This stuff about humidity doesn't make sense in Alberta...

I've not even purchased my first uke yet but I'm looking for confirmation on humidity issues. The idea of providing constant humidity inside the case seems to be for the purpose of preventing fast changes. However, in Alberta the humidity only rarely goes above 40% in the summer. Winter is usually around 10-20% indoors. I've lots of friends with instruments and they say they've never worried about humidity. Increasing humidity in the case seems like I'd be creating the very same conditions I'm trying to prevent. So....should I do anything special with my uke?

The point is to avoid letting the uke get too dry. With indoor humidity at 10-20% you are looking at a crack-fest waiting to happen if you have solid-wood ukuleles (laminates are pretty rugged though even there you can have fretboards shrink enough for fret ends to protrude and even for frets to become loose).

Most solid wood ukes are manufactured at around 50% RH and they like to stay in that neighborhood. While it is possible to overhumidifiy, it is under-humidifying that causes cracks and other permanent damage.

Oh...and fast changes in humidity aren't really an issue (fast changes in temperature can be another story - some vintage and high-end finishes can "craze" if the temperature changes by a great amount too quickly). It's long term damage caused by the uke drying out - the wood shrinks and cracks, glue dries out and loses it's strength, etc.

John

Solid wood instruments should be kept at a standard relative humidity of about 40-50%. If the wood becomes too dry, it will shrink, which can lowered action and buzzing, fret ends that extend out with sharp edges from the fingerboard, and stressed glue joints. Very dry conditions can often lead to cracks in the wood.

Instruments made of laminated wood are less prone to the effects of dryness, but they can still be damaged. Your friends who have never worried about humidity may not have solid wood instruments or they may just be lucky. Failing to manage humidity does not guarantee damage, but why take the chance when humidification is so simple? The luthiers and repair people on this board will tell you plenty of stories of instruments damaged from low humidity.

The easiest thing to do is to humidify the room you keep your uke in. Not only will it help your uke, it will help your furniture, your hardwood floors, and your respiratory tract. Alternately, you could use a case humidifier. These are just a few dollars, widely available, and work well. Some folks on this board have suggestions for making your own which can take the price down under a dollar.

Yeah, what John said... he types faster than me

I dont have expensive ukuleles, I do have kalas and a big island.
I havent had any of my uke's implode, or crack or separate, I do keep the better ones in the case, with a homemade humidifier
there is still shrinkage in the fret board but not extreme, I have been told this is normal?!
But err on the side of Caution keep them in the case when not using them with a hydrated humidifier.
if you buy your ukuleles from Long and McQuades they will help
and file them down the fret ends for free up to a year, I think.
Thats been my experience of living in Alberta.

Believe it, Bertha!!. It took 2.5 years but my Mainland tenor developed a nasty crack just last month. I live in the Peace Country of B.C. and I know what you're talking about. My instruments are now stored in a small room (5 ukes, two banjoes and two guitars) with an appropriate humidifier that keeps the room at ~45% RH. You may also find that larger instruments, like acoustic guitars, which have been allowed to get dry and are then humidified will tend to "go sharp" for a while until they have stabilized. Some guitar sites claim that the swing between 20% up to 50% can induce a change in top dimension of up to 18%. This can (and does) put strain on a steel strung acoustic instrument. I've actually seen a bridge pop off a guitar due to this. I now store my instruments in a slightly detuned state, and keep the humidity consistent.

ok ok! I'll keep an eye out for a humidifier then. I keep my flat at 30-40% in the winter but I've not monitored it during summer. You have to condition yourself here, so I can't set it any higher or I'll desiccate before I get out of the building! Thanks for the advice.