MARTINGuitar Humidifier

Sits nicely between strings without spreading them too much. Plenty of length to hold humidity.

*UPDATE 23MAY13*This product listing once again claims to be made by Martin.I'm not going to order another one to find out if that's true, but I'm incredulous.See below.Also, I don't use this anymore b/c I got sick of re-wetting it so often (esp. since I usually forgot).I upgraded to an Oasis OH-5; it holds enough water to last a week or so.------------------------------------------------------------------------*UPDATE 13FEB13*I would say this thing works just fine.You do have to be careful not to get it too wet, but it does the job.And here in Colorado, I have to re-wet it every couple days.Amazon has updated the product listing, so the misleading info has been removed.Good job.------------------------------------------------------------------------*ORIGINAL REVIEW*I just got this a couple days ago, so I can't actually comment on how well it humidifies or how long it lasts.I can, however, tell you with surety that this is not a Martin & CO product.It is made by a certain RDM Enterprises of Allentown, PA [...].It might have been made FOR Martin (although there's no indication of that), but it definitely wasn't made BY Martin.Anyway, that doesn't mean it's not good quality or effective, I just don't like false claims.Honestly, the listing even gives a link to all other Martin products available on Amazon.Another thing is the hanger.It might be obvious to most people how it works, but I uploaded a picture of it above.It's a simple, smart way to hang the humidifier in the guitar w/o having something that covers the entire sound hole.Unfortunately, it does spread the strings apart a bit.This may depend on the string spacing, and may not be a big problem regardless.But if you don't like the idea of spreading the strings, then you may have to just lay the humidifier in the guitar (which will work just as well).

There is a lot of controversy about the "Martinness" of this. I do not much care about that. What I can say is it is thicker, overall less pliable, longer, and more bulky than its competition: the Dampit. The Dampit feels like it has been specially designed and made from a specialized rubber material. The Humitron feels like the generic equivalent of a Dampit. It is harder to squeeze and harder to bend and holds less moisture.This does not come with any type of soundhole cover or penlike clip like the Dampits do, but I like the rubber lip on the Humitron's end a little more than what you get on a Dampit. That said, because the tip is oversized, it collects water and kinda hides water there. It takes about three or four times to final soak all the water up from the tip if you submerge the entire humidifier, so I try to leave the tip out of the water to avoid that issue.In terms of the basic design, it makes sense and it is convenient for both sound hole and f-hole guitars. It will even fit in f-hole mandolins but it is a little long for them. That said, I am not sure how much moisture these type of humidifiers really hold to be functional in a very dry area. I would this or a Dampit in combination with another humidification method if you are are a dry area. In order to get them not to leak, you have to squeeze so much water out that it feels like--and this may be an optical delusion--that nothing adequate is left inside. And these types of humidifiers, in general, are a little difficult to tell when they are dried out, unless they are REALLY dry. I am new to using them, but I prefer sponges that have some size to them so that I can touch them or shake them and know immediately if they are dry or not. Dampits and Humitrons need to be taken to the sink and squeezed to test them, unless you want to drip water out. Then, my impression is, that that water you just squeezed out via testing just wasted the little amount that was in there, and you have to soak it again. These are first world problems, I know.

easy to use and effective

This is not actually a Martin brand humidifier. However it works well and is easy to use. I own a couple of them.

Better than DampIts because they're less expensive and they're built better! The tubing on these is thicker/sturdier than the surgical tubing used on DampIts. That means these are a little less "bendy", which makes them easier to install. It also keeps the sponges from breaking inside the tube as easily as they do with DampIts. With multiple instruments, I use these on my best ones, and my DampIts on the ones I don't play as often. During Upstate NY winters at 20% humidity and forced-air heat in my house, these last 3-5 days in my cased guitars when wet, wrung out, and dried off. I use two per instrument religiously. I'd probably go to three if I were humidifying an especially dry guitar.Lot's of folks are wrapped up by the fact that these are branded "Martin", and are not the same as the luthier in PA. I admit the first time I bought them, I thought the same thing and was disappointed to find out the truth. That said, they're still my go-to humidifiers, and I buy more whenever I can.