Bad to leave bass tuned all the time?

[boynamedsuse]

I think this is a rumor that gets started by confusion with acoustic guitars. My wife left her classical guitar tuned in storage for some time and it did cause some slight warping of the soundboard, and she was advised to loosen the strings when not playing to prevent it getting any worse. But classical guitars don't have truss rods, and I don't think it applies to basses.

For what it's worth, I have a medium-high quality classic guitar that has been kept in tune for more than 20 years. Yes, it does have a slight warp on the soundboard (you have to see a reflection on the guitar to discern it), but it had that when it was a year old. The point is, I believe it is safe to leave any stringed instrument of reasonable quality tuned.

 

[Handyman]

I think this is a rumor that gets started by confusion with acoustic guitars. My wife left her classical guitar tuned in storage for some time and it did cause some slight warping of the soundboard, and she was advised to loosen the strings when not playing to prevent it getting any worse. But classical guitars don't have truss rods, and I don't think it applies to basses.

A truss rod wouldn't help with soundboard warping, anyway.

 

[darkstorm]

It would make absolutely no sense if a guitar or bass could not be left in tune.