john (beloved) habib
Oud Junkie
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Registered: 2-5-2004
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Mood: love my new oud
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Traveling with the Oud - Humidity
So, ever since I learned about the potentially negative effects of humidity on instruments, the Oud specifically, I bought a room humidifer and
hygrometer (i think that's what it is called) and a case humidifier, because in PA the humidity is quite low.
But with that extra care comes extra fear when traveling. For example, I want to take a trip from Atlanta to Florida and play the Oud... what if the
Humidity during my time there for some reason is lower than what is optimum... do I really need to worry about the Oud in such a situation?
Or is all this humidity stuff not that bad on the Oud unless the Oud is exposed to too low or too high humidity for extended periods of
time?
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mavrothis
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I really don't think you have to worry about there not being enough humidity in Georgia and Florida.
But why not just take your hygrometer with you, and a portable humidifier that can fit in the case like for cellos or guitars just in case?
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john (beloved) habib
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I agree with ya, but what about if I want to play at some place in PA, where the humidity is pretty low, and I take my Oud out of its case and play
for a couple of hours in this lower humidity, is that something to worry about?
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wfspark
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Humidity
| Quote: | Originally posted by mavrothis
I really don't think you have to worry about there not being enough humidity in Georgia and Florida.
But why not just take your hygrometer with you, and a portable humidifier that can fit in the case like for cellos or guitars just in case?
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How does humidity effect an oud? I didn't think that humidity was a big deal for stringed instruments,
other than the instrument going out of tune. Thanks
William F. Sparks
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mavrothis
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the humidity level affects ouds and stringed instruments in general, especially over long periods of time. the top can crack if the air is too dry,
and if there is too much humidity, there can be other kinds of damage, like warping.
john, you don't have to worry about playing the oud for a few hours where the conditions aren't perfect, b/c the conditions are almost never
perfect most of the time.
just in general try and provide a balanced environment for your oud, with around 40-50% humidity.
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freya
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The spruce top will slowly absorb moisture in damp environments and slowly release moisture in dry environments. This is a very gradual process taking
many days before it either gets too damp and expands/buckles or too dry and contracts/splits.
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john (beloved) habib
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That was very informative... thanks.
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