Humid Seattle to dry ABQ - how is your piano's health in dry NM?

[jiminnm]

Originally Posted by SunGrins

I moved some furniture to NM from humid MO six years ago and the veneer is popping off some of the antiques and some panels are shrinking on others. I have a swamp cooler but it can't do enough for some old pieces. Right now it is 27% humidity but later it will likely be in single digits and then back up again at night so the daily cycle probably has a bearing on it.

Our experience was not quite that bad. A few years after moving here, we had to get our wooden kitchen and dining room chairs, and one of tables, reglued. The old glue had simply dried up and blew away. After 20+ years, all the veneer is still in place.

[aries63]

A quality piano is not like a typical piece of household furniture. A good piano has a soundboard that has been cured (dried) for years and treated in a kiln, so that it should be able to survive low humidity. Rather than contact different piano dealers in the Southwest, I would contact the manufacturer for information specific to your instrument and model. Has the soundboard been cured to a degree that it would tolerate our low humidity? If it is an older instrument that has been soaking up high humidity for decades, it may not be wise to move it, unless you have a humidity-controlled environment to put it in. I know a few musicians who keep their houses at around 33% humidity for their instruments. But most don't and their instruments are fine.

I inherited a baby grand that lived in New York for about 60 years, and moved it out to ABQ, and it was slightly damaged in moving. That's another thing to consider. After having it here for nine years I ended up selling it. But the soundboard had no problems here and I kept it mostly in a house with refrigerated air and no humidification. Some of the key mechanisms may have warped a little but there were similar issues with it before it was moved.

If I were a serious pianist I would sell the instrument and not move it far away. I'd buy an instrument that was already adjusted for local conditions. Piano moving is expensive and risky. You can learn to love a new instrument.

[Algiz]

Interesting experiences, all,

Thank you to everyone for the details. I agree about leaving the rosewood furniture here to let someone else enjoy it. It's unique, lovely, expensive and fits into a large formal dining room, and is most definitely not of Southwest decor. So that decision has been easy.

It's hard to consider doing the same with the piano. We looked for a long time for a piano with the personality we wanted to bring into our lives. This one has just the right amount of growl but with a clarity that makes the notes sing. There is no tinniness but some notes sound like what crystal. I can go on, but let's just say after a long time searching and ending up finding it in an adjoining state and having it shipped over, there is no selling it and buying a new one. It would be like giving our dog away and adopting a new one when we got there.

We've been seriously discussing our options, and setting up a humid-controlled room would work, but we aren't keen on the prospect. One of the greatest reasons for our downsizing is to simplify our lives, not have so much to care for, and worrying all the time (which we would do) if the humidity is right, OMG did the power go out while we were gone?, and all that is not what we want to bring into our lives.

And hoping for the best, hoping the piano will be OK is not our style. We are not the "laid-back" types.

So, we've tentatively decided to begin looking into electronic pianos/keyboards to see if we can get the sound we're after. We don't expect it to be like our piano, but if we can fall in love with a keyboard's sound, we will consider selling the piano and then buy a keyboard before we move.

Our other option is to consider moving where it isn't so dry. I've experienced 3% humidity while staying in Placitas. Of our four visits, we only came once in the fall, but the other 3 times we stayed for up to two weeks in spring, so we were there when it was the driest, and boy was 3% humidity a challenge. Even 10% is hard...what I hated the most was when I'd lightly pet my dog as he walked by or came to nuzzle me, and we were both sent straight up into the air, springing up from wherever we were from the shock. It wasn't until that trip that I realized just how much I have my hands on my dog!

Of course, we would run humidifiers in the house. Since we knew how dry it could get, on our last roadtrip there, we brought a couple humidifiers to see if we could moisten the air. We ran them, and the little 700 sq ft cottage we were renting did pretty well, so we know we don't have to endure 3% humidity if we don't want to. Maintaining humdifiers isn't much of a chore - we do that most of the winter here.

Well, getting off on another topic, so I'll stop here. I'll be back when anything significant develops regarding the piano.

[Algiz]

Originally Posted by aries63

A quality piano is not like a typical piece of household furniture. A good piano has a soundboard that has been cured (dried) for years and treated in a kiln, so that it should be able to survive low humidity. Rather than contact different piano dealers in the Southwest, I would contact the manufacturer for information specific to your instrument and model. Has the soundboard been cured to a degree that it would tolerate our low humidity? If it is an older instrument that has been soaking up high humidity for decades, it may not be wise to move it, unless you have a humidity-controlled environment to put it in. I know a few musicians who keep their houses at around 33% humidity for their instruments. But most don't and their instruments are fine.

I inherited a baby grand that lived in New York for about 60 years, and moved it out to ABQ, and it was slightly damaged in moving. That's another thing to consider. After having it here for nine years I ended up selling it. But the soundboard had no problems here and I kept it mostly in a house with refrigerated air and no humidification. Some of the key mechanisms may have warped a little but there were similar issues with it before it was moved.

If I were a serious pianist I would sell the instrument and not move it far away. I'd buy an instrument that was already adjusted for local conditions. Piano moving is expensive and risky. You can learn to love a new instrument.

Thanks for the details and great advice, aries63. I hadn't thought to contact my piano's manufacturer and ask specifics about my piano. We bought it new 10 years ago, and we've had it in our house, never moved. Our humidity can go as low as 30% and as high as 60%, but those are the extremes that only happen on occasion, so it's still young and hasn't had to endure much hardship as far as pianos go. Different people have different opinions and experiences regarding their pianos, I'm finding. Different manufacturers say similar things but sometimes it sounds like they're just reiterating what they've heard. I don't know.. when/if I come upon any solid answers/information, I'll return with what I find.

[Rogarven]

While Robertsons is a a class act, I would check the piano dealers in town. Also Google : Dampchaser as it has can keep the humidity level . You just have to watch the water level in it. A qualified piano tech should be able to install it.