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PSA: control your humidity!!!!

#41
From what I've read & understand a quarter-sawn neck will shrink more uniformly when it dries, vs. a flat-sawn neck.
In a flat-sawn neck the grain runs circular, but in a quarter-sawn it's more parallel to the surface:

endgrain.jpg
 
#42
glocke1 said:
I have a whole house humidifier as well. on really dry days it won't keep things above 25%. I bought a standalone humidifier, threw all my basses in one room with it and that one barely keeps things at 30% .
Click to expand...
25%?!? Man, this is bone dry... my upright would right pop apart.

I use Venta systems, which is by far the best thing I bought for this purpose.
For you conus guys Venta Air Technologies | Perfect Indoor Air Quality with Venta
I have the LW45.
 
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#43
I read quite a few articles about ideal humidity level for guitars and bass guitars (where I live it goes from lower 20s to 90%). Everyone has a slightly different recommendation, but the 35%-60% corridor seems to be a very acceptable level (source: Taylor Guitars says 40-60%, Sweetwater says 40-50%, Guitarfella says 40-60%, PremierGuitar says 40-50%, [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]says 35% is ideal but up to 70% is OK). I also read that ideally you want to keep it stable (e.g. it's better to have it stable at the lower or upper boundary, rather than move between 30% and 65% all the time).
 
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#44
I have learned the hard way about keeping instruments properly humidified. I had an upright bass crack on me one time when I went on vacation and two electric basses needing a good amount of work when they were not humidified correctly. For the past year and half I have been using D'addario Humidipaks plus their Bluetooth sensor. The Bluetooth sensor pairs up with a mobile app that will tell you the humidity level inside your case. I have not had any issues since using these items.
 
#45
aledeville said:
25%?!? Man, this is bone dry... my upright would right pop apart.

I use Venta systems, which is by far the best thing I bought for this purpose.
For you conus guys Venta Air Technologies | Perfect Indoor Air Quality with Venta
I have the LW45.
Click to expand...

I’m thinking of getting an upright. Have s rental here now.

Everything is in a room that’s a little under 400 square feet.

I probably need a humidifier rated to co er twice that much. LW45 looks good
 
#46
I humidify my acoustic guitars, but I've never humidified any of my bass guitars. Yes, they have at times developed fret sprout which I get fixed. But I've never had that problem recur on the same bass. I do occasionally oil the necks though. I'm not arguing humidification is not a "best practice". It just never occurred to me to do it on a solid-wood instrument.
 
#47
I bought a hygrometer for $6 at True Value and tested every room during winter and summer. It appears the upstairs rooms are always more humid. I chose the room that kept the RH level between 40-60 all year round. That is where I keep my two basses. When not in use, they are in their cases, under a bed.
 
#49
Having owned quite expensive classical guitars and knowing that acoustic instruments are built far more lightly than electric ones, I never bothered with whole house anything. The only thing that would work for them would be an in the case humidifier. To do this with electric, of course you need a hard case which can become problematic for rabid collectors of basses as cases can pile up. For me with two basses, it isn't a problem. I have one case and since I rotate both, neither is out of the case very long. As to humidifiers, roll your own. A little plastic film cannister with a cylindrical cut of sponge will work. Even a small disc of sponge on a little plate sitting in the case will work.
 
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#50
aledeville said:
25%?!? Man, this is bone dry... my upright would right pop apart.

I use Venta systems, which is by far the best thing I bought for this purpose.
For you conus guys Venta Air Technologies | Perfect Indoor Air Quality with Venta
I have the LW45.
Click to expand...

I have all instruments in one room as a studio and also run an LW45 for humidity stability. Forced hot air heat in the NE can be tricky on the gradient but I’ve been able to hold an average 40% all winter this year. My biggest complaint is white dust from hard water.
 
#51
nbsipics said:
Play nice boys.
Click to expand...

It's a long story. There seems to be a bit of a one-sided bitter rivalry.

nbsipics said:
And hey - IMHO humidity impacting a solid-body bass ( aka 95% of TB gear owners' axes ) means that either the humidity flux is way-extreme, or something was wrong with the bass in the first place.

Bracing for impact...
Click to expand...

Depends on where you live, type of woods, etc. My problem is that it can get to ~20% humidity when the heater is running constantly. The outside RH is extremely high during the summers. Some guys have gear that has fully equilibrated.

Woods and reinforcement are variables. I have a Conklin with a Dymondwood fingerboard, which is a stabilized and pressurized birch. Ebony, OTOH, is very porous and moves around a lot compared to the usual maple, mahogany, or laminate neck. In theory, maple on maple shouldn't move much and necks are often fully finished, which creates a barrier. Basses also have a much longer plank compared to guitars, which gives the wood more room to expand or contract.

Some guitarists/bassists have high action and it's moving, but they're not noticing. I typically like to run it low. Without humidity control, I get backbow in the summer and forward bow in the winter.
 
#52
ErikP.Bass said:
Can you please share what you use? Does this treatment only work with a hard shell case?
Click to expand...

I have seen people just getting a plastic soap box, cross drilling holes, stick a fiber sponge soaked but not dripping with water and keeping it in their case.

Worked fine. You have to monitor it a few times a day, till you get a hang of just how moist your spong needs to be so as to not drip like soggy diapers. You control the humidity by cross drilling more or less holes.

It will take some time to figure it out, but it is worth it, if you want an inexpensive method.
 
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