Sound and Humidity

fretted

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I've noticed that on certain days, my ukes seem to sound better to my ears. I started keeping track and they seem to sound best on the worst, rainy days when the humidity is 100%. So I'm wondering if the damp air carries sound vibrations better than when the air is dry. Just curious if any of you fellow ukesters have noticed such?
 
I've noticed the same phenomena with my ukes where they will sound great one day and not so great another day. My guess was that it was somehow due to humidity levels. I do know that in one instance, the uke was a bit overhumidified in its case. I took the humidifier out of the sound hole on that occurrance and it sounded better a day or two later.
 
I assume they were in tune prior to playing each day as well?
 
I have also noticed my ukes sound better when humidity is higher, whether it's the uke actually sounding better, or my ears thinking so. It's raining here today, and I took out my vintage Martin soprano. Humidity gauge in the case said 67%, and it sounded sweeter than usual. Even without a meter, I can always tell when a uke has soaked up some moisture, as the tuning has gone sharp since the last time I played it.
 
Could just be my mood I guess. Some days, every thing sounds good and then on others . . .
 
Mine sound better when it's dry. With high humidity the sound is more muddy, kind of "soggy". 30-40% humidity seems to give me the best, clearest sound, but 30% is too close to cracking territory for comfort.
 
In most cases, with higher humidity to the instruments comes high string action. Wood moves with varying humidity. Higher humidity normally results in higher string action. Higher string action, in most cases, usually results in greater tone on the instrument. This is more exaggerated on my classical guitars with their longer scale length - longer necks. On extra rainy days when the humidity in the house is high, them woods really move and the action can raise about a millimeter. While slightly harder to play, they sure do sound great. Of course, this has just been my observations and YMMV :)
 
TI wounds strings are very humidity affected as well.

On dry days, I tend to hear a crisper voicing out of the wood, and on humid days, tend to hear a mellower voicing.
Im not sure one is better than the other, but humidity does affect sound, unless maybe you're ecoa/carbon/plastic.
 
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