how bad is a damp atmosphere room for mics?

sheltersoton · 9th April 2007, 05:29 PM

we've had some damp problems in our live room since the local council decided to destroy our roof, we had a lot of moisture build up but are soon to have work carried out to rid us of the damp

however, i seem to have hd a lot of problems with condensor mics crapping out... lots of noisy mics, problems being internitant etc... is it the damp?

kind regards

neil

Protools Guy · 9th April 2007, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sheltersoton

is it the damp?

Probably so. I would get some dehumidifiers if I were you.

antonbuys · 9th April 2007, 05:49 PM

Sounds similar to what I experienced a while ago... Humidity is very high in Taiwan.

Plays havoc with mics, and even with studio monitor speakers... Crackles and pops...

Got my mics in a drycase now, and a dehumidifier in the studio (running at all times, except when I'm recording/mixing - Noisy!) Got my humidity down to about 55%... No problems. Spent about $200 on both together. Worth it.

But, I don't keep any guitars/violins, etc. in the studio. Not sure how dry air may affect those...

Anton
--------------------------------------------------
Snap, Crackle & Pop - Not suitable for studio use...

**Jules** · 9th April 2007, 06:34 PM

I used to take those silica gel packets that gear gets delivered with and toss them into the plastic mic storage box. Just to help keep em dry.

Condencers can crap out due to humidity, even breath humidity..

De humidifying sounds like good advice..Perhaps run it over night and on days off?

KrisNY · 9th April 2007, 07:10 PM

Silica gel saved my life with a couple SDCs. Moisture can be just awful with condensors.

raal · 9th April 2007, 07:18 PM

i use dehumidifiers too. they do the trick. amazing how much water they draw on a daily basis.

antonbuys · 10th April 2007, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by raal

i use dehumidifiers too. they do the trick. amazing how much water they draw on a daily basis.

A bucket a day, over here! And that's from a small 11'*9'*8' home studio, with one/two people in it at most! Three buckets a day from my living room/dining room... Read it somewhere that a human produces 2.5kg(liters) of water vapor each day... (oh, yeah, in the book by Rod Gervais, "Home Recording Studio - Build it like the Pros", in the section about HVAC...)

Keep it dry!

orange · 10th April 2007, 01:31 PM

If you're using silica-gel bear in mind that you need to make sure that the gel is actually active. Just popping an old sachet in with your mics might not be actually doing anything. It needs to be dry to be effective, this is usually done by drying in an oven.

http://www.theruststore.com/Silica-Gel-FAQ-W40C2.aspx

ine-kpro... · 10th April 2007, 02:04 PM

are you saying that a person should oven or microwave dry the silican gel every so often?

I have had the same silican gel in my mic case for like 6 years, I thought they last forever.

whats the lifespan of the silican gel or equivalent.
how do you know its at the end of its life.
is there a way of telling if its still working.

in regards to dehumidifiers and musical instruments, definitely a no-no. store the instruments in a cupboard or something and place a damp it or watered sponge in there to keep it humidified.

humidified rooms are also bad. i opened an old compressor i had once and the rusted parts on the circuit board and inisde the casing made me more paranoid about leaving a room humid again, so now adays i make sure i turn my aircon on every now and then to sort of minimise humidity build up.

orange · 10th April 2007, 02:40 PM

more info here

http://recforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/t/415/0/

essentially, silica-gel sucks moisture from the air - but as soon as it has absorbed the water (which it does pretty quickly) then it ceases to absorb more (obvious really). So that an old silica gel sachet pulled from the bottom of the box of your B*hringer SuperSquasher XP500 probably isn't going to protect that U47 quite as well as you might think.

The lifespan of silica gel is high, but you do need to 'maintain' it for it to continue to work - and keep the mic air sealed in a box with the DRY silica gel.

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9th April 2007, 05:29 PM	#1
sheltersoton Gear addict Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Southampton Posts: 394	how bad is a damp atmosphere room for mics? we've had some damp problems in our live room since the local council decided to destroy our roof, we had a lot of moisture build up but are soon to have work carried out to rid us of the damp however, i seem to have hd a lot of problems with condensor mics crapping out... lots of noisy mics, problems being internitant etc... is it the damp? kind regards neil

9th April 2007, 06:34 PM	#4
Jules Gearslutz.com admin Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: London, UK Posts: 11,801	I used to take those silica gel packets that gear gets delivered with and toss them into the plastic mic storage box. Just to help keep em dry. Condencers can crap out due to humidity, even breath humidity.. De humidifying sounds like good advice..Perhaps run it over night and on days off? __________________ Jules "...there are some amazing deals to be had in this right now. it brings battleship mixing closer to the jilted generation" - reptil

10th April 2007, 02:04 PM	#9
ine-kpro... Gear maniac Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 233	are you saying that a person should oven or microwave dry the silican gel every so often? I have had the same silican gel in my mic case for like 6 years, I thought they last forever. whats the lifespan of the silican gel or equivalent. how do you know its at the end of its life. is there a way of telling if its still working. in regards to dehumidifiers and musical instruments, definitely a no-no. store the instruments in a cupboard or something and place a damp it or watered sponge in there to keep it humidified. humidified rooms are also bad. i opened an old compressor i had once and the rusted parts on the circuit board and inisde the casing made me more paranoid about leaving a room humid again, so now adays i make sure i turn my aircon on every now and then to sort of minimise humidity build up. __________________ ine-kpro... (eye-yen-kay pro) <--- watch this space ---> www.ine-kpro.com www.3views.ine-kpro.com

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9th April 2007, 05:49 PM	#3
antonbuys Gear nut Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Taiwan Posts: 147	Sounds similar to what I experienced a while ago... Humidity is very high in Taiwan. Plays havoc with mics, and even with studio monitor speakers... Crackles and pops... Got my mics in a drycase now, and a dehumidifier in the studio (running at all times, except when I'm recording/mixing - Noisy!) Got my humidity down to about 55%... No problems. Spent about $200 on both together. Worth it. But, I don't keep any guitars/violins, etc. in the studio. Not sure how dry air may affect those... Anton -------------------------------------------------- Snap, Crackle & Pop - Not suitable for studio use...

9th April 2007, 07:10 PM	#5
KrisNY Gear addict Join Date: May 2006 Location: Suburban NYC Posts: 412	Silica gel saved my life with a couple SDCs. Moisture can be just awful with condensors.

9th April 2007, 07:18 PM	#6
raal Lives for gear Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: mexico Posts: 3,618	i use dehumidifiers too. they do the trick. amazing how much water they draw on a daily basis.

10th April 2007, 01:31 PM	#8
orange Lives for gear Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: London Posts: 1,664	If you're using silica-gel bear in mind that you need to make sure that the gel is actually active. Just popping an old sachet in with your mics might not be actually doing anything. It needs to be dry to be effective, this is usually done by drying in an oven. http://www.theruststore.com/Silica-Gel-FAQ-W40C2.aspx

10th April 2007, 02:40 PM	#10
orange Lives for gear Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: London Posts: 1,664	more info here http://recforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/t/415/0/ essentially, silica-gel sucks moisture from the air - but as soon as it has absorbed the water (which it does pretty quickly) then it ceases to absorb more (obvious really). So that an old silica gel sachet pulled from the bottom of the box of your B*hringer SuperSquasher XP500 probably isn't going to protect that U47 quite as well as you might think. The lifespan of silica gel is high, but you do need to 'maintain' it for it to continue to work - and keep the mic air sealed in a box with the DRY silica gel.