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Thread: Travel and humidity

  1. #1

    Default Travel and humidity

    Do you worry about travel and fluctuations in humidity?

    I just returned to Northern New England from a six-week stint in Southern Ohio and did not even need to re-tune my Mando,

    My schedule for the coming months, however, will require regular travel to and from Northern California. Having spent time in super low humidity states in times past and experienced things like long tightly fitting tool handles loosening up I'm a little concerned about how to best handle swings in humidity...

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Travel and humidity

    For what it's worth, high-end violin cases are often silk-lined, with a silk pad covering the instrument. My understanding is that the silk fabric acts as a buffer; it absorbs/adds moisture to the case interior to slow the change s in relative humidity.

    It's rapid changes that are destructive to an instrument. Gradual adaptation is the goal.

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    coprolite mandroid's Avatar
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    Default Re: Travel and humidity

    Flooding while camping was a bit of a problem .. travel Pocket Mandolin , on bicycle, traveling, Bavaria summer of 91.
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    Registered User John Bertotti's Avatar
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    Default Re: Travel and humidity

    Hoadley had a chart in a book on how fast different woods take up humidity, kind of a cool read. I do not worry about it too much, things change but not as quickly as one would think. So I play and I put it back in its case. If it's humid I leave the case open while I play if it is very dry I close it right back up while I play. Never really had any problems because doing this. Now if you're leaving your instruments out for extended periods of time, many hours overnight in places with very different humidity levels, then you may need to do some tweaking in a day but as far as tuning it happens with or without good humidity.
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    Registered User O. Apitius's Avatar
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    Default Re: Travel and humidity

    I had a customer ship me a mandolin for some adjustments and he put one of these in the case.

    http://www.accessories.daddario.com/...name=Humidipak

    It looks to be a good product to me. Not exactly cheap but not too bad for how long a pouch lasts. The big advantage of this product, if it works as advertised*, is that A.) it takes the guess work out of maintaining the right humidity level and B.) It will not over humidify like many of the common humidifying devices out there. I have heard of too many horror stories of people over-wetting a conventional case humidifier to recommend using one of those.

    *D'Addario is a reputable company and so I trust that they are accurately describing the capabilities of the product.
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    Default Re: Travel and humidity

    If I play a humid gig I leave the case closed to try and keep the lining from soaking up all the moisture and then placing the mandolin in a damp environment. When I get home from a humid gig I open the case and let both the instrument and the case dry out. I don't usually play in places where it is so dry I would worry about anything, especially unless I was going to be there a long time. Wood takes on moisture faster than it dries out.
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    Default Re: Travel and humidity

    If you’re going to be in very low humidity for extended periods of time, you’ll need to either humidify the room in which you keep your mandolin most of the time or use a case humidifier. If you’re able to keep the humidity relatively stable 30-60% RH, your risk of damage is low, though you may notice some changes to your set up even at that range. Too dry increases your risk of cracks, fret ends becoming exposed, etc.

    Walter’s solution is intriguing...I may try those for my daughter’s mandolin when she gets to the point of turning on her heat in Boston this fall...
    Chuck

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    Old Guy Mike Scott's Avatar
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    Default Re: Travel and humidity

    +1 on the Humidipak!
    Thanks

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  11. #9

    Default Re: Travel and humidity

    Well, there is Northern California, and there is Northern California. On or near the coast is maybe the most instrument friendly environment you could ever ask for. I can't recall anyone I know even having cracks, unless they lived in Colorado. Now leave the coast and you have heat, dryness, and then mountains. Very different conditions for sure. Go there and some kind of case humidifier is in order.

    I had a guitar shipped from Florida to San Jose via ground in the summer, and while there was no damage, the truss rod needed a full two turns to get it playable. Over six weeks, I turned it back to where it started as it acclimated to a new environment.
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