Dry climate case questions

[Mo Soar]

I live in the high desert, where it is too dry to keep acoustic instruments out of their cases. I have an Eastman 504 which I love - I bought a hardshell case for it from Folkmusician (the "Deluxe A Model) and the heavy duty Oasis humidifer. The hardshell case replaces the semi-hardshell with full zipper cases the Eastmans come with. The Oasis needs to be refilled about every 5-7 days (it wizens like one of those "Granny Apple" heads), but my concern is that the very protective, tight-fitting, case doesn't really let a lot of air flow around the instrument.

I haven't had any problems yet - of course, I've only had the mandolin about 3 months - but I don't want any problems, either. I've been a lot less cautious with the $50 A style, f hole Kay mandolin (which, you know, I've also come to love for its very different tone) that I bought a few weeks before the Eastman, and it appears to have developed a slight separation between the binding and the top that I am keeping my eye on.

Would a case that allows a little more air around the instruments be a better idea, or is the tight fit case a better bet?

(This summer we're probably going to build a humidified case for the two mandolins and the spouse's acoustic and resonator guitars - looking at those cigar case humidifiers, anyone got a rec for those?)

[Raggle Taggle]

The same with Collings and Breedlove cases. The mandos fit very snug and the only place for an Oasis humidifier is under the neck. I too wonder about air circulation for proper humidification.

I chose a Hiscox case for a custom build - besides being many times stronger than a standard wooden case there is a ton of room for circulation and accessories.

[Folkmusician.com]

If at all possible, it is best to humidify a room. You can pick up a humidifier at home improvement stores. These are not expensive. Maybe $50 or less. It is not just good for your instruments, humans like an average relative humidity of up to 40%, instruments 45%-50%.

[TheMandoKit]

I agree with Robert's suggestion...best is to humidify the room (or if you can, the house) rather than the case. I live in an old house with hot water heat, and the radiators can dry the place out when the weather gets cold. I run room humidifiers in the bedrooms, downstairs foyer, and the room where I keep the instruments. When it gets really cold, the room humidifiers won't keep the humidity levels at 40%, so I also have case humidifiers as back-up. The in-case ones are also good when we go away for a few days and don't run the humidifiers. The trials of living in the upper midwest . . ..

[Mo Soar]

I live about 5 hours north of Robert's store, up by Crater Lake National Park. Common humidity levels up here are 10-25%. Humidifying the whole house isn't an option (passive solar, radiant floor heat, open plan, high ceilings, few interior doors), so I think building a glass-front case is the final answer for us.

Until then, though, I was hoping for some insight on whether a tight-fitting case or a more open case would be better for humidifying a case.

[Kip Carter]

What about building a glass display case with a humidifier built into it? It just seems a shame to not display them and a glass case would be easy to build and provide a closed environment to maintain the proper humidity.
Regards,
Kip...

[TheMandoKit]

Until then, though, I was hoping for some insight on whether a tight-fitting case or a more open case would be better for humidifying a case.

Well, I use an in-case humidifier in all my cases, guitar, mandolin, violin and dulcimer. Since we are talking mandolins here, most cases I have seem to have a fair amount of room for a humidifier and still some air circulation, even though the humidifier may be either in the headstock compartment or just under/next to the heel. I have worried a bit about how much humidity gets to the body of the instrument in both situations. I can say that I have not had a humidity-related problem with those instruments.

Another possibility is to use a humidifier that fits into the body. For oval hole mandos, an Oasis could be made to work, but for f-holes, you are probably stuck with the rubber tubing type, like a Dampit. I have always been a bit leery of them due to the possibility of seepage, but sometimes it may be the only way to go.

I use the case-style Oasis in pretty much all mandolin cases, except for a vintage mandolin case that has no room for it. That one gets the sponge-filled 35mm film can with holes drilled in it. That said, it is a pretty loose-fitting case.

YMMV.

[Mandobart]

I grew up in northern NM, at about 7000 feet high. It doesn't get much higher or drier. I never used anything to humidify my violin or guitars. We had no air conditioner, and heated with wood (pinon) in the winter. Never had a problem at all. I now live about 6 hours north of Bend, OR, in the dry Columbia River basin. I've got 7 to 8 instruments sitting out on stands (plus an upright piano). I leave them out because I'm much more likely to pull them off a stand to play than to drag out a case. When they are in the case, I use a dampit humidifier. Sometimes these dry out and I forget about them for weeks. Again, never a problem with any of these instruments. The only instrument I have with any cracks is my old Applause 6-string that I used to take with me on the submarine when I was in the USN. None of the cracks have grown any in the 17 years I've lived here. I know there are folks who have had cracks and other damage that may be attributable to humidity. Usually the problem isn't too much or too little; it's too fast. Rapid changes in temperature and/or humidity (by rapid I mean too fast for the instrument to adjust) are what usually cause problems. I would be careful if building some type of humidor; talk to someone who knows HVAC. Mold isn't any good for an instrument either. And what happens if the act of taking the instrument out of its humidor to play in a drier setting ends up being too rapid a change?