Am I doing this right? a/k/a mysteries of the Dampit

[jaycat]

So, I just got a Dampit (for my 1916 Gibson A) and, I think, followed the directions correctly but I'm still feeling puzzled . . .

I immersed it in water, squeezed out the extra water, and towel dried it. Then I placed it inside the oval hole and clipped the clip to the side of the hole. Just like it says on the directions.

But when I squeezed out the extra water, it seemed like I could have kept squeezing if I wanted to and maybe gotten out more water.

And . . .how do I know when to repeat the procedure? The device comes with three colored dots that are supposed to show when it needs to be refilled. But I already have a hygrometer inside the case. Should I judge by that instead? The hygrometer has been showing 55-60 percent humidity (I've been using an Oasis humidifer) but the mando is still acting cranky. So I thought I'd try removing the Oasis and using the Dampit.

Final question: is the Dampit supposed to just flop around inside there? That seems odd -- it's OK to make contact with the wood?

Thanks for any enlightenment you can offer . . .

[Dave Richard]

I have used Dampits for many, many years, and find they work well. Squeeze it dry so it does not drip- that's enough, and towel dry. Clip(hang) it from the strings(not the side of the soundhole) to suspend it through the soundhole. It does simply hang inside, flopping around.
As far as when to refill, I don't rely on the paper guage supplied with the Dampit. If the ambient humidity is low(central/wood heat going) and I know things are dry, I refill when the Dampit feels dry. I also go by the instrument's action- if it's getting low, it needs moisture. Conversly, if the action seems high(er), I back off on the refilling. This is based on experience, I know, but you'll get a feel for it.
When you write that your mando is acting 'cranky', what are the symptoms?

[jaycat]

Hi Dave, thanks for the good info.

As far as my cranky mando, when the weather gets cold and dry, the intonation goes off, most especially on the E strings at the 8th fret, which sound C# instead of C. When spring comes, it goes back to C. Also, the D string starts buzzing above the 5th fret or so, and the warm weather seems to fix that as well.

I had a set-up last winter by a top luthier, and his opinion was that these are humidity issues.

Thanks again, jc.

[Tim2723]

If you're seeing such radical changes with just a bit of humidity swing, perhaps your action is on the verge of being too low? A lot of set up techs try for the ultimate low setting and it ends up too low for its own good. Just a thought.

[TonyP]

I too have used a Dampit for almost 30yrs. It makes a huge difference in the sound of my Newson f5. I don't notice intonation things, just that it sounds "tight" to me when it's dry. I also use warm water instead of just cold out of the faucet. I curl it up in my cupped hand and let the warm water run over it, squeezing is slightly to make sure it gets the foam all wet. Then I shake it off and just squeeze out the bottom third and towel off the outside. If I totally squeeze it out it's bone dry by the next day. I can tell by squeezing it if there's any more moisture in it. If it feels hard it's dry. Here in the badlands of the central valley of CA, it's typically around 18% humidity during the summer.

I stick mine in the bottom ff hole in the front of the hole and it stay pretty good. It just lays along the bottom when I'm playing. I don't see anything inside where it's done any damage. And like I said, I've been using them for almost 30yrs and have developed on cracks or any structural problems(knock on wood).

[jaycat]

sorry, duplicate

[jaycat]

. . . Clip(hang) it from the strings(not the side of the soundhole) to suspend it through the soundhole. . . .

I was wondering about that. The instructions say "the dampit may remain inside the instrument while it is played." How does that work if it's clipped to the strings?

[JeffD]

Do you trust your hygrometer? I don't know about the ones that come in instrument cases. I have no experience with them. But I don know about the ones that come with cigar humidors, and for the most part they are useless.

I got a good digital hygrometer for about the cost of a tuner. It measures temperature and humidity in real time, but what I like is that you can set it to store the highest or lowest measurement over a time period. Not real expensive, fits in the case, a lot of people make them.

[jaycat]

Good question. I have to go out for about three hours, so I'll run a little experiment. It reads 50 percent in the case. I've taken it out and placed in the room . . . let's see what it reads when I return. (NOAA says the humidity is 19% today.)

[jaycat]

OK, the Humistat read 23% when I got home. So I'm thinking it works OK.

[Dave Richard]

Good point- when I clip the Dampit to the strings(while the instrument is in it's case), I remove it when I want to play.