A question on dampits

May 31, 2014 at 07:14 PM · Yes. The point of a Dampit it is to place it in the instrument through the f-hole.

And no...I wouldn't use one. There are other, better, options available.

May 31, 2014 at 07:14 PM · Might consider a Stretto or a Planet Waves instead. Be sure to use them with an accurate hygrometer, so you know whether you're adding enough moisture, or if you're adding too much. Too much moisture can be as harmful as too little.

I question whether you need to add any moisture in Singapore though. More likely, you already have too much.

May 31, 2014 at 09:11 PM · Another product:

http://www.oasishumidifiers.com/case.html

June 1, 2014 at 12:07 AM · Dampits work very well and stay n the violin unlike the excellent Planet Waves which I can't find anymore. HOWEVER, CAUTION, be sure to wring it dry in a towel so moisture does not LEAK out into the violin and ruin the tone.

June 1, 2014 at 12:27 AM · More to read:

http://www.violinist.com/discussion/response.cfm?ID=16478

June 1, 2014 at 02:11 AM · James - why do you think you need to humidify your violin? Perhaps the air is dried out in your home?

I never use one. If the air is particularly dry - say in winter with the heating on - I hang a wrung out towel in the middle of the room overnight. Works beautifully and avoids the danger of water on your instrument or over-damp causing rot...

June 1, 2014 at 10:10 AM · Elise, I've had a negligible change from doing that in the north in winter. Maybe it would work in a very small sealed room. Did you check your results with a hygrometer?

In my workshop space (which is not entirely sealed from the rest of the house), during really cold periods, I may need to vaporize as much as 2 gallons of water per day to maintain 40% humidity.

June 1, 2014 at 05:47 PM · I tried a Stretto in my case with a hygrometer and it only raised the humidity one point. Using both bass and violin dampits raised the humidity ten points. HOWEVER, I did not put the dampits in my violin. I laid them on a piece of plastic(to protect the lining in the case) at the scroll end of the case. I also removed the blanket and the few rags I carry, the idea being that my bow also needs humidifying; and I don't move my case when the dampits are in place.

June 1, 2014 at 06:59 PM · The effectiveness of a case humidifier will partly depend on how vapor-permeable the case is, and how much air exchange it allows.

I've had much better results than that with the Stretto, but I'll test is again in a wood-shelled case.

June 2, 2014 at 06:00 AM · I don't like dampits as they tend to leak. I had this happening in a violin and it doesn't look good.

I use a precipitube case humidifier and have no problems with it. Also an observation of mine. For the wood to get dry it would take sometime, so if you keep the case humidified, then practising in a dry environment will not present a humidity problem for the violin,depending of course how long one practises at a time.

June 2, 2014 at 12:16 PM · David: I am blessed with a virtually completely sealable room - its also in the basement so two of the walls abut the soil. The towel works great on a case-hygrometer (its a cheap one and not valid for absolute values but still useful for relative ones).

June 2, 2014 at 01:07 PM · I had used dampit by years, never had problems with damaging my violin.

June 2, 2014 at 01:39 PM · Perhaps so, but it's also not unusual for problems to go unnoticed by the owner.

I really don't recommend putting any moistening device INSIDE the instrument. I've seen too many issues over the years. Aside from leaking or dripping, sometimes it's something as simple as removing the device too hurriedly when there is a time constraint, and cracking the wing on the ff hole.

June 2, 2014 at 07:21 PM · Dampits should go in the garbage (or, at least, not in the violin)!

Liquid water does not belong in a fiddle. I would guess that the evaporated moisture from a dampit type device is not evenly distributed within the structure anyway.

Elise — I’m not sure where you live, but I’d never get away with a simple towel evaporation in the winter here. Sometimes gallons per day go into humidification in our cold Pittsburgh winters.

David makes another good point — shouldn’t really be sticking stuff in your ff holes anyway.

June 2, 2014 at 08:06 PM · Unless one has a fetish for it, in which case, the benefits could possibly outweigh the downsides. ;-)

June 3, 2014 at 01:14 PM · Randy, I've had the Stretto humidifier in the wood- shelled case for about 24 hours now, and my results were similar to yours. There is no discernible difference between the interior and exterior humidity.

I don't think this is anything unique to the Stretto though, just that some case humidifiers don't emit enough moisture to humidify a porous case without a good seal on the lid.

It's always good to check!

June 4, 2014 at 10:18 AM · It's nice to be validated.