Summertime finds lots of fun activities for string players—from summer camps to outdoor music festivals to campfire fiddle jams—but it’s important to remember that the season ushers in a unique set of demands on your instruments and bows, due to changes in temperature and humidity.

Heat and water—used to bend the wood on the ribs of your violin, viola, cello, or bass, helping to forge your instrument—can also distort the shape of your fiddle in hot and humid conditions. You can spot this damage on stringed instruments that have bulged under the fingerboard and tailpiece or sunken due to the tension of the bridge. Under sustained string tension, your instrument’s resistance to bending is reduced by more than 25 percent on a hot and humid day (at 90-percent humidity), and that can lead to a drop in neck projection requiring the neck to be reset. On a very hot day, 90 to 100-plus degrees, the varnish on your instrument can soften so much that the fabric lining of the instrument case can leave pitted impressions.

Extreme heat can cause a bow to bend or twist, and extreme changes in temperature (traveling from a hot car to a cold concert hall, for instance) can make a bow snap.

Given the potential for damage, it’s no wonder that your instrument might sound different to you as the summer rolls around.

What to do?
Avoid bringing your instrument or bow into the sun or heat. Consider installing a humidifier in your home. Look into purchasing
a hygrometer or humidifier for your instrument case. And equip yourself with a few simple devices that can help you gauge your instrument’s particular microclimate—for instance, Radio Shack offers a digital hygrometer/thermometer for about $30. Check the Violin Owner’s Manual (available at www.stringsmagazine.com) for more advice.

If you’re still in doubt about what to do, a knowledgeable dealer can offer handy tips—and accessories—that can help fend off costly repairs.

Give your instruments and bows a seasonal checkup and beat the summertime blues.

Play It Safe
Even if you use a humidification system in your case, you should take additional steps to protect your instrument. I strongly recommend the following:

• Avoid exposing your instrument to extremes in temperature or humidity.
  
• Never leave your instrument in a closed car. Besides the possibility of theft, on a hot, sunny day the temperature in the passenger compartment can rise to 120°F.
  
• Never put your instrument in the trunk of your car, especially when it is hot.
  
• Don’t store your instrument near an air conditioner.
  
• Unless your home is well insulated, don’t store your instrument near an outside wall.—Richard Ward