
trimmed back when it's very dry here and that clears the issue.

 

[buzzby]

I placed a humidifier in the room. After three days, the frets are flush with the neck sides again. I'll probably just stick with the humidifier. Thanks!

 

[gg22]

I placed a humidifier in the room. After three days, the frets are flush with the neck sides again. I'll probably just stick with the humidifier. Thanks!

Just file fret ends.

 

[BlueRock]

Here and on other threads I'm kind of surprised at how much resistance there is to using a humidifier. They're readily available, simple to use and cheaper than filing fret ends on just one instrument. Maybe when you start seeing the essential benefits for high end acoustic instruments you start seeing how much better your less expensive solid body instruments are when they live in a stable adequate RH range.

Saying not to use a humidifier or dehumidifier seems kind of like saying don't worry about cutting your toenails just go to the doctor when they become ingrown.

 

[lowtone65]

I'm in the middle of the desert here, so I can relate.
I recently purchased Boveda 49% Humipacks to throw in guitar cases.
I've used them for years in my cigar humidor and they keep the humidity level consistent.
When they dry up, I toss in another.

 

[Jim85IROC]

If you like the dry air, and your house is like that almost all year, then I wouldn't screw with humidifiers. Dry air isn't necessarily bad for an instrument, multiple humidity swings are. It's the constant expansion and contraction that's bad for them. To that point, I think humidifying the guitars in their cases and then having long term exposure to your dry environment is probably worse than keeping them dry all the time.

 

[buzzby]

If you like the dry air, and your house is like that almost all year, then I wouldn't screw with humidifiers. Dry air isn't necessarily bad for an instrument, multiple humidity swings are. It's the constant expansion and contraction that's bad for them. To that point, I think humidifying the guitars in their cases and then having long term exposure to your dry environment is probably worse than keeping them dry all the time.

This has been my approach for the last couple decades. But I just got a new Lakland 55-02 and the owner manual recommends storing it at 40-49% humidity. That spooked me.

However, it seems like cycling is worse than having it at low humidity and staying there all the time (well, for the most part). I sure would like to ditch this humidifier!

It's good to hear everyone's thoughts on this.

buzz

 

[EagleMoon]

I used to live in Ohio and now live in Arizona, and other than the initial tweaking if needed right after moving I haven’t noticed a difference.