[CAUT] large and rapid humidity changes!

[Willem Blees]

Quoting Paul T Williams <pwilliams4 at unlnotes.unl.edu>:

> Hi list, 
> 
> We have a classroom/recital hall with a huge humidity problem.  Has
> anyone 
> else had this problem: 
> 
> The room seats about 200 and has a Steinway D from the late 70's and
> a 
> harpsichord.  The room can change by 30-40% or more in a day!  Over
> the 
> T-Day  weekend I put in one of those small humidistat from Pianotek
> and it 
> showed a range of 24-80%!!!  Not only are my tunings worthless for 
> recitals if I tune in the morning and the concert is in the evening
> (as 
> some days, that is the only time the room is available),  but it has
> got 
> to be wrecking havock on the instruments. It doesn't have a piano
> life 
> saver system in it, and I wonder how much it would help with such
> wild 
> swings.  I and all the faculty have complained about it (apparantly
> for 
> years prior to my getting here this year) and nothing gets done.
> 
> Can I do more that just cover them and go ahead and put a DC system
> on it? 
>  They do have thick blanket style covers on them.
> 
> Sweating to the oldies in Lincoln....
> 
> Paul 

For one, can you try to get the hall just prior to the concerts? If 
other faculty are complaining, this should be made a priority. 

Willem Blees, RPT
Piano Tuner/Technician
School of Music
University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, AL USA