cold weather....

If your bass is satin finished, expect cracks if you keep it out in dry, cold air. Even if it's not satin finished, your fingerboard will likely dry out, thus causing excessive neck bow.

Any electronics left in the cold will develop condensation when turned on; not a good thing for your equipment and possibly hazardous to your health.

 

I go to school in Green Bay (not known for its tropical winters) and have a story about cold weather and equipment. This is probably just a freak occurance, so don't feel in any way that I'm condoning leaving equipment in the cold!

So, anyway, my band was into country/blues/rock kinda music, and we practiced in a barn, which seemed logical to me. We couldn't find anywhere else, and it was unlikely that the people 2 miles down the road were going to call us saying we were too loud. Anywho, it was all fine and well until it got cold out, and our practices turned into Survival 101. And that winter it was COLD. I remember coming home from practices and having to run my hands under warm water for a few minutes just to get all the feeling back in them (can't play with gloves on!). We ALWAYS left our amps out there, and for THREE MONTHS my Peavey amp sat in 0 degree weather or colder. We didn't play for about two months, and when I went back in the spring, I figured my amp was shot and I was out a few hundred bucks. Much to my surprise (and secret dismay), my huge, unwieldy, funny-sounding Peavey combo amp still worked perfectly! I was quite impressed with the durability, and it still works fine to this day.

But that's me tempting fate. As I said, I wouldn't do this, at least not with a nice amp.