bass sitting out in the cold??

[pingone]

i just bought a bass from another tb'er. a mim p, and its coming in a hard case. if the delivery guy leaves this outside for say 2 or 3 hours is it going to cause any damage?? should i have it sent so that i have to go pick it up? i'd rather it just come to my house, but i don't want any problems.

 

[ibanezcollector]

just let it adjust to room temp, for a hour or so. It may need some tweaking from the temp changes but most do anyways.. Nothing to fear.

 

[puff father]

+1

Just bring it in and let it stay packaged for a few hours at least so it's room temp before you open it. Should be ok.

 

[purfektstranger]

Why would it have to sit outside for two to three hours. If that was the case I would be more concerned about someone stealing it. Extreme cold is not ideal for a bass. That said, I received a bass which had been sitting in various UPS trucks over a ten day period in the dead of winter. Should be ok in a hard case but try to avoid leaving in outdoors for long periods of time.

 

[mrokern]

It's funny...we get so paranoid about used basses sitting outside, or our own basses in cars, yet we don't think twice about new basses in stores.

Do you really think all those plane cargo holds and delivery trucks are heated? It's not like the basses magically appear at the store.

Just give it time to warm back up.

 

[Connor]

a couple hours of cold is not going to hurt your bass...

 

[LifeIsBass]

Don't worry about it. I've had an old, off-name bass sitting in my garage in its case for years. I just haven't gotten around to getting rid of it. Every once in a while I'll play it just for the heck of it and it hasn't changed a bit over the last several years.

 

[Johnny Crab]

I'd be more worried about theft or rain actually.

Our primary gig is outdoors on a tent-covered huge deck(circumvents the smoking gestapo in Houston). I've played gigs so cold I had to wear gloves with the fingertips cutout to be able move my semi-frozen hands. Basses still work fine BUT I would think twice about subjecting a nitro finish to temp extremes(i.e. Gibson T-Bird).

 

[thedude77md]

Its fine. I've left guitars in the car for days at a time in the winter (I live in a place where I don't have to worry about theft) and they have been fine. As said before, just let 'em warm up for a bit before you start monkeying with it

 

[ryco]

Bring the bass inside, open the case quickly a couple of times, and close the lid without latching.

 

[mrokern]

Another quick point...all those bands we like going to see in concert? Their instruments get transported in Anvil cases, in semi-trailers. As someone who has done the tour thing in winter (as a sound engineer)...those things are nice and frozen when they roll out of a trailer at 8am after traveling all night between states.

 

[BassBob185]

Lets hope the strings were loosened before shipping.

 

[towsonbassist]

Don't play it for a while. I did that and ended up with a busted nut.

 

[Luckydog]

Dude its not the cold that harms it, its the rapid temperature change. If you bring a frozen bass inside a warm house it can damage the finish. Could cause a little finish hazing, or worse if real extreme, it can result in some finish cracking. Bring the bass inside and control your urge to play it. You can grab a rapid peek at it inside the case, but close it up quickly and let it slowly warm up to temp before you take it out.

 

[Eric Moesle]

Bring the bass inside, open the case quickly a couple of times, and close the lid without latching.

TERRIBLE ADVICE. No offense, but that's exactly what causes the damage.

Finish cracking occurs when there is rapid temperature change when opening the case. Leave the case CLOSED and let the entire thing warm up gradually over two or three hours.

When there is a rapid temperature change, the wood and the finish expand/contract at different rates, and results in finish "checking" - tons of little crack lines. You'll see these alot in vintage Fenders. Plenty of people have opened their cold cases just to see the cracks moving the very second they looked at the bass, literally watched it in progress.

KEEP THE CASE CLOSED!

 

[RobTheSkanker]

Do you really think all those plane cargo holds and delivery trucks are heated? It's not like the basses magically appear at the store.

ummm yeah they do, santa drives them in a heated sled to your nearest music store and places them in the bass section with care, I thought everyone knew that, ya big ole dumbie

 

[0175westwood29]

i would be more worried bout it being nicked! not how to warm it up!

 

[Lorenzini]

Leave the case closed for up to a day (that's what I would do...). Open the case and let the heat in, and you've potentially hurt the bass.

CASE CLOSED, and CASE CLOSED!

 

[Rickett Customs]

If I'm not mistaken, heat will be a worse enemy than cold, as long as we're talking about "short time, as opposed to long term.Letting it stay closed in the case for a few hours, letting it gradually rise in temperature, would be the way to do it (IME).

 

[ChrisBowsman]

I know a guy on another forum who tried to relic a Les Paul Standard. He wanted the finish to check like an old one, so he put it outside in like 10 degree weather overnight, then stuck it beside his fireplace the next day. The guitar was not affected a bit (but we all realize how lucky he was that the neck didn't warp or something).

The point of that story is that:

1) Gibson's new "nitro" finishes are WAAAAY less nitro than they claim, and

2) If you bring the package inside and let it gradually acclimate to room temperature for a few hours, it will be fine. BTW, you should do this with electronic devices as well.