Do you worry about dryness levels when it comes to your solid wood ukuleles?

kissing said:
In Australia (Victoria), it is not a common practice at all to humidify instruments.
No one I know, pro or amateur, seem to do it like some of you do here on UU.

I even went to a large music store selling hundreds of guitars and ukuleles and asked if they had a humidifier in stock.
They scratched their heads and did not know why one would humidify their ukulele or guitar.

They eventually found a dusty old box that contained a "dehumidifier" !!
Click to expand...

If I lived in Florida, I would dehumidify only. Pretty sure Victoria is fairly mild in comparison to the northern parts of North America. Our regular winter high temperatures would be your record lows. The more you have to heat your house in winter, the drier it gets.
 
Kayak Jim said:
Maybe you were just kidding, but opening the cases just so they can breathe is a mistake! You're trying to keep the humidity in and this is counter to all your other efforts.

And ukes in cases can easily be played lots- open case, take out uke, close case, play to your hearts content, reverse. It's really no trouble. Besides, at least half the ukes in your collection are laminates (or plastic) so care is much less critical.
Click to expand...
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I just flip the case cover for a second "to let the instrument breath" and re-close it right away. When the case has been constantly humidified it does not lose it's relative humidity.
 
The new Planet Waves Humiditrak is handy for monitoring humidity and temperature. Solid wood instruments are definitely at risk if humidity and/or temps get too low or too high - cracks in the wood can form, glue joints can separate, etc.
 
I've just read thru this whole thread and its interesting. I live in an area where the average humidity is about 40% but in summer it can be as low as 8%. My uke is stored in my craft room, which is completely separate from the house and has no heat or air. It's about 85* in there in the height of summer and about 50* in winter. My uke is laminate but do I need to worry about the humidity in the room? Would it be better off stored in the main house where we run an evaporative cooler in summer? Or because it's laminate, does it really matter?
 
My ukulele is solid wood. I live in areas that are humid enough that I don't worry about it. In the two or three months that I live where we have to heat the house, I have a humidifier on the furnace. I do keep track of the humidity in the house, but I'm not obsessed with it. If the humidity starts getting too low I stick an Oasis humidifier in the uke. I only have two ukuleles, and one lives in my other place, besides it is a laminate. So having just one to think about makes life easier in a lot of ways.
 
I live in Phoenix. I had a vintage old no-name mahogany uke crack on me early one, when I was unaware of these annoying rules and requirements. Thus, I only buy laminates/ plastics/ composites now. I don't have the time or patience for messing around with them - or didn't want the idea of going on vacation and having to ask someone to take care of the humidifiers.

I actually have a Ohana SK-21A sopranino - cedar top - that I just keep in its hard shell case. I'm curious if it'll crack. I think the Gloss finish should help a bit and having a smaller surface area (less area to crack). I'm not humidifying it in a game of risk/chance :) gambling on that one since it was impossible to find good non-wood sopranino's.
 
Canadian winters are harsh with the forced heat and the summers are harsh from air conditioning...right now, as with the fall, we're getting a little break. I wouldn't even consider being lax on keeping the humidity in the right zone.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
I did my very first open mic at a uke circle and it was really bad, but I really wanted to tick that box off. Don't worry, no evidence
Replies
10
Views
353
Ukecaster
Ukecaster
wee_ginga_yin
Don't worry be happy
Replies
0
Views
275
wee_ginga_yin
wee_ginga_yin
keonepax
Why Worry (Everly Brothers)
Replies
14
Views
820
keonepax
keonepax
pabrizzer
It's My Grandkids I Worry About. How About You?
Replies
0
Views
219
pabrizzer
pabrizzer
pix.fairydust
Woodworm or nothing to worry about?
Replies
8
Views
819
Osprey
Osprey
Top Bottom