cold storage detrimental to my vintage SVT?

Hello Ron:

Storing gear in a car during the winter is a Canadian tradition. I don't like doing it and don't do it as a rule. One of the guitarists I work with here is from Toronto and he regularly left gear in the trunk when gigging in Canada.

I wouldn't be surprised to read that Yorkville and Traynor had storing gear in the trunk of an Impala in January as part of their design requirements.

 

Cold storage isn't a problem, but the condensation that takes place when you bring it inside is. Long term results are rust and corrosion, short term short-circuits can occur.

 

My head (Markbass) and cab (SWR) stayed in a 4x4 Friday night until our gig on Saturday night. It was cold and I did as Bill suggested, waiting for it to reach room temperature before powering up.

One question for Bill, on topic. I'm not sure if it was the room or the speaker, but I found that I couldn't get my growly tone until well into the first set. The room is notorious for bad sound, but I can usually acheive my sound right away with everything flat and the Sadowsky pedal boosting the bass a bit. Could it be that the cold would have affected my speaker?

bmc

 

Very much so. The insulation within the cabinet that's there for damping also makes the cab a very large thermos bottle, and it takes a long while for it to warm up once thoroughly chilled.

Good idea, but you still could have moisture inside the amp from condensation for quite a few hours before it evaporates off.

 

You should generally be able to power up the SVT in standby after it has started to warm up to room temp.

Usually if it is cold out, its pretty dry inside and condensation is not extreme, but in standby, the filaments are on, and the unit is being warmed up and dried out.

I know what you mean about cold.... not just a little cold...... I grew up in Minnesota.... -40 deg C at night..... and -20C daytime. You can tell the temperature by how the snow squeaks. That's seriously chilly.

Most any electronics are designed to operate from 0C to probably +40C. So letting things warm up to at least 0C before powering is a good idea.

And, yes, we have done the "turn on unit when cold" test too.

 

Take a tip from photographers; use a plastic bag.

Take a large plastic bag (garbage bag), put your head (AMP HEAD, not YOUR HEAD) in, and tie it up enough to be moderately air-tight. While the air temperature in the bag will rise, the humidity in the warmer environment won't get in.

Photographers use this trick to keep condensation off of the lens elements.