Humidity control in your stringed instrument
Why Does Humidity Matter?
Humidity can significantly affect the performance of a wooden instrument. Wood is an organic material that absorbs moisture from humid air and loses moisture when the air is dry. Excessive dryness can cause shrinkage and bowing, which can result in cracking and other damage to the instrument. High humidity combined with high temperatures can cause ungluing.
Ideally, guitars should be stored under conditions of 45-55% relative humidity. Visit the C. F. Martin and Taylor websites for more details.
Oasis Guitar Humidifiers
Hand-crafted in the United States, Oasis® humidifiers are the best solution to the challenge of fine instrument humidification. Whether you play a bowed string instrument, a flat top steel string guitar, or a nylon string classical guitar, you’ve made a significant investment. An effective, easy-to-use humidifier is good for your instrument and far less expensive than costly repairs. You’ll find that Oasis® humidifiers differ from other brands in these important ways:
- They provide the correct humidity for a reasonable period of time between refills.
- They don’t leak.
- It’s easy to tell when they need to be refilled.
- Installation and removal is quick and simple.
- They are made with soft materials to minimize the risk of scratching the strings or denting your instrument in case it’s dropped accidentally.
WGW uses OH-32 Ukulele and OH-5+ Guitar Humidifiers. These humidifiers are identical, the "hang" is just different. If you have a tight case, we recommend using the OH-32 Ukulele humidifier.
