Mike's Oud Forums

(question about humidity) keeping oud in basement?

LoveLightPeace - 9-5-2012 at 07:45 AM

im moving into a basement room and since basements are more humid, i wanna know if thats bad for my brand new handmade oud?


also any tips on wat i can do to keep my oud safe?

Aymara - 9-5-2012 at 09:50 AM

I think answering this question is not so easy.

How high will the humidity be in % and how old is the oud? In which humidity levels was it held until now and how long?

High humidity can be dangerous, but I expect above 60%, so the first question is the most important.

Do you have a hard case?

fernandraynaud - 9-5-2012 at 12:29 PM

My studio is on the ground floor, on a hillside, the living room is two flights up at street level, and with California wooden construction being what it is, in the studio the soil is just some wood boards away. This has been a blessing. Ambient humidity in the Bay Area varies wildly, several times from 20-100% just in the last 24 hours, while in the studio it sits around 70-80%. If I take an instrument upstairs it starts to drift. Overnight the bass strings shift one way, the trebles the other way, a few hours later it goes the other way. It's a minor nuisance on a guitar. On an oud it's a chore. Normally in the studio wood is very happy. I don't lock up instruments in cases. It's evenness that matters most. A few months ago we had a very very dry spell and the studio humidity dropped below 60%. I promptly broke 4 strings on a harpsichord pulling it up to pitch. On the tropical Mexican seashore the oud i brought became unplayable when the soundboard buckled upward. Your rheumatism may not agree, but I think your instruments will love it down there. Get a little cheap hygrometer. If coming from a different environment, keep the oud in a case at first so it gradually equilibrates.

LoveLightPeace - 9-5-2012 at 04:01 PM

Quote: Originally posted by fernandraynaud  
My studio is on the ground floor, on a hillside, the living room is two flights up at street level, and with California wooden construction being what it is, in the studio the soil is just some wood boards away. This has been a blessing. Ambient humidity in the Bay Area varies wildly, several times from 20-100% just in the last 24 hours, while in the studio it sits around 70-80%. If I take an instrument upstairs it starts to drift. Overnight the bass strings shift one way, the trebles the other way, a few hours later it goes the other way. It's a minor nuisance on a guitar. On an oud it's a chore. Normally in the studio wood is very happy. I don't lock up instruments in cases. It's evenness that matters most. A few months ago we had a very very dry spell and the studio humidity dropped below 60%. I promptly broke 4 strings on a harpsichord pulling it up to pitch. On the tropical Mexican seashore the oud i brought became unplayable when the soundboard buckled upward. Your rheumatism may not agree, but I think your instruments will love it down there. Get a little cheap hygrometer. If coming from a different environment, keep the oud in a case at first so it gradually equilibrates.


so wat percentage of moisture is healthy for the oud?

LoveLightPeace - 9-5-2012 at 04:02 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Aymara  
I think answering this question is not so easy.

How high will the humidity be in % and how old is the oud? In which humidity levels was it held until now and how long?

High humidity can be dangerous, but I expect above 60%, so the first question is the most important.

Do you have a hard case?


the oud is gonna be brand new and handmade.

if i keep it in a soft case will that help to protect it against humidity?

jdowning - 9-6-2012 at 04:56 AM

It is impossible to answer your original question.

Most museums will maintain a relative humidity of 55% to preserve wooden artifacts from deterioration due to humidity cycling. However for a new musical instrument some humidity cycling (within reason!) should be of some advantage in helping to relax any inbuilt stresses and so improve acoustic performance over time. My instruments are kept in my library (not enclosed in cases where the humid micro climate inside a case could itself be damaging) and are subject to a relative humidity range of about 50% to 75% without adverse effect - although in the heat of summer at higher humidity levels the instruments do not respond as well acoustically as at say 60%.
So you should guard against humidity extremes - particularly sustained low humidity conditions that can cause wood shrinkage and cracking of the sound board.
Presumably you will be living in some comfort in your basement which as a living space should be properly constructed, drained and insulated to code so you should not have to put up with extreme humidity conditions. Besides basements being below grade should be more protected against extreme climatic swings than above grade dwellings.
If you have climate control facilities then a humidity meter would be a necessity - otherwise it would be of little use except to determine if the part of your living space where you plan to keep your oud is a relatively stable environment.

The big unknown is the condition under which the oud was originally constructed and how well it is made. The sound board wood should not only be well seasoned but should be brought into the workshop environment to stabilise weeks before being used. Hopefully the workshop itself would be climate controlled to optimum RH but it is questionable if this is generally the case except for instruments made by a few of the better luthiers. Otherwise it is matter of chance of how well an instrument might stand up to changing environmental conditions (most do however!).

Good luck