Humidity

[Jim P.]

What's the good humidity for our wooden instruments? I seem to recall ranges of 35% to 45% but not sure that's right. My place, right now, is showing about 55% relative. I understand a higher humidity is better than a low one. Any advice, thoughts, etc?

Jim

[Dr H]

Around 50% is usually considered optimum. 35% is a bit dry; 45% is not bad; 55-60% is OK.

I live in a climate where the relative humidity rarely drops below 60%, but fortunately it doesn't usually go much higher than that.

[Tobin]

I've read numerous places (including manufacturers' sites) that 40%-50% is ideal, with 45% being optimum.

[JeffD]

If its comfortable for you, its comfortable for the instrument.

[Mike Bunting]

If its comfortable for you, its comfortable for the instrument.

I m not sure if I buy into that since there is a lot of subjectivity involved. Up here in the dry foothills of the Rockies where the RH ran 20/30% it now is up in the mid 40's. This is fairly recent, in the last few years we have received much more turbulent weather (no doubt you've heard of the disastrous flood in Calgary), no doubt as a result of climate change. This year the RH is up to the mid 40 range as mentioned. Long preamble but many who are used to the drier climate are not particularly comfortable with the increase in humidity. My instruments may be comfortable but not so much for me.

[UsuallyPickin]

Western Kentucky is good until the heater comes on in November....... but 50% and up the wooden friends are happy. I've never lived in a rain forest so I can't say about 85% to 100%.

[foldedpath]

Western Kentucky is good until the heater comes on in November....... but 50% and up the wooden friends are happy. I've never lived in a rain forest so I can't say about 85% to 100%.

I've lived in rain forests with friends who owned acoustic guitars, both inexpensive local stuff and good American-made brands. I remember one nice Martin and a nice Gibson (which I later bought) that lived in cabins up in a cloud forest in Costa Rica. Fairly high humidity isn't a big deal if the instruments are acclimated. Otherwise you wouldn't have all that great music coming out of places like Brazil, with locally built (and played) instruments.

The problems are with sudden changes, like people I know who bought instruments in Mexico, Venezuela, or Brazil and brought them home to a Midwestern or Northeastern USA winter with no humidifying, and..... Boom! Sudden cracks in the top, side separations, and so on.

Persistent very high humidity, to the point where you're growing mold and mushrooms inside the instrument, obviously isn't good. But generally speaking, I think the danger of high humidity tends to be somewhat overrated, especially in online forums. Low humidity, and sudden change to low humidity, is the main danger.

[bratsche]

The room I keep my instruments in is around 70%, and they are very happy. The room we sleep in would be the same, but we aren't happy with it at all, and use a dehumidifier to get it down to about 35% by the time we turn in. But the next day, it's always back up again, so... an endless cycle here in the subtropics.

bratsche

[OldSausage]

Oh, the humidity!

[peter.coombe]

What's the good humidity for our wooden instruments?

The same humidity at which they were built. Most builders aim for 40% humdity, so 40-50% is around the ideal to store your instrument. Higher humidity is safer than low humidity, so if your instrument was made at 40%, anything lower than 30% is starting to get risky.

[rb3868]

I've noticed that there are a lot of sweet sounding instruments that were born and lived through looooooong stretches when we really had no climate control other than tossing another log or lump of coal in the fire. I'm guessing that as long as a change isn't drastic and often, things aren't so bad

[vegas]

I m not sure if I buy into that since there is a lot of subjectivity involved. Up here in the dry foothills of the Rockies where the RH ran 20/30% it now is up in the mid 40's. This is fairly recent, in the last few years we have received much more turbulent weather (no doubt you've heard of the disastrous flood in Calgary), no doubt as a result of climate change. This year the RH is up to the mid 40 range as mentioned. Long preamble but many who are used to the drier climate are not particularly comfortable with the increase in humidity. My instruments may be comfortable but not so much for me.

I agree. I love the dryness of the Intermountain desert, but it is NOT good for my stringed instruments. They have their own room with a room humidifier to keep things around 45%. I also have case humidifiers for when I take them somewhere and in the event there is a power failure or the room humidifier just up and quits.

I learned my lesson the hard way. I had a Collings D2H develop a top crack. A local guy did a fake fix job on it (Elmer's glue and black tape) assuring me it was cleated (*cough*Cowtownguitars*cough*) and it continued to get worse until I called Collings and got the name of somebody in San Diego who discovered the deception and told me the damage was now serious. It is going to be re-topped with Adirondack spruce at the Collings shop so I will have a heck of a guitar when it comes back, but it weren't cheap. Use humidifiers, people, especially if you live where it is dry.

Also, if you are in New England or States with similar weather, winter makes your air every bit as dry as a western desert, particularly if you heat with a wood stove. Keep track of the humidity during those long, dry winters and use case or room humidifiers to protect your investment.

[Jim P.]

Thanks to all for your advice/thoughts on this. Vegas - yes, I heat with wood during our cold spells up here in Maine. And I run a humidifier straight through the winter. Pump over three gallons a day into my atmosphere...

[Dr H]

The point about letting the instrument acclimate is well taken -- although if you have real extermes of wet or dry, some instruments may never adjust well.

Where I live now is one of the closest climates to a rain forest in the US, and I've not had any instruments coming apart on me. Typical humidity in the house is 60-65% most of the year; it can go about 10 points higher, and 10-15 lower, but usually not very quickly, and not for very long. I don't think the particular humidity is probably as important as constant, relatively rapid changes in humidity.

All my instruments have lived in this climate for a number of years now, and I've not had many problems. But when I first moved out here from a much dryer climate, I put a very expensive Buffet clarinet together, and it would not come apart again. It had gone from ~30% humidity to ~70% humidity in a matter of a few days. Took it to a shop, and he put it in a humidity controlled chamber, s-l-o-w-l-y dried it out so it would come apart, then even more slowly brought it back up to the local average -- and it's been fine ever since.

[Bill Clements]

Here's a prime example of why it's important NOT to expose your mandolin to excessive humidity!

[rb3868]

um, bill, what am I not seeing?????

[allenhopkins]

um, bill, what am I not seeing?????

It's green, and I think that was a joke (like, green bread mold…).

I have frequently referred these discussions to the Taylor Guitars "Tech Sheets," which offer extensive explanations, and videos, regarding the effects of humidity extremes, low and high, on wooden stringed instruments. The latest issue of their Wood & Steel newsletter has an article on effects of high humidity.

If you are over-humidified enough to cause wood swelling, finish or glue joint failure, etc., you should be able to recognize the changes in your instrument, in terms of action, sound, and appearance. Excessively high humidity, luckily, doesn't usually lead to cracks the way dryness does. But it can be serious.

And we all know of instruments that have been exposed to environmental extremes, and survived unscathed. Doesn't mean we shouldn't take precautions.

[Bill Clements]

um, bill, what am I not seeing?????

Yep, Allen is right.
I thought all Michiganders thought alike!

[JeffD]

. My instruments may be comfortable but not so much for me.

Well in this case the instruments have a wider range of comfort.

But in general I would think if you are uncomfortable its time to at least think about the humidity of the instruments. Certainly, if you are comfortable, the instruments are probably ok.

[Jesse Harmon]

Originally Posted by rb3868
um, bill, what am I not seeing?????
Yep, Allen is right.
I thought all Michiganders thought alike!

Have to admit, I didn't get it either. Must be the humidity going on today.

[Mike Bunting]

Well in this case the instruments have a wider range of comfort.

But in general I would think if you are uncomfortable its time to at least think about the humidity of the instruments. Certainly, if you are comfortable, the instruments are probably ok.

I know all about that uncomfortable to you cliche. My instruments are kept in a controlled environment at 40% R.H. The rest of my house is usually down in the mid 20's to low 30% RH area. I know that would make my instruments that are built in more humid climes more uncomfortable. What I said was that now we are getting humidity in the low 50's. That would be comfortable enough for the mandos but too humid for me and what I'm used to.