Humidity levels for basses

[Blackstar4003]

As winter slowly approaches in the North East, I am curious what the recommended level of humidity should be for my RIC bass. I do not want to store it in it's case. I prefer to keep it displayed where I can play it. Winters around Upstate NY are very dry though. I bought a room humidifier but was wondering if anyone could recommend an appropriate range or level.

[xsubs]

40 - 50% with 45% being the norm I've seen according to most builders.

[paul_yan]

+1

The relative humidity of my music/study room where I keep all my instuments are maintained at around 45% RH all year round. Good for both my babies and my skin.

[johnhall]

35% is the target humidity but 45% is okay. Down in the 20% and there's problems, while higher humidities are more easily tolerated.

The 45% number you hear is for tropical woods; maple is most stable at 6.5% wood moisture content, which translates to 35% in the air.

[antipodean]

85% in Sydney right now.... in the 90% plus range a few weeks ago - is that going to be a big problem?

[Lefty4003S8]

I have been wanting to ask this for the LONGEST time........What if you keep your basses stored in their cases????
Does humidity/change of seasons, even pose a problem for them???? If so, how much of one????

(I have a problem leaving my basses out and displayed in my practice room).



Lefty4003s8

[FretlessOnly]

As a scientist but not a humidity expert, I would think that cases can help an instument to withstand sudden changes in humidity, but after a few days or so (or perhaps less time), the nature abhors a vacuum concept would loosely apply to humidity changes in a closed environment (case) relative to its surroundings (room). Plus, an instrument needs to breathe.

Very high humidity can cause wood to "loosen up." The action on my upright goes up about 2 mm in the humidity that I used to subject it to in an un-air-conditioned apartment. In the winter, it would "close up" and the action would drop back down again. High humidity also makes the tone muddier, at least on an upright.

Nowadays, I keep everything in a controlled environment. AC in the summer keeps humidity below about 60% and a humidifier in winter keeps things above 30% and typically about 40%.

[xsubs]

I always keep my basses in their case while not in use... I feel that offers the best protection from the elements, and from physical damage.
The Oasis humidifiers are great at maintaining a constant humidity, given the small space involved. The winters where I reside, either NYC or Dublin, can have VERY low humidity indoors.
I place a small hygrometer in the case with a couple of the Oasis units, and check every week or so. Stops fret sprout and similar issues from occurring.
I use them in my with my Double Bass too. Inexpensive and effective.

Here's a link (I'm not affiliated with them at all BTW):
http://oasishumidifiers.com/index.html

[RIC_FACTORY]

In my opinion, the aspect to worry about the most is sudden changes in humidity. Guitars will generally acclimate to the RH in the area where they are stored over time, whether its 35% or even 55%. However, if its 55% today and drops to 35% tomorrow, you'll see the wood react adversely (it happens that fast). A stable RH is more important than anything.

In the factory, I've seen swings from 45% to 15% in a matter of hours when the Santa Ana winds kick up, creating all sorts of problems. However, most of the time our RH is between 35% to 45% and does not deviate much within that range.

[mikko]

Between 30-40% in winter time and 40-50% in summertime here, indoors. So it´s quite OK for my bass...BUT, I´m one of those who don´t keep their basses at home in controlled environment all the time. I take it regularly to band practise and sometimes elsewhere too. In winter time temperature change can easily be >40°C when I go from indoors to outdoors and some moments later back indoors. Also, the humidity can change dramatically in few minutes. Fortunately OHSC protect the bass good enough. But humidity and temperature in rehearsal studio is always different from my home.My 4003 has a slight neck problem, but I don´t believe it´s related to humidity or temperature changes.
My experience with different basses within the last 20 years or so is that they can handle the changes in temperature & humidity pretty well. Unless you do something stupid by purpose. Normal touring, playing in different places etc. etc. won´t do any harm for your instrument. I could be wrong too, but that was my observation.