Water mark from dampit
I used a dampit on my Giovanni Longiaru violin this winter... I hadn't looken inside the violin before, and when I recently looked inside it, there are some water marks on the inside of the violin... Do you think they were caused by the dampits and could it have changed the violin sound? (I can't hear any difference from before).
Replies (19)
From everything I've heard, those are an excellent way to ruin a good instrument. I highly advise against them as well. If you want the opinion of one of the most respected modern makers, go to the David Burgess website and see what he has to say about them. You'll also learn a wealth of information about how to Properly humidify your valuable instrument. I would probably have your violin guy or gal look the fiddle over and make sure it hasn't sustained any damage. Hope it comes out O.K!
I was told to retire the dampit and make sure your house is properly humidified,if possible.My dampit made a disgusting mess inside my fiddle but no structural damage was done.
In the winter months I cut a sponge up into four or five pieces,wet them,thoroughly wring them out and set them inside the violin case over night. Make sure the sponges dont touch the instrument.Just a thought.....
so, if I don't use the dampits anymore, they won't cause any sonic difference to my violin?
bump
Thats right.You're correct about the sound difference using a dampit.The dampit is actually taking up resonating space inside the fiddle thus giving a "weaker" sound.
The nice thing about humidifying the room your in is the entire violin and bow get evenly humidified.Along with the "Aprilaire" model 400 humidifier on our furnace we also use a small "Bionaire" humidifier in the studio during winter months.Beats a dampit....
Neither too dry, nor too humid is best for an instrument. It is very helpful, and more effective to humidify the room with a humidifier during those dry spells - especially in winter when radiators are on. (Of course I'm thinking of temperate climates.)
So what to do when travelling with an instrument in dry condidtions? I also don't like dampits in a fiddle for reasons mentioned above, plus the possiblility of them knocking into the sound post. With cases that don't come with some little water bottles, here's my "trick". I've taken the string tubes (-I can manage my extra strings w.o. them-) and punched holes in them with a nail, in a pattern similar to the dampit, itself. Then I put the dampits inside them! The case overall is thus slowly and slightly humidified, and there is no danger to anything!
Thats great advice Raphael! I've learned over the years that performing in dry halls during the winter leaves any wooden instrument highly vulnerable to dryness problems.
My violin can be perfectly humidified at 720 pm but by intermission at 9:00pm its dry as a bone.Our hall is horrible for dryness.I brought in a digital hygrometer last February and it read 32%.I think its time to get a second fiddle during the winter.Do you face the same problems during the winter months Raphael?
Thanks. In NYC it's primarily the Winter that is the problem. BTW, hydrometers, ranging from the kind that dampit supplies, to the type found in many new cases, are often at wide variemce with one another and are not very accurate. I was told that really accurate ones are expensive. I have a wall model that I rely on more than those in my cases. But I find that bows, whose hair sags and tightens respectively in humidity and dryness, and my own skin and nasal passages are decent indicators -albeit w.o. percentages- of whether it's pretty dry or humid.
Thats a very good point about cheap hydrometers.I used a digital one at the hall (a "Honeywell") but it could be off.Along with the bow tightening you can usually tell with playing the first couple notes whether your going to have a "dry" or "normal' night.
I read in your bio Raphael that you freelance a fair bit.It must be hard on your instrument playing in so many different venues during the winter months
Here's a relatively easy (but accurate only AT 75% humidity) hygrometer check:
I use the bow hair sag too: low tech will be high tech in the future. And now that I'm w/o a shoulder rest--coming along nicely, I'll be able to monitor things better in the winter--I'll be able to put the instrument away completely.
I use a moistened towelette in a small hairspray cup when not moving around. Nobody to really knock anything around other than me....
One note of caution with the Rube Goldberg do-it-yourself humdifiers - I took a piece of wet sponge and put it in my case. The humdity went through the roof and warped my cheap brazilwood bow. I have since always used the Planet Waves "egg" which I put in the case and which releases moisture in a more controlled fashion. My in-case hygrometer seems to be quite accurate. Another downside with the dampit is that it has the potential to bump the soundpost.
I have a similar story Bill.I put too many wrung out sponges in my case overnight and the next day I noticed the varnish on the back of the instrument was cloudy and opaque in places.It remained in this state until I had a professional luthier polish it out.The lesson is overhumidifying can be as bad as underhumidifying....and thank you David for that article!!!
anyone else have trouble with dampits? If it does create water marks, will this dramatically lower the value of the violin and the sound quality?
I live in hawaii...so it's hell trying to keep your violin at a stable condition.
Just today, the humidity in the morning was 68%, then in the afternoon it jumped to 93%, then an hour later, it jumped back to 70% (this was taken from a humidity reader outside of my house)
Oh that would drive me nuts, do you use a dehumidifier Patrick?
If you get a violin made in the climate where you live, you can avoid many of the problems of sharp changes in humidity. (i.e. buying a violin in new york (50%) and then flying it to arizona (2%))
I used to use dampits until I had two problems; when they changed to a sponge-type filler decades ago, water would leak into the istrument body unless wrung out thoroughly, a nasty thing; and once when I left a fairly damp dampit in an airtight guitar case it caused the endblock to swell enough to slightly warp the top of the instrument. Also I'd accumulated a bunch of instruments and it was a pain to be messing with a dozen rubber tubes regl=ularly all winter.
A whole-house humidifier that runs thru about 8-10 gallons of water daily in the depths of winter, and central air conditioning in summer, keep the instruments at a steady 40-45% RH at 70 degrees F. When they go outside they're in cases that are good enough to minimise sudden changes in those parameters.
Silk serves as a natural buffer, absorbing moisture from humid air and releasing moisture into drier environments. A silk bag for your violin will help control the humidity, and has the added advantage of protecting the edges of the fiddle from the wear invilved in sliding it into and out of a tightly-fitted case. It also feels good, and can be attractive. Might run you as much as ten bucks at your local fabric store for the raw materials.
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July 15, 2007 at 12:30 AM · Well those dampits I don't think are good for instruments at all. I don't quite understand why they are so popular. Dry (southern California like) weather is the best for instruments. I'd advise against using dampits.