On 2/8/2017 5:53 PM, Phil Lee wrote:

But I can confirm that low humidy it TERRIBLE for wooden bodied or
framed stringed intruments, to the extent that humidity controllers
are built into good violin, viola and chello cases - presumably double
bass ones, too, but I've not seen much of those).
If allowed to dry too much, a violin will twist and warp itself, the
glue will crack and the whole body actually come to pieces. In days
gone by, when such humidifying gadgets were not available at domestic
prices, I had a violin which started to do just that, and the (very
good) violin maker to whom it was entrusted for repair, asid that
they'd had a lot of that kind of damage that summer, because it had
been so dry. That was towards the end of 1976, still remembered by
those of my generation in the UK as THE drought year.

1976 was the year my wife, our young son and I did some bike touring in
Britain. (I think it was January 1977 that _Bicycling_ magazine used
one of my photos, from the Lake District, for its cover photo.)

We were amazed at the heat. I remember my wife getting light-headed on
one ride from overheating. When we got to a pub, we poured water over
her head to cool her down. And being Britain, there was no such thing
as ice in drinks, nor air conditioning - at least in those days.

I know a few
harpists who have the same problem, but woodwind suffers less, as of
course the very breath that blows through them as they are played
humidifies them, and they actually need oiling to avoid too much
moisture being taken up into the weed. They probably would suffer, if
left unplayed for an extended period though.

I assume that was supposed to be "reed" although "weed" does seem
relevant to many of today's musicians.

My clarinet is genuine ebony. There is a worry about it cracking due to
low humidity. Bore oil is recommended.



WARNING FURTHER CONTENT IS ALMOST RELATED TO CYCLES!

Harps, violins and similar stringed instruments are now available in a
variety of plastics, which overcome the problems assocated with wood
in extremes of humidity.

I'm just back from a vacation during which I played a dear friend's new
guitar. It's top is carbon fiber. An absolutely beautiful sounding and
beautiful playing guitar. I'm lusting after a similar one, even though
my own guitar is quite nice. I don't tent toward flighty instrument
purchases... but still...


--
- Frank Krygowski