shipping a bass

hernameisrio · #1 01-09-2012, 09:37 AM

I did find a thread on here about it that was very helpful. I'm gonna go to Guitar Center today and get a box. But I'm a little unclear as to whether I should slightly detune the strings or not. What's the verdict? Thanks in advance, guys!
p.s. Yeah, I sold my Ibanez SB900. I'll miss her, but I've been tight on money lately and I need to pay my friend back for the Cirrus, so, yeah...I know she will continue to make another bass player very happy as well.

dougazbass · #2 01-09-2012, 09:39 AM

Yes. Loosen the strings.

hernameisrio · #3 01-09-2012, 09:47 AM

But not completely detuned, right? I always thought it was better to keep some tension on the neck...

EricF · #4 01-09-2012, 09:59 AM

I never understood about loosening the strings for shipping. There is a balance between the tension of the strings and the trussrod. If you loosen the strings, you disrupt the balance (unless you loosen the trussrod, too), and are inviting more problems. If the instrument is packed properly, there isn't a logical reason to loosen the strings. As far as I've ever seen, every manufacturer ships out their instruments with tension on the trussrod and the strings in tune (or at least pretty close).

hernameisrio · #5 01-09-2012, 10:11 AM

Yeah, it makes sense...aw, I think I'm just putting off having to pack her up and send her off... :sniffle: They grow up so fast! :-P

lowendgenerator · #6 01-09-2012, 10:19 AM

I don't detune the strings, puts unnecessary strain on the neck when the truss rod suddenly has no string tension to counter it.

If I ship a bass with the neck off I'll slack the rod a bit.

BassMan4Him · #7 01-09-2012, 10:21 AM

I shipped my Spector Euro to Italy and did NOT loosen the strings. It arrived fine. I did put a little cloth between the string and the neck/frets to keep them from rubbing the whole way..

It's all about the packaging. The more the better..

Stumbo · #8 01-10-2012, 12:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BassMan4Him

I shipped my Spector Euro to Italy and did NOT loosen the strings. It arrived fine. I did put a little cloth between the string and the neck/frets to keep them from rubbing the whole way..

It's all about the packaging. The more the better..

Be sure to have a few inches of bubble wrap all around the case.

**jmattbassplaya** · #9 01-10-2012, 12:55 AM

Do not detune the strings. It does nothing but put weird strain on the neck. I've shipped close to 20 basses now and have never had an issue.

**Pacman** · #10 01-10-2012, 05:01 AM

Do not detune the strings.

tekdiver500ft · #11 01-10-2012, 05:13 AM

Fender does not detune their instruments when they ship them, nor do I. Neither one of us has any trouble doing it that way.

mrpackerguy · #12 01-10-2012, 08:14 AM

I've shipped about 30 basses, maybe more and never loosened the strings. Always arrived in fine shape. I mean, I never loosen them when I'm not playing the bass, why would I during shipping? I've received several factory new basses as well, and none of those ever arrived with loosened strings.

Bassamatic · #13 01-10-2012, 12:15 PM

A cloth under the strings will protect the frets from any impact.
I also cut up another large carton and and put the pieces inside to make sure that there are at least 2 layers of cardboard over the front and back of the instrument. This is ESPECIALLY important if you are shipping in a gig bag.