Hi UTGF Members!First of all, please join me in thanking
Rand Rognlien the founder of the Music Nomad company for the giveaway prizes! I'll post links to both products and their website below! Please be sure to visit them! The prizes? 2 Soundhole Humidifiers and 1 Case Humidifier!
Humidity can be a really dangerous enemy to any guitar especially solid wood guitars. Too little humidity and your guitar's top will sink in and ultimately crack. There are many humidifiers out there but my personal favorites are the sound hole humidifiers that sit between the strings. I've used the humidifiers that use a long hose like sponge but I don't like the idea of them actually touching the wood. I've also used the humidifiers that completely seal up the sound hole, and while those do work, I want the case to be humidified as well.
I've used primarily one brand of humidifier that sits between the strings but thanks to
Rand and Music Nomad, I'll be using their humidifiers for reasons that I'll get into below.
Packaging: These humidifiers come in that heavy duty plastic but thanks to an easy tear away back panel you can access the humidifier quite easily. There are CLEAR instructions on the back to walk you through using it. It's really not complicated at all but if you're new to using these types don't be afraid. Music Nomad will walk you through setting it up.
Appearance: These resemble other rest-between-string humidifiers but with some really neat improvements. For starters you can check the moisture content of the sponge
WITHOUT having to actually remove the humidifier from the guitar. Simply flip the lid to the humidifier. This is nice if you just want to quickly check it and move on.
Performance: This is where these humidifiers outshine the competition. These humidifiers don't use a cheap sponge like others do. Instead they use a "Humid-i-Bar" sponge which is insanely soft and dense. According to Music Nomad, they hold about 10x's the amount of water than the competitions' sponges. I can verify this first hand. The amount of water it holds is insane. Note that they recommend the use of "Distilled Water" for this (to prevent mold etc). I went to my local grocery store and purchased a gallon of distilled water for .88 cents.
I let it soak in a bowl of distilled water and then gently squeezed away the excess water. As of right now, my sponges are still very hydrated after 4 days of use which would NOT be the case with the previous cheap sponges. My house tends to be VERY dry and having to constantly re-hydrate the old sponge humidifiers was necessary. (Note, I keep all my guitars in their cases).
You can tell if the sponge needs to be hydrated by simply flipping up the lid and feeling the sponge. If it's soft it's wet. If it's hard, time to re-hydrate it. This sponge also is an "anti-drip" which is NOT the case with the competition's sponges.
Below is a pic of it sitting in my Taylor 324.
Quality: The quality of these humidifiers are great. One difference you'll notice is the sponge size. The Music Nomad humidifier is on the left and the competition's on the right. I own 3 of the competition's sound hole humidifiers and the sponge sizes were ALL over the place. The one pictured was insanely small leading me to have to re-hydrate this sponge OFTEN. Another one not pictured was TOO large when I bought it and was physically crammed in plastic case. I had to take scissors to it and trim it down appropriately so that it would fit. With the Music Nomad's humidifiers there's no sizing issue at all. Each sponge fit like a glove in the case. Yes, it's a little detail, but trust me, it's the little details that make this humidifier stand out.
Overall, I would EASILY give this product 5 stars out of 5! I'm not just saying that to be nice. If you want a QUALITY sound hole humidifier, look no further. I had never heard of this brand until about a month ago. So let's recap why I love these:
1. The flip lid makes it insanely easy to check the sponge's status. Open the guitar case, flick the humidifier lid open and feel it.
2. The sponge that Music Nomad uses is quality, holds 10x's the amount of water, which means that it lasts longer. Do you ever leave on a short trip for a few days and wonder if your humidifiers will dry out? Like I said, I'm on day 4, going on day 5. These are awesome. No more worrying for those little trips.
Links! Please give their site a visit!:
Music Nomad Website:
https://www.musicnomadcare.com/ They offer a WHOLE RANGE of Equipment Care! They offer other humidifiers as well such as a ukulele and a humidity and temperature reader!
Sound hole humidifier:
https://www.musicnomadcare.com/Products/Humidity-Care/Guitar-Soundhole-Humidifier/Case humidifier:
https://www.musicnomadcare.com/Products/Humidity-Care/Case-Humidifier/***Contest Rules***1. To enter, just reply to the thread and be sure to put down which humidifier you'd like! (2 Sound hole & 1 Case)
2. One entry per person. Multiple entries will be disqualified.
3.
At the end of April 29th, I'll randomly pick three people and will mail the prizes anywhere in the world. The first 2 people, I pick will have their choice, and the 3rd person will get what humidifier is left.
4. That's it and Good Luck Friends!
