Humidity Issue?

[MLT]

Ok, this is going to sound very dumb, and I appologize for my ignorance in advance.

I was practicing this evening and I noticed a slight buzzing. Afer a few seconds of trying to figure it out, I found that my end pin was loose (I could take it out loose). I have not experienced this before tonight.

We are currenly going through a very cold dry (next to no humidity) spell here in the pacific northwest and wonder if this is related to my end pin issue? Or should I be more concerned? We are expecting to be back to normal humidity levels by the weekend. Should I get a case humidifier and put this mando away for a day or two?

Thanks.

[Chuck Naill]

I use a wet and wrung out Ocello sponge inside a sandwich zip lock bag with a few pencil sized holes for in case humidification. Lasts about two weeks depending on humidity.

[Django Fret]

Not the solution for everyone, but a few years ago, I converted a commercial cigar humidor in order to store my mandolins and fiddles all in one place. It has been able to keep the humidity consistent at around 45 - 50 % with about a gallon of water over the course of a New England Winter.

[allenhopkins]

Step 1: get a decent, reliable hygrometer, so you can measure accurately the relative humidity in the area where your mandolin is kept.
Step 2: if you find that the humidity is consistently and significantly below 50%, get a case humidifier and keep it in the case with the mandolin. (I assume you keep the mandolin cased when not playing it; if not, consider doing that, especially in the winter.) There are several brands and designs, and I'm sure this thread will generate a lot of suggestions from their users.
Step 3: review the humidity-related articles in the Taylor Guitars "tech sheets," (http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/reference/techsheets.html) especially Symptoms of a Dry Guitar, and look for similar changes in your instrument. While the "tech sheets" are specifically designed for guitars, a lot of their content can be equally applied to mandolin.

Wood shrinks as it dries out, and your end pin could have shrunk enough to loosen. In any case, watching ambient humidity, especially in the winter, should be SOP for anyone with high-quality string instruments.

[Mike Scott]

I am also in the Northwest. Last night the humidity in our house was 27%. You need to humidify someway at least until this cold dry weather goes away. Several commercial things available or for some of my instruments I use a travel soap container with a wet sponge in it with holes drilled in the top of the container. Those are hard to fit in a mandolin case however. Hope this helps.

[Rob Gerety]

I find that as soon as the heat starts coming on in the house on a regular basis the humidity drops significantly and fairly quickly. I think you need to have a hygrometer. Then you will know. You can't go by the weather reports or the outdoor humidity levels. Your indoor humidity is often very different. Also, consider humidifying a room. Works a lot better than in case humidifiers. I have a small unused bedroom that I use as a practice room. I have a $50 warm mist humidifier. I keep the door closed. It is in the basement. Works very very well.

But the key is the hygrometer. Without it your flying blind.

[RichM]

I have a lot of instruments and I would lose my mind keeping all the case humidifers moist, so I've opted for the whole-room humidification. It's cheap, works well (as long as I remember to fill the tank on the humidifier), and has the side benefit that the room is nicer for *me* to be in as well.

I learned my lesson the hard way about ten years ago, when the top on my of my favorite guitars began sinking due to low humidity. Fortunately I was able to re-humidify it and no damage was done, but it taught me a valuable lesson on the importance of managing humidity. It's pretty cheap, requires just a little effort, and saves a ton of heartache.

[JeffD]

Not the solution for everyone, but a few years ago, I converted a commercial cigar humidor in order to store my mandolins and fiddles all in one place. It has been able to keep the humidity consistent at around 45 - 50 % with about a gallon of water over the course of a New England Winter.

Did the cigar humidor come with a humidifier? Or do you just put a normal counter type cool or warm mist humidifier in there with the instruments?

That is the way to go, and any unique details you might have I would be interested.

[Django Fret]

Did the cigar humidor come with a humidifier? Or do you just put a normal counter type cool or warm mist humidifier in there with the instruments?

That is the way to go, and any unique details you might have I would be interested.

JeffD, it came with a humidity unit that was under a shelf. It has a fan that blows on the water that is held in the unit. If the water gets too low, there is an alarm that sounds.

I made a shelf on the top since I took out the metal shelving that held the cigar boxes. It is the brown unit with the thermostat that is on the top of the shelf.

The second shot is what I started with and the metal shelving that was removed.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

[JeffD]

That is the way to go. I am probably not going to score a cigar humidor, though I will keep my eyes out, but perhaps I could have something like that built.

[JGWoods]

Yep- every winter the top sinks, the action goes low, and buzzes appear, but before it does that again this year I will fire up the room humidifier and stabilize them.
I am pretty sure my 1917 Gibson A4 has been through many such episodes, and it keeps coming back for more.

[mandroid]

under 0 Celsius does tend to lock up the moisture in the air , my NW Oregon fingers are crossed,
there is the ocean 5 miles away , and the River estuary just a few blocks out the door.. :whistling:

got some chill cracks in the guitar finish because I was in a cold basement apartment,
seemed to sprout another lacquer crack when I opened the case , so I moved ..

:popcorn: