taking care of a fully carved bass

[bassbeard]

I am the proud owner of my first fully carved bass. I was wondering if someone can point me in the direction of a resource for tips on caring for the instrument. I searched around a bit on the forums and found a few things about maintaining proper humidity levels, but not much beyond that. Anything else important i should be doing, or am i being overly worrisome?

[anonymous02282011]

Seams el open, **** will happen. Look into getting it insured, home owners or renters.

Keep it down on the floor or leaned into a corner when you're not playing it. Down on the floor is arguably better, cause it won't get bumped and fall, but it could get tipped over, stepped on . . . common sense will dictate what to do.

Also, try not to go from one extreme temp/humidity to another.

Don't put dampits in the F-holes. Those ***** can leak water and IMO they're unnecessary.

Don't worry. Be happy.

[joehaven]

Don't drop it, and try to avoid resting your beer on it.

[bassbeard]

my basses live in their own bedroom, so i don't have to worry about having them knocked over by traffic.

in spite of my best efforts, i could not find a spot on my bass to reliably hold my beer while i play either, so even if i wanted to i can't set my beer on it

sounds like a little common sense is all i need

thanks guys!

Oh yeah--the old Chinese guy i bought it from told me not to feed it after midnight, but i really can't see what harm that would do...

[Steve Swan]

I would add a couple more things. Never leave you instrument in a car, particularly on a warm or hot day. Never let anyone help you put a cover on your bass. At some point both of you will let go of the bass. Ouch!

[BassistForHire]

My first carved bass was a beat up 19th century German flatback. The next Christmas, my wife gave me a little kit... a jar of hide glue, a cheap stovetop single egg poacher to heat the glue, a palette knife, and a set of large wood clamps. And I got a lot of use out of it. The top would pop off at the bouts if you looked at it wrong. So, keep a little repair fund.... you'll need it but it's worth it for the sound of good carved top.