I'd appreciate suggestions for humidifying my fiddle. I play outdoors a lot and am concerned about cracking in this dry hot climate. What works for you?
Thanks!
Edited by - irfiddler on 07/05/2023 19:26:34
I use Boveda packets in the case, keep several in there, and monitor than to ensure they are not hard (dry). As long as the case stays closed, I've not had any issues. If they dry out, they can be recharged. I put the dry packets next to a soup bowl of steaming water and cover the whole thing with a mixing bowl to capture the humidity. Over night the packets become fluid. Perhaps not all cases are suitable for this though.
Step 1 is just keeping it in the case and closed when you are not playing it. A good working Hygrometer to let you know the relative humidity inside your case is a necessity too. If your case doesn't already have one, Planet Waves - D'addario makes a nice one daddario.com/search/?query=hygrometer. If your case gets below 30% or so you will need to add some humidity in there with a case humidifier.
Only time I have to watch for low humidity here in Arkansas is in the coldest part of winter because of heating system drying out the air.
Well .... adding moisture is fairly simple. I use an old plastic film can with some holes melted in the top and a bit of sponge inside. I check it once a week or so... when I remember. The concern with this approach is that an overly dry sponge will draw moisture from the wood, soooo you have to monitor it. Adding too much in the climate of Kentucky is difficult. Keep in mind that heating units and A/C units take moisture out of the air. As stated above keeping your fiddle in the case is the best start. Old timers kept a piece of potato or apple in their case. Lastly when your fiddle is dry it will change it's tone... mine shrieks, listen and you will notice. R/
I don't have a clue. I have a room humidity gage. Is 50% humidity dry?
I don't want it so humid the top pops off. I kinda think "stable." 90% of my instruments are out, on stands. This isn't going to change.
I keep mine in my basement/shop. It's pretty damp in there.
the humidity these days is close to 100% here, so I don't have a problem with the fiddles being dry... just the opposite... bows and hair go saggy, fiddle lose their sharpness. farmerjones, 50% humidity is perfect....
Play Happy
Swing
quote:
Originally posted by UsuallyPickinWell .... adding moisture is fairly simple. I use an old plastic film can with some holes melted in the top and a bit of sponge inside. I check it once a week or so... when I remember. The concern with this approach is that an overly dry sponge will draw moisture from the wood, soooo you have to monitor it. Adding too much in the climate of Kentucky is difficult. Keep in mind that heating units and A/C units take moisture out of the air. As stated above keeping your fiddle in the case is the best start. Old timers kept a piece of potato or apple in their case. Lastly when your fiddle is dry it will change it's tone... mine shrieks, listen and you will notice. R/
Thank you all for your input. As Usually Picking mentioned, I have noticed some shrieking at times when we play outside for hours in our hot dry Southern California climate. I did have a small crack develop on one of my fiddles after jamming for long stretches outside. Don't want that happening again!
Ahhh… Ms. Barb, I moved to Kentucky from Orange County in 77’. Whenever I went to visit my Mom in NorCal I had to be extra vigilant with my moisture content in what ever instruments I took with me. R/
quote:
Originally posted by farmerjonesI don't have a clue. I have a room humidity gage. Is 50% humidity dry?
I don't want it so humid the top pops off. I kinda think "stable." 90% of my instruments are out, on stands. This isn't going to change.
40 to 60 percent is optimum
irfiddler - Playing outside, in case or room humidifiers aren't going to help much! We have the opposite problem here, except indoors in the winter. About all I can suggest is to stay in the shade, out of the direct sun. I don't know if you can play a fiddle with a Dampit or other device installed or not. Maybe.
I keep a Boveda pack in most of my instruments. Have had trouble with necks and more without them. I live at 9000 feet in Colorado. Despite all the snow it is a semi-arid climate.
At the other end of the spectrum, I don't use humidifiers at all here in southern Arizona. I think some people do and some people don't.
I personally spend most of my time in Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado, which are all arid. So I don't regularly travel between humid and arid environments. That's not to say I'm not concerned about environment, but right or wrong, I worry more about heat or cold than humidity. I don't play outside a whole lot, just once a month these days in the evening from 7-9 pm. That includes tomorrow (Sunday), when I expect it to be 100 deg even at 7 pm. I'm not thrilled about subjecting my fiddles to that. It's on a shaded patio. I may bring a spray bottle of water so I can cool down any hard surfaces in the area.
I don't really want a carbon fiber instrument, but I consider buying one for travel and unusual situations where I have to play outside in hot or cold weather.
Back when I still had more functional shoulders I had a carbon fiber cello. Was living near Moab.
I liked the cello, but it did not have the tone of a wooden one. Want to try a CF fiddle, but not in a hurry.
I mentioned once before on this site that my fiddle's neck came unglued in the humidity of my then new Hawaiian digs. I sent it back to the place I bought the fiddle from and they glued the instrument back together for a reasonable fee. I gotta say, too, that So Far So Good.
My humidifier is low tech, and works. I have a little sponge that I cut down to keep in this little container. I found the sponge at an art store, and the container at a grocery store. I keep it moist to the touch, but don't even worry about monitoring the humidity. I have 2 fiddles that are a century old, that I expect to be chronically dry, so I just baby them a little. I keep the sponge in the case year-round and it seems to cause no problems. I drilled tiny holes in the plastic lid, and took care to find a natural sponge, not a synthetic (cleaning) sponge. I am secretly proud of it.
Edited by - Earworm on 07/10/2023 08:19:43
Oh, just a follow-up to my own post - I do have the container velcro'd down to the case. I had to use some pretty heavy-duty Velcro too, since the lighter stuff just didn't stay stuck down very well on the velour of the case.
