Alembic Guitars Club
Alembic products => Alembic Basses & Guitars => Topic started by: basso on April 25, 2004, 04:20:09 PM
-
Do any of you think it is a good or bad idea to keep a silica gell sachet in your guitar case?
-
I have to ask the question - do you think that you need it?
-
Hi rogervr well,my bass was in the car yesterday and it was very hot,i had to park up and leave the bass in the car,but i did leave the sunroof open slightly,i could see the car,so i didn't mind doing this,i would never leave it otherwise,on returning to the car to show a friend my bass,i was surprised to see beads of moisture around the pickup area!!i had never seen this on any bass before!and as far as i can see the case isn't damp,all i can presume is that the heat,and the air gap between the case and the pickup area caused the moisture?BUT,where did it come from in the first place?hence my qeustion about the silica gell,hopefully this will be a one off situation!!seeing beads of water on the bass was very surprising!thanks,Julian.
-
besides silica gel packets (of which you would need many) there are several good humidity control products on the market that you could use if you have that problem. never, ever leave your instrument in a car trunk on a hot day no matter what. its asking for trouble.
-
Hey Julian,
I have to agree with locutus. One rule of thumb to ask yourself is this. Would you leave your child or your dog or even yourself in the same environment? What feels uncomfortable to you will also feel uncomfortable to your instrument.
My late night grocery store thinks I'm nuts when I do grocery shopping after a gig, and I've got my bass strapped to my shoulder. HA!!!!
Peace,
Dino
-
Yes Dino i agree 100%,BUT,some eating houses here don't like it!!no i wouldn't leave my daughter or our dog in the car,but in certain circumstances when you are away from home and gigging, it can't be helped,thanks,Julian.
-
basso,
please, please take everone's advice about leaving your ax in the car trunk. if i have to leave my car even for a minute to go to the bathroom, i schlep the damn thing with me. defintely look into the humidity controls that are on the market. i use one and have never had a problem with my neck warping.
-
This will also keep you from bringing excessive numbers of instruments to gigs! ;-)
I don't worry about leaving my instruments in a car during hot weather for 5 minutes or so, but beyond that, forget it. Dean's rule of thumb pretty much nails it, IMO.
-
I leave a pack of silica gel in my bass cases, it certainly seems to make a difference in a positive way in terms of humidity control. Thankfully here in southern California we don't have to worry about that too much, but it does happen.
Hope this helps. Thanks, Mike
-
The weather can be so damp one day and hot as hell the next here in the UK,that's the problem,so you just have to do what you feel is right,so yes, i agree with the comments,but it's not always possible i'm afaid, to not leave the bass in the car,not for me anyway,yes i have put a pack of silica gell in the case now Mike so hopefully it will take care of it,it's been outside in the fresh air today just to dry it out, should there be any dampness in the case,thanks,Julian.
-
I am pleased to see this issue raised
I have been keeping a king size silica gel pack in my bass case since I first got my brand new custom Rogue in 1999. I always keep my bass in its case due to the fact that I never know where I'll have to store it in short notice, and it can range in locations that are dry, humid, warm/hot as well as pretty cold. Over time I noticed that extreme temperature changes in short periods of time (a variance of 25 degress F + or -, in 12 hours or less) was likely to either expand or contract my neck - throwing my intonation off and creating a buzz or other climate related problem on my neck.
Not to mention the fact that - for whatever reason, when I play very intensely - either on stage or practicing on my own, I tend to perspire heavily - and it does translate to my hands as well. In addition, the perspiration will radiate from my midsection, as well as drip down my arms -also imparting moisture onto the bass body.
As far as the strings go, the natural release of pheromones, sweat, body oils and the like from my palms/fingers are accountable for at least 50%, if not more, of the quick flattening/deading of my strings - and it was always with this specifically in mind that I used the gel packs. As long as my fellow Alembicians do not point out any adverse harm that could befall my prized possesion - I will continue this practice without fail.
-
Just make sure your bass does not eat the silica gel.
(Always wondered who the do not eat warnings on the gel packs were aimed at. The gel beads do look a bit like tapioca, but still....)
-
My bass is hungry, but not that hungry.
Sometimes I think the silica gel helps dry off the bass after playing. Sometimes you don't catch everything if you give your bass a quick wipe-down after a gig.
Thanks Kayo for the detailed observation of your sweating habits. ;)
Mike
-
well after reading all the positive posts about the silica gel packets i'm going to try using them along with the humidity controls. seems everyone is having good results with them.
-
An interesting discussion...
I'd certainly agree that time in a hot car or trunk is asking for trouble - as has often been documented here, the correction for a warped neck is often a rebend under heat which softens the glue joint between the fingerboard and neck laminate block so it can slide. Leaving your bass for an extended period in the trunk may have exactly the same effect, but certainly detrimental to your instrument.
However, I think I'd disagree with regard to the silica gel. You can put a little pack in your case as a good luck poultice, but you'd need a pretty big packet to influence your instrument (actually, I suspect that moisture in the case lining is a much bigger factor than the instrument).
Generally, with wood instruments, the problem with damage from humidity is not excessive humidity, but excessive dryness. You may experience action changes with too much or too little humidity, but the risk of cracking comes form low humidity rather than high. In this respect, silica gel is the last thing you'd want to put in your case as it is a dessicant - it absorbs atmospheric moisture. You see these little packets in electronics goods manufactured in the (humid) Far East, to prevent mold or corrosion from the humid air the product was packaged in.
Most instrument humidifiers work the opposite way. They are a sponge or polymeric goo that will release moisture into the case if it's too dry. They will have much more effect on an acoustic guitar or violin which is hollow, made from thin pieces of wood and which is unfinished on the inside.
The best humidity care for your bass is probably to keep it in the case when you're not using it.
DF
-
There is no way anyone could convince me to leave a bass in a car. If I have to stop off on the way home, in goes the bass with me. I don't mind if I look silly with a big case in my shopping cart at the grocery store.
Certainly never leave your bass in the car when there's any heat. Now I ask visitors right away if they have any instruments in their car when they come to our shop. Too many times after an hour tour I hear something like, I'll go out to my car and get it, referring to their Alembic. Sheesh! Even in April it's usually over 80 degrees here.
The cases are shipped to us from Los Angeles with a silica gel dessicant inside. Our practice is to remove the gel packs before shipping. That said, I've not seen the crack in a fingerboard I could attribute to a silica gel pack. Usually cracks are in boards that haven't been oiled in years. My feeling is that the silica is not very harmful or very helpful.
-
Iv'e been drying out my case for my SC signature just incase there is any trapped moisture in it,it seems that the neck support and other trim are made from polystyrene covered in the black fur material,the case label says it is made in canada,and i was told this is the original case supplied when the bass was new,as to how much moisture polysteyrene would hold i'm not sure,i'm sure other cases are probably of simular construction,anyway,i have put my bass into my tribal-planet gigbag and feel happier with this,has anybody else noticed moisture in their case?.
-
I am working in the automotive industry and had to do temperature measurements in the testing vehicles about 3 years ago. The max temp can easily rise above 90 degrees Celsius (I am not familiar with Farenheit, may be an american brother can do the math) in the passenger compartement on a sunny day. It only takes 30 min to reach this peak level. In the trunk it's only 5-10 degrees less due to missing direct sunlight radiation (depending on the surface colour, dark tinted blue was the worst). Opening the passenger compartement reduced the temp to approx 60 degrees Celsius. The outside temp was 35 degrees Celsius, whe we did the measures in Spain. Would you leave anything valueable in such an environment ?
(Message edited by thebass on April 27, 2004)
-
No i wouldn't,but my bass wasn't left in the boot(trunk!)it was in the car with the sunroof open,and i could see the car,i have done this may,many, times without any problems!but i guess if you want to carry your bass into a crowded place then that's up to you?if i knew i was going to do this i would leave it at home,but as i said before,when you are gigging,it depends on the situation!we all do it our own way.
-
Conversions of above:
90 degrees Celsius is 194 Fahrenheit.
60 degrees Celsius is 140 Fahrenheit.
35 degrees Celsius is 95 Fahrenheit.
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/pub/metcon.shtml (http://www.crh.noaa.gov/pub/metcon.shtml)
-
Julian, I'm quite sure your case is not original, our cases are made in Los Angeles, CA. For a while we offered a Korean-made Protech gig-bag for folks who didnt want to spring the bucks for a hardshell.
-
Thanks for the reply Mica,yes i thought it might not be original,i'm happy with the gigbag i have now,but will look into a better hardcase soon as possible,trying to find one for a s/scale might be a problem,although i could use a 34 case and pack it to stop movement.
-
i just bought a gel cartdige for my new orion5
go to ebay and search silica gel
-
Folks, I found this old topic, it looks like it has been about 14 years since it was discussed, so I thought I would see if anyone has any updates to add. The starting thread talks about leaving Instruments in hot cars. I am not asking about that issue. We recently moved into a house that apparently has a ton of moisture in the air. We found mildew on leather boots in closets. We are running a dehumidifier to help, but there is still a lot of moisture in the air. Enough to fill up “damp rid” containers in closets. The house doesn’t smell, so I think it is only a problem where there is no airflow. I thought a few silica gels packs in bass cases might help. But I didn’t think about them pulling needed moisture out of the wood of the bass. I just don’t want to allow pitting or rust on metal parts. So does anyone have anything new to add? If not, I’ll go with Mica’s suggestion that they don’t help or hurt much. In my case, with a lot of moisture in the air, and the case not allowing any airflow, I figured I should err on the side of removing moisture from the cases. Thanks, Allen
-
I'd just let the de-humidifier and dessicants work a while... you should be fine, even down there in steamy Jaw-jah. ;D
Up here in these latitudes, especially this time of year, it's a struggle keeping enough humidity in the house. I run two humidifiers 24/7 and boil a pot or two of water every day trying to maintain 45% relative humidity. That's about what it takes to keep my basses and guitars happy. If it gets too dry to manage, I just put them in their cases with humidifier boxes.
You should be able to source a digital hygrometer from a local hardware or drugstore for less than outrageous. It's good to keep an eye on this anyway.
-
"Steamy Jaw-juh", huh!!?? (Well, I resemble that!) In Hotlanta here, I still have to adjust the truss rods twice a year - every year! It's really no biggie. Once the wood gets used to where it's at, of course!
-
Ha! Out here in California's Bay Area "seasons" are salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin, etc.!
hehehehe
Bill, tgo
-
An interesting discussion...
Generally, with wood instruments, the problem with damage from humidity is not excessive humidity, but excessive dryness. You may experience action changes with too much or too little humidity, but the risk of cracking comes form low humidity rather than high. In this respect, silica gel is the last thing you'd want to put in your case as it is a dessicant
Most instrument humidifiers work the opposite way. They are a sponge or polymeric goo that will release moisture into the case if it's too dry. They will have much more effect on an acoustic guitar or violin which is hollow, made from thin pieces of wood and which is unfinished on the inside.
The best humidity care for your bass is probably to keep it in the case when you're not using it.
DF
That's the problem here in the winter. Everything dries out terribly. Even the humidifier on the heating system doesn't do enough. So it's necessary to humidify instruments specially. The summers are humid but not enough that there's ever been an issue.
-
I used to put a load of those sachet's in my guitar case when I was touring and the guitar was going in the hold. I got them from a local shoe shop and dried them out on my radiators at home before using. I'm sure it kept some of the condensation off my guitars and maybe one of the reasons my cases got searched. ha