On Sun, Sep 16, 2007, Anthony Hind <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> said: > I don't think it is very easy to generalize, about this sort of > thing. What seems to be important, is constant temperature and > humidity; and while a case may slightly slow down the speed of a > change, it is probably better to have a lute on the wall with the > correct temperature and humidity, than a lute in its case in bad > conditions.
true, but, note one thing, if a cased lute exists in a room with well controled conditions, once the case and the room are in agreement, the case moderates changes that either dont occur, or are considered trivial. The case will of course provide some degrere of physical protection for the lute, keeps it from dust, and acts as a barrier to whatever spore molds exist (outside and in). It might be an interesting experiemnet to obtain two instruments that monitor atmosheric conditions and place one in a case, the other next to the case; record for a week, and see how the case moderates the changes. Of course, there might not be room in the case for both instrumentation and instrument, and the instrument will itself alter the picture because it is a resevoir for moisture and for calories, but this should provide some idea of how much of a barrier the case is in itself. > It really does depend on the context in which a person lives > (children, cats, earth-quake zone, etc...). quite. It also depends on the sort of house one is in, in my case, the ceiling consists of exposed floor joists well spotted with old nail holes, larger holes for now basent pipes and cables, and the odd hook which formerly held a potted plant. An extra hook or two for hanging the odd instrument is not out of place in such a setting; near the workbench it is quite appropriate to hang an instrument whose finish is drying. > However, disaster does not necessarily automatically follow, if you > keep your lutes on the wall. On the other hand, if you do keep them > in a case, you can not be absolutely certain that all will be well. well, absolute certainty is, well, rather a bit hard to come by. But, would one host a well-lubricated wake with all ones instruments lying about? No, one would encase and hide most of them well away from the drunken louts, leaving out only those one intends to play, and those probably older instruments chosen for robustness. -- Dana Emery To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
