Hollowbody/semi-hollow care vs. acoustic care

Pasted from the question I just put up on TB, which I wanted to put up over here since it's a Starfire I might finally land :mrgreen: :

I was hoping that some of you with experience in owning hollowbodies and semi-hollows could comment on instrument care. I'm looking into a blocked hollowbody for the first time (I've never owned an acoustic instrument except and old nylon stringed guitar that belonged to my Dad, and I never really paid it much attention), and given that it's winter, I want to be prepared to make sure it's well-cared for.

I've never had humidity or temperature issues with my solid body instruments, but then, they are reputed as being much more resilient, ie, it's a think slab of wood that's been sealed with some kind of finish.

Do you need to humidify a hollow- or semihollow bass? Are the tops generally as thin as a proper acoustic bass, or are they thick enough to hold form better in varied temperatures and humidity? I guess my worry is the lack of varnish/finish inside the chambers would make the wood more susceptible to drying out, and the winters get pretty dry and bitter here in Seoul, and the summers are sweltering and humid.

I wouldn't worry too much - laminated instruments like Guilds electric archtops and semi-hollow basses are a lot sturdier than solid wood acoustic instruments, and laminate doesn't shrink and expand like solid wood, so it doesn't crack nearly as fast.
I've taken my Guild archtops to very dry, and very humid places, and they never acted up once.

I've had my Starfire I for about 35 years and never worried about humidity. Not sure whether I was stupid or lucky. I will say that all guitars are in cases when they are not being played so that may have helped prevent problems.

Now that Mrs. Fro. has a new F-30 Traditional, I am paying attention to humidity and it seems as if the house is in the 40-50% range which falls in the target range. So I'm not about to get a humidifier for the Starfire.

Whenever I have an acoustic or semihollow/hollowbody that I really really care about (such as my previous starfire basses) I take a plastic soapdish, drill a few little holes in the lid, put a sponge inside, and put two rubber bands around it. Then I keep the sponge generally damp, wetting it every few days. This is way cheaper than one of the fancy case humidifiers and actually a lot safer. I've heard horror stories of those things leaking water and ruining valuable instruments. With the sponge, you yourself wet it directly and can make sure there's not enough moisture to cause dripping/leaking

Well, now the only difficulty is actually scoring that Starfire...

FWIW, I've been doing this for nearly 4 decades and have never thought about it.