Bass sitting around for a long time

[Hammertime3]

I just bought a 41 Kay bass from a young lady in Philadelphia last Saturday. She bought the bass in l997 in hopes of learning rockabilly, but never did. The bass had been sitting in her living room for 12 years, unplayed. My question is...does sitting idle for several years harm the bass in any way? Should I expect it to sound as good now as it ever will, or will it have to re-open, so to speak, and get better with time. It sounds great now after being re-strung with a set of used Supernils, the only ones I had...should I expect more from this bass the more it is played? I can see that the bridge need re-fitting badly, and I plan to have a new cable installed in place of the original "coat hanger." This should make an improvement, right? The bass needs nothing else that I can see..very solid instrument.

[fdeck]

Just sitting in a decent environment should be OK. All old Kays that have not been under the care of a luthier may have a couple issues to address, related to the neck block and attachment of the bass bar.

[robobass]

I have no experience with plys, but playing it should definitely open it up, and especially setting up the bridge . I've always wondered about this. I was told by a luthier to take the instrument out of tension if I don't plan to play it for awhile. I've had basses standing in corners untouched for months. Sometimes I detune them a step or two, when I'm feeling responsible, but I've never noticed a difference when I pull them out again. I'd like to hear from luthiers, but I can think of no reason why an unplayed bass which sits in tension would develop problems which wouldn't happen anyway if it were being played. Perhaps it's only that you would notice a problem sooner, or correct the tuning during an extreme humidity change, preventing the bass from going way sharp.
??? Either way, it sounds like you're in good shape.

[uprightben]

One issue to watch out for on any instrument that hasn't been played for a long time is wood eating bugs. I'd take a mirror and a light and look inside the bass for the small bore holes, and also look for saw dust inside the bass.