Maintaining double bass? (Humidifier)

[SevenSeas]

Anyone using one?

[MandShef]

I used to use one, but got put off when my bass was opened up for restoration work and I saw a great big damp patch at the bottom of it! If you do use one, make sure you get as much excess water out of it as possible. I've taken to keeping my bass as far away from radiators as possible, but I know that now the heating is going on/off wood will swell/shrink causing potential for cracks. I believe if you've got a laminate this isn't such an issue though .... I'll be interested to see what responses you get, as I'd like to know whether I should go back to using mine, or whether there's other stuff that can be done to protect our basses.

[mybass]

[quote name='SevenSeas' timestamp='1384360535' post='2275697']
Anyone using one?
[/quote]

I also put some plastic 'tupperware' type boxes around the (floor of) the bass, drill a series of holes in the lid(s), fill with water, replace lid and away you go.
I don't think any way is ideal except maybe not having central heating!

[henry norton]

A humidifier and a hygrometer. The hygrometer tells me how much relative humidity there is (there's always allot less as soon as the central heating kicks in). I use trays of water on my radiators to balance out the drying effect and a proper vaporising humidifier to keep the humidity around 30-40%, but I try to keep it lower rather than higher. Too low not only causes cracks, it can effect the sound if the wood dries out too much - I knock it down to around 30% for tricky work like gluing ribs to a flat back but keep it around 40% otherwise, but for playing anything up to 60% is fine . It's more important than you might think as damage can occur gradually over a long time if it's too dry or too damp.

[Lazybirdpete]

I know this is an old thread: I'm wondering what relative humidity other people think I should be aiming at for a room where a double bass is stored and played. I have the opposite problem of high humidity levels in my studio because, for sound proofing reasons, it has low ventilation and playing and teaching the sax in there puts moisture into the air. Sometimes it gets up to around 70%. I have a dehumidifier which can pull it down to 55-65% depending on how I set it. Lowering the humidity really improves the sound of the bass but I don't want to go too far and risk damage to the bass or use more electricity than I need to. I think the comfortable level for an occupied room is also around the 50-60% mark. What do people think I should aim for?