Music Sorb: a story of innovation in maintenance of wood musical instruments.
Silica has been used for centuries and it is one of the most complex and most commonly found material in nature. Music Sorb® is produced by Fuji Silysia, a Japan based company specialized in silica gel and micronized silica, in several variations for specific applications. Fuji Silysia, continuously exploring the possibility to develop new applications of this versatile material, guided by evolving technology, has uncovered the possibility of meeting the needs of specific markets as art conservation and maintenance of wood musical instruments. Music Sorb® is the result of highly focused technology in development of silica gel, beyond the common knowledge of silica gel use as a desiccant. The big innovation in Music Sorb is in fact the moisture-sensitive silica-gel humidity control material, which adsorbs and desorbs moisture in order to offset changes in relative humidity.
The Preservation of Works of Art and the Maintenance of Wood Musical Instruments
The preservation of works of art requires extreme care and attention to control the humidity fluctuation.
As art collections are constantly touring the world, and different geographic regions have extremes in climates, sudden changes in humidity are curator’s nightmare.
Fuji Silysia answered the problem with Artsorb® , a moisture-sensitive silica-gel humidity control material with high adsorption, desorption capacities, which adsorbs and desorbs moisture in order to offset changes in relative humidity. It provides a stable microclimate to preserve and minimize deterioration of fine pieces of art and historical artifacts from climatic fluctuations. Artsorb® is used to maintain Mona Lisa at the Louvre.
The Main Features of Silica Gel inside Music Sorb.
- Moisture sensitive Silice Gel.
- High adsorption / desorption capacity.
- Humidity Range buffering between 45% and 55%
- Highly pure, porous, amorphous silicon dioxide:(SiO2)
- Large internal surface area
- Chemically inert and insoluble exception in HF and in the presence of strong bases
- Non-deliquescence, Non-corrosive, water insoluble.
- Appears and feels dry even when saturated with water.
Music Sorb is a humidity control system for all wood musical instruments
Music Sorb® is part of the same line of silica-gel humidity control material as the artwork version, but it is specifically designed for wooden musical instrument to maintain a safe relative humidity range (RH) between 45% and 55%.
Music Sorb® is synthetic amorphous silica-gel specially developed to control the relative humidity (RH) inside your piano (grand or vertical one) or your musical instrument case.
Low humidity level can dry out the wood cells, which can cause glue joints to open up and prematurely result in the wood becoming brittle and cracking.
High humidity situation can cause wood to swell, challenging glued wood joints and even break down wood fiber. By balancing the RH of your musical instrument, the devastating effects of wide RH swings can be reduced significantly.
Music Sorb® looks like common desiccant products that absorb moisture. However, unlike typical desiccants, Music Sorb® has a special technology that allows it to release contained moisture once the RH drops below the pre-specified range. Music Sorb® is an inert and solid silica bead product. It does not contain excess water or liquid gels that can leak on your instruments.
Music Sorb is nonreactive and gentle to the wood in your piano and/or stringed instruments. It does not contain any corrosive or toxic chemicals and is environmentally safe.
See our article The Science Behind Music Sorb®
(or How Can Such an Effective Product be so Simple to Use?)
