concert hall humidity

[PSLOANE@OCVAXA.CC.OBERLIN.EDU]

I worked at Penn State University prior to coming to Oberlin where no humidity
control exixted anywhere -- concert halls, practice rooms, studios, bathrooms,
whatever. Conditions fluctuated throughout the year between 10% and 90%. To
at least preserve our concert instruments in the large auditorium there, a
basement room was fitted with humidification and dehumidification units to
which our concert instruments could be easily moved (the orchestra pit was part
of an hydraulic lift system). The humidity control was very precise in the
 room and after a year or so of storing the concert grands there, only bringing
them out when needed, we concluded that the sudden changes the pianos exper-
ienced when sudden going from the controlled environment to the real world
ienced when suddenly going from the controlled environment to the real world
wreaked havoc for the users. To avoid the sudden changes, we had to bring the
instruments on to the stage a week or so befor an intended usage. So not only
did the pianos experience a potentially  damaging change when exiting the
room, they experienced it when they went back.

My conclusion -- You have to control the area the pianos are used in

Ken Sloane,   Oberlin Conservatory