Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum I'll be doing a Music Sorb test

Hi everyone. Yes I'm here, but the test (among a lot of other things!) got sidetracked last year when my dad was ill and I was taking care of him.

Thanks for reminding me! I'm going to order some and give it a shot.

No doubt, but MusicSorb is patented in that it also releases moisture during dry seasons (so they claim).

That is what all silica gel packets do.

It is actually what the wood structure of the piano does too. The wood releases moisture during the dry season and takes it up during the damp season. That's why the "scientific" test shown on the website is completely useless:

As you can see, it shows that the humidity inside the piano is more stable than the humidity outside the piano, but you would get the same results with any piano. The test would be more compelling if they had also checked the same piano the next year with no Musicsorb.

As it stands, this is exactly the same kind of snake-oil salesmanship that goes on all the time in the health and wellness industry and multi-level marketing schemes.

Personally I think the product name should be changed to more accurately reflect the nature of the product:
Money$orb

Silica gel is a desiccant only. It will only release moisture with heat processing.

Just wondering if anything ever came of the Music Sorb test? I see they still sell the stuff on the internet. I have a client who recently scheduled a tuning. I had recommended a Dampp-chaser basic system but she claimed she has something else that she found online. I'm wondering if it is Music Sorb. Or it could be moisture king. I'll find out soon enough!

I use it a lot and yes, there's a nice profit margin ;-) But, it does work if, like Dampp-Chaser, it's used properly. I have two large older grands I service and what I've done is seal up the string area with weather stripping. Both pianos are very stable now. Other pianos have varying results, just like DC. Here's the main advantages as I see it. 1. Nothing to plug in. Many of these pianos are moved a lot and they would never stay plugged in. 2. Nothing to check or refill. People don't want another thing to do. 3. Well, it works...

I service pianos with active DC systems and I find no better results than MusicSorb. In fact if I were to go strictly by the results I've witnessed MusicSorb comes out on top.

What I can't wrap my brain around Scott, is how can those little granules possibly hold enough moisture to effectively dehumidify the piano? Also how can they release enough moisture to properly humidify the belly in winter? I have to fill my DC tank at least once every two weeks in the winter. Seems like you'd have to pour some water in your Music Sorb to keep it active throughout the entire winter.

Thanks for the anecdotal evidence, though. It sounds like you are sold on it. How often do you change it?

You raise good questions Ryan. There are 2 "cassettes" that are installed & 3 in larger pianos. They're pretty large and I suspect hold more moisture than you'd think. They should be changed once a year. One cycle of soaking up then releasing. Even if it doesn't work as well as DC it's got to be better than nothing, which is what most of these pianos would have.

I've been wondering, what do you charge to service a DC system in a grand? How often? I've serviced a few and it's pain in the neck. That alone makes MusicSorb look pretty good!

I usually don't charge any money to service the DC system, other than the cost of replacing the pads. I encourage clients to run distilled water if they have the tank and that can extend the life of the pads considerably. The company recommends replacing the pads every 6 months, but with distilled water you can go two years. That's my experience, but its always safest to go with the company's recommendations.

The main issue with the tanks is to install them so that it can be easy to lower to the ground for servicing. That means being a little thoughtful with the management of the cords so that they don't interfere.

Luckily, in my climate we mostly install the base system without the humidifier. Its rare to see below 40% around here, and when it does get lower it is fairly temporary.

Here is an experiment Scott: Put a Music Sorb cartridge in a closed cardboard box with an open quart container of water and see how long it takes the Music Sorb to completely take up the water.