Quick Tip for Humidification
Hi readers, Peter Tambroni here from MostlyBass.com.
Monitoring and maintaining correct humidity levels for your bass can be a challenge. Many players don’t do anything, which seems to be the current trend.
However, if you are worried about it, here are two easy steps to ensure correct levels.
1. Buy a digital thermometer with a hygrometer from Radio Shack. These are accurate and inexpensive.
2. Rather than using Dampits which can actually drip and cause water damage, use a nasal mister! It delivers a fine mist which won’t damage the bass and is more useful anyway. 2 puffs a day when the humidity is below 40 percent is all you need.
13 March 2009, 8:36 am
Nice tip, Pete–I just put it out on Twitter!
13 March 2009, 1:59 pm
Thanks for the tip Peter. Question: Where do I spray? Do I spray near the bass (not at it) and fairly close? Distilled water too?
Thanks!
14 March 2009, 6:54 am
Great question – I put two mists /puffs (NOT sqirts / sprays) – make sure your using one that mists or atomizes in an f-hole so it’s inside the bass. I don’t use distilled water – I think it’s a waste of time – we don’t use it in humidifiers and our atmosphere isn’t distilled
Thanks for reading!!
Peter
17 March 2009, 11:43 am
Hi Peter,
I’ve been hearing about this suggestion from some other people, too. I’ve never personally had trouble with dampits (once I learned to wring them out before putting them in the bass!), but I have always been curious about their effectiveness. Do you know any way of actually _testing_ which method best distributes humidity?
Thanks!
18 March 2009, 6:56 am
Another good question. This will be a little difficult but here are some thoughts. The indoor / outdoor thermometer / hygrometer from Radio Shack has an outdoor sensor although I don’t know if it does humidity as well. If so, just put that in the bass.
According Barrie Kolstein, humidity fills space like a bathtub – bottom to top. Therefore the Dampits would mostly be humidifying the lower half where as increase your distribution with the mister.
I guess another non scientific method is – if your bass is stable and cracks aren’t appearing / growing and seams aren’t coming apart, you’re fine!