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RE: Humidity and Wooden Instruments

Author: Mark P. Jasuta
Date: 2002-11-30 16:54

Sometimes I think that these wood horns are more durable than we give credit for. I bought a Yamaha YCL-32 horn from a pawn shop in Austin, Texas, a very dry place. The horn was bone dry to the point that the large bell ring would spin freely. I was afraid it would crack here in humid Long Island NY summer conditions. So, I overhauled the horn and oiled the bore frequently for a month. Here it is 1 year later and the bell ring will not budge no matter how hard I try. The wood apparently recovered and did not crack. I view this as worst case scenario. I believe that most cracks are caused more by thermal shock than variations in humidity. After all it would take considerable time for a wood as dense as blackwood to absorb or release large amounts of water (a year in my case), but heat can have an immediate effect. What I would recommend is to protect the horn from temperature extremes by using an insulated case for transport and allowing the horn to warm up before playing to lessen the thermal shock caused by hot breath on a cold instrument. It is no suprise that most cracks occur on the barrel and the top of the upper joint. (the warmest as well as the wettest during play) Remember thermal shock is caused by RAPID heat transfer. If you want to get technical the rate of heat transfer is directly proportional to the temperature difference of the two mediums (factoring in densities of course). In our case the horn and your breath. Your breath is at your body temperature (98.6 degrees F), the closer your horn is to that temp the less thermal stress it will experience. Basically a slow warm up and a slow cool down are in order.
Mark

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