Thermal Bass Case?

[The James Jorda]

Hi Guys,

I am in a unique situation where I commute to work in the morning, and when I get back I have to run straight to my gigs. This, at times requires me to leave gear in my car.

Is there any sort of thermal bass case that could keep a guitar from getting cold if left in the car?

[TNCreature]

whoa. just the concept scares me.

found this info online (but not a case): Musician's Workshop: Asheville's source for musicians and music lovers.
Protecting Your Guitar from Unusually Low Temperatures

Unusually cold climatic conditions can pose dangers to your guitar, but is mainly detrimental to finish. “Finish checking” (small cracks in the finish) is common where temperatures drop below the freezing point. This can result from having your guitar outside in below freezing weather, then immediately upon entering a warm room, opening the case to remove your guitar (or vice versa).

If in spite of your best efforts the finish does become “checked”, it is worth noting that this only affets the appearance of the guitar, and will not affect its lifespan, playability, or sound. Most people learn to live with the “checks”, as correction of this problem would require a costly finishing repair not covered by your warranty. Also keep in mind, re-spraying the top can alter the tone, especially in the case of an older instrument.

The above problems can be avoided by taking a few simple precautions:

Keep your guitar in a cool place at 5°C to 10°C (42°F to 50°F) for an hour or so before going outside. The same rule applies when bringing your guitar in from the cold. Allow it to warm up gradually with the case closed for at least one hour. Ideally, you should try and avoid exposing your guitar to extremely frigid temperatures altogether.

Never leave your guitar hanging on the wall in winter, as heat will rise. While floor temperatures may be 18°C, five feet above the floor it may be 22°C, and at eight feet 27°C! At these temperatures, the relative humidity tends to become relatively low, giving rise to the problems associated with excessive winter weather (see section 4 below).

The humidity in your home during winter should be kept at approximately 45% relative to 22°C for the safety of your guitar. If it dips too much lower, problems may arise. Try to keep your guitar in a cooler place and in the case when possible. Use a Dampit® or a similar device that retains water, but make sure to check it frequently, as these units contain only a small amount of water and can completely dry out within the first eight hours.

[The James Jorda]

TN Creature- thanks for the answer.

I guess I am asking if there are any heated bass cases available?

[Selta]

I'm assuming that there's no way for you to take you bass in to your work place with you? Without having your location in your profile it's hard to have a feel for what's going on... what kind of temperature change are you having? Heck, I'd be worried about the theft just as much as I would the temperature...

[The James Jorda]

Hi Ray,

Thanks, I am in NJ, and I commute into NYC by bus (1 hour), then subway. Unfortunately taking it with me won't work. And yes, theft is definitely a concern as well :/

Not an ideal solution by any means.

Today in NJ it was 26 degrees.

I would leave it with someone else in the band, but they regularly leave their whole rigs in their cars.

Any other thoughts?

[elgecko]

Not heated but supposedly "thermally protective"

Allen Guitars & Luthier Supplies Climate Case

[livinitup0]

from my experience theres not a lot you can do... best situation is to try and keep it at work, thats what i have to do since i play a happy hour gig every friday. barring that... bring into the gig but dont open it until you absolutely have to... give it a little time to adjust... and dont blast the heat on the way there.

this guy is going all macguyver to try and find a solution...
Classical Guitar • - - Guitar heater: problem solved

[Selta]

I don't get why gear is needing left in your car? It sounds like you still go home, so just load it up when you get there. If time is a pinch, have it in the case at the door so you just grab it, close your door and go.
Also... how do you plan on heating the case? The only option at all available would be 12v DC from the cigarette plugs on cars... running a heater on that all day would not do so well for the battery. If it's an OK battery I doubt it'd kill it, but it'd strain it.

[The James Jorda]

Thanks for all of the tips guys.

Ray- The problem is when I can't stop home. I usually get home at about 8:30, and have to be at the gig by 9., my house is usually about 20 minutes in the opposite direction :/

Sounds like Ill just need to let it adjust before I open it, or try elgecko's solution.

[MakoMan]

If you can get near an electrical outlet while at work you could run an extension cord to a small electrical heater in your car which could keep the interior warm.
If there is no outlet available you could invest in a rechargeable portable power supply, which could keep such a heater running for a few hours. If your portable heater has a thermostat which will cycle it off and on when necessary, you might be able to keep it running on a portable power supply to keep the car interior at 50-60* all day.

[GolemTB]

`

Since thermal shock is at least as threatening as the actual
degree of chilling, a greatly padded or rigid-foam-lined bag or
case is a good way to moderate the rate of thermal changes.

My own solution, being a gear whore, is that some of my axen
are graphite-necked, and some are toadally graphite. You may
not be such a gear whore, or even if you are a GW maybe you
are uncompromising about 'your tone', a tone not associated
with graphite. I am blessed in that there is no 'my tone', so I
don't mean to throw stones in a glass house :-/

I played happy hour 3 to 4 nites a week for several years with
no stopping home ... the gear left with me in the morning and
usually spent the day in the car [sometimes I might bring it in
to my work space]. The fortunate aspect was that I really did
have time to go home, but the gigs were near work and the
extra double commute, all in rush hour, was an unappealing
prospect. But the 1.5 hrs not spent in extra traffic and travel
allowed me to hit the venue early and bring my ax slowly up
to working temperature.


`

[Bryan R. Tyler]

If I had to rely on a bass dealing with constant extreme temperature changes, I'd probably only take a graphite-necked instrument with me.

The vast majority of stolen bass threads we get here at TB also come from people who have left their basses in their cars. Any chance you could take your instrument into work with you?

[One Bad Monkey]

As another option: are you married or have a girlfriend? If you do, would they be willing to meet you at the train station with your bass for those days when you have to go to the gig?

[dlenaghan]

Another detail: what kind of bass are we talking about? My overall impression is a modern instrument with a heavier poly finish isn't going to check the same way an older instrument would, so beside the (possibly non-existent) checking issue, there's just perhaps a quick re-tune a bit into the warm up or maybe two songs into the set and you're good to go.

This has been an annual issue for me, living here in Seoul where it's regularly in the teens during the winter and I'm walking to gigs or using the subway. Several years of that never worried my G&L ASAT bass, but maybe a decade would...

[Newbie Brad]

I've owned one of the ClimateCase thermal case covers like at the Allen link above. I used it on an archtop I loved and couldn't stand to play out without doing something extra to protect it. Lots of cold and it never failed in any way. It's one of those things that you think it's working if nothing bad happens, all i can say is nothing ever did even during some pretty cold transports. Goes around your case so it's technically a case cover. Great product I never had any doubts it was there doing a great job. Great quality.